Sr. Manager Category Management, Kroger - Ohio

About the role: 

Our Grocery Category Development team is looking for a hard-working leader to join us as a Senior Category Manager to lead the Kroger team! The purpose of this role is to accelerate growth and elevate customer partnership by providing recommendations to Kroger through an insights-based approach.

Recommendations will be centered on category assessment, planogram assessment, assortment optimization, promotional planning and evaluation, shopper insights and loyalty card analytics and grounded in strategy and commercial viability.

Role Responsibilities:

Key Outputs/Results:

• Demonstrates outstanding skill in critical thinking and communication, as well as a high level of data analysis, problem solving and analytical reasoning.
• Lead and mentor the Kroger Cat Dev Team to elevate capabilities, unlock performance and drive growth
• Identify, commercialize, and effectively present standard methodology insights from industry trends, market landscape and consumer/shopper behavior that support category growth
• Ability to gather, synthesize, analyze, and present data from internal customer data, syndicated data, loyalty card data, and research to solve current business issues, define category and consumer trends, and identify business opportunities. This analysis will be translated into fact-based recommendations and customer presentations.
• Delivery of standard category management processes: shelf management, promotion planning/analysis, pricing analysis, and business development projects.
• Creation and maintenance of category scorecards with proactive recommendations on an ongoing basis.

Experience / skills required:

Experience/Skills:

• Minimum 5-10 years proven experience required, preferably Category Management experience in Consumer Packaged Goods or Beverage Category
• Strong technical experience with advanced software skills relevant to Category Management function and the customer -  this includes syndicated data systems (IRI, Nielsen, Spectra), internal Kroger data systems (Market6, Unify, Advanced Analytics in IRI Gateway), space planning software (JDA/Apollo) and Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) 
• Experience leading a team with direct reports preferred
• Previous customer interfacing roles required
• Skilled presentation skills to Senior Executives both internally and externally
• Highly motivated self-starter who possesses strong project management, time management, and interpersonal skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work across matrix organization both internally and at the customer.

Complexity of Role:

• This role will report into the Director of Category Development for Grocery.
• The role requires a significant level of teamwork and the ability to build positive relationships with the buying teams and provide fact-based category recommendations to the customer
• Has a solid understanding of the business, financials, products/services, markets, and the needs of customer; become recognized as an expert in the Spirits category
• Complexity is high and flexibility is critical in a multifaceted fast-paced environment (centralized/decentralized customer, very SKU intensive category)
• Deep understanding of category management practices and ways of working
• Position is based out of Cincinnati, OH office
• Post Covid, role will be hybrid with 3 days in the office and 2 days at home.
• Ability to travel 15-20%

Flexible Working Statement: 

Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you so that you’re supported to manage your wellb