Category Strategy Manager

Foods you love. Brands you trust. And a career that empowers you to grow.

At Nestle USA, we're all working towards the same goal - to delight and deliver for our consumers. With a rich portfolio of beloved brands, including DiGiorno, Toll House, and Coffee mate, in 97% of U.S. households, we have a unique opportunity - and responsibility - to be there for every moment in our consumers' lives.

Joining Nestle means becoming part of an inclusive workplace that inspires innovation, encourages strategic thinking and creativity, and celebrates your achievements. No matter where you work within the organization, you are empowered to challenge the status quo, embrace risk-taking, and pioneer new ideas. Our supportive and collaborative environment encourages bold ambitions and continuous learning so that everyone can grow and thrive.

This position is not eligible for Visa Sponsorship.

Main Purpose of Job

Lead the development, deployment, and continuous refinement of category strategies that drive growth, elevate customer centricity, and champion a "Category First" mindset across the business. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to create a compelling Category Vision and Strategy, support commercial action plans, and deliver actionable insights from retailer, market, and consumer data.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy Development & Leadership

• Develop, maintain, and deploy a rolling 3-year category strategic vision and influence division's Market Business Strategy (MBS) and commercial objectives to align with category growth dynamics
• Lead the creation of Category Strategies at national, channel, and customer levels, integrating internal and external trend analysis, shopper insights, and analytics
• Champion a "Category First" approach, guiding the organization in understanding category dynamics, competitive landscapes, and growth opportunities.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Sales, Insights, and Commercial Development teams to build and deploy innovation pipelines that support category growth.
• Act as a strong change leader to drive adoption of strategic direction for the division.

Insights & Analysis

• Review trends, marketplace assessments, category, consumer and shopper analysis to produce situation assessments with key learnings, implications, and recommendations.
• Leverage shopper insights, retailer feedback, and best practices to inform strategic direction and optimize the 4Ps (Product, Placement, Promotion, Pricing) across shopper touchpoints both online and in-store.
• Deliver compelling presentations that clearly communicate opportunities, issues, and the "so what" across the 4Ps.

Commercial Strategy Activation

• Partner with cross-functional teams (Marketing, Sales, Insights, Commercial Development) to ensure alignment and execution of category strategies.
• Provide consulting support & tools to enable Commercial Development and Field Category teams to effectively translate category strategy into retailer-specific execution plans
• Drive insight-led commercial action plans aligned to category growth across the 4Ps through shopper insights and analysis
• Lead development of key selling strategies and foster collaborative relationships with customer teams.
• Spearhead merchandising and assortment strategies to grow the category and optimize shopability (e.g., planograms, SKU prioritization, share of shelf) both in-store and online.
• Partner with Strategic Pricing to develop actionable pricing insights and capture profitable growth across channels.

Key Experiences & Requirements

• 5+ years' experience in Sales, Sales Planning, Marketing, Category Management, or Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG).
• Bachelor's degree (business-related preferred); advanced degree a plus
• Proven experience in business strategy development, creating and presenting roadmaps at national, channel, and customer levels.
• Strong analytical and business acumen, with the ability to use data and insights to build compelling sales stories and understand customer needs.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate and develop people, and to lead cross-functional teams.
• Working knowledge of channels of trade, customer base, and operating models across key classes of trade and formats.
• Proficiency in business-driving technology solutions (e.g., Circana, IRI, Nielsen, Numerator, BW, Sharpr) and leveraging industry insights and trends.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Knowledge of interrelationship of key functions and their key initiatives (Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, Supply Chain, Technical, IS/IT).

It is our business imperative to remain a very inclusive workplace.

To our veterans and separated service members, you're at the forefront of our minds as we recruit top talent to join Nestle. The skills you've gained while serving our country, such as flexibility, agility, and leadership, are much like the skills that will make you successful in this role. In addition, with our commitment to an inclusive work environment, we recognize the exceptional engagement and innovation displayed by individuals with disabilities. Nestle seeks such skilled and qualified individuals to share our mission where you'll join a cohort of others who have chosen to call Nestle home.

The Nestle Companies are equal employment opportunity employers. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Prior to the next step in the recruiting process, we welcome you to inform us confidentially if you may require any special accommodations in order to participate fully in our recruitment experience. Contact us at accommodations@nestle.com or please dial 711 and provide this number to the operator: 1-800-321-6467.

This position is not eligible for Visa Sponsorship.

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Job Requisition:378058