Associate Lead, Category Leadership - Field

Your Opportunity as the Associate Lead, Category Leadership - Field

The primary responsibility of this position is to build trust and influence with Walmart, Target and Sam's retailer and JMS sales teams to drive penetration, growth and development across the Coffee categories and JMS Brand activation. Leads customized development of category specific retailer growth opportunities and diagnostics relative to insight activation against the retailer, shopper, and category dynamics. Contributes to annual sales planning and partners with sales to deliver category and JMS growth opportunity identification and execution. Go-to category expert, responsible for providing in-depth category, retail, consumer and shopper expertise. Liaison back to HQ Category Leadership/Strategy Team.

Location: Working Remote USA

In this role you will:

Customer Category Management

• Leads development and delivery of Customer specific Category Growth Drivers - strategy, initiatives and customized content of compelling category strategies and stories

• Leads 4P tactical solutions for assigned customers and categories, specifically owning shelving and assortment and partnering with cross functional teams on price/promo

• Provides thought leadership to elevate JMS voice and influence with retailers

• Leads Category first approach in Customer Category Reviews and Assessments as well as Top to Top, JBP, QBR engagement meetings with key customers and internal stakeholders

• Identifies opportunities and risks for category and JMS, with bias for action

• Leverages all available data and customized content against consumer, shopper and category insights to create and deliver fact-based strategic selling resulting in implementation & activation at retail

• Supports and drives omni activation and integration into all category deliverables, workstreams

• Appropriately collaborates with advisor teams, while partnering with sales to drive the business

• Understands the competitive marketplace in which JMS and customers operate

• Communicates insights and learnings both internally and externally to a wide variety of audiences

• Provides category and key customer business analytics

• Actively participates in retailer calls

• Collaborates and influences across the various SBAs

Internal Business Support Management

• Expert on all customer business analytics and resources (Circana, panel, shopper, etc)

• Identifies requirements for tool development and data support systems to increase visibility and application of key category insights

• Acts as a liaison back to the JMS HQ Category Leadership team

Customer Business Plan Development, Review & Activation

• Provides input into customer long-term business strategy

The Right Place for You

We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.

What we are looking for:

Minimum Requirements:

• 5+ years in Consumer-Packaged Goods industry

• 3+ years of Shopper Insights or Category Management experience

• Proven success building relationships with customers / retailers

• Experience in analysis of shopper / consumer-based CPG information

• Strong analytical skills, problem solving, and storytelling experience

• Excellent organization and written / verbal communication skills

• Proficient in leveraging IRI, Nielsen, Luminate, Retail Link, panel data, and shopper card data

• Planogramming/Planogram software experience required (Ex. JDA Prospace)

• Ability to develop and translate insights into actions

• Strategic mindset to help build and execute effective plans

• Travel requirements: up to 25%

Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role (not required):

• Experience working cross functionally in a Headquarter environment

Learn more about working at Smucker:

• Our Total Rewards Benefits Program

• Our Thriving Together Philosophy Supporting All Impacted by Our Business

• Our Continued Progress on Inclusion, Diversity and Equity

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