Manager, Category Marketing (Foodservice & Retail)

Further your career at Ball, a world leader in manufacturing sustainable aluminum packaging solutions. Achieve extraordinary things when you join our team, and make a difference in your professional development, the community, and around the globe!

Primary Purpose of this Position: 

The Category Marketing Manager is a key leadership role within the marketing department, responsible for developing and executing strategic marketing initiatives to drive business growth and achieve organizational objectives. This role involves creating and implementing innovative marketing strategies, leading cross-functional teams, analyzing market trends, building category plans and leveraging consumer insights to develop impactful campaigns. The Category Marketing Manager collaborates closely with senior leadership, innovation, commercial teams, external partners and customers to ensure alignment and successful execution of marketing initiatives. 

What will you be responsible for? 

• Develop comprehensive category/marketing strategies aligned with overall business objectives for specific categories or channels. 

• Work with the Insights team to conduct market research and analysis the information to identify market trends, competitor activities, and customer preferences. 

• Define Where To Play choices and develop strategies to effectively reach and engage them for specific categories or channels. 

• Identify new market opportunities and develop plans for market expansion for assigned products, channels and categories. 

• Build and maintain regional level category POV (market size, customer needs, trends, customer financial performance, etc.). 

• Build 'play to win strategies' for the region/ regional accounts within the categories. 

• Build in-depth understanding of key customers' strategies to leverage relative to our go-to-market approach. 

• Provide category opportunities to innovation pipeline. 

• Campaign Development and Execution: 

• Lead customer pitch for key opportunities and T2T engagements - Build 'perfect pitch' (customized to their strategies and stakeholders) for customers in category using a clear view of customer value proposition. 

• Work with Communication to develop integrated marketing campaigns across multiple channels (digital, traditional, social media, etc.). 

• Collaborate with creative agencies/teams to develop compelling messaging, content, and creative assets. 

• Manage marketing budgets and allocate resources effectively to maximize ROI. 

• Monitor performance and optimize strategies based on performance metrics and KPIs. 

• Team Leadership and Collaboration: 

• Participate in a global community of practice around marketing where appropriate mentor other professionals, providing guidance, and support. 

• Foster a collaborative and high-performance culture within the marketing team. 

• Work closely with cross-functional teams (strategy, commercial, innovation, finance, etc.) to ensure alignment and integration of marketing strategies with overall business goals. 

• Stakeholder Management: 

• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders and senior management. 

• Collaborate with external partners, agencies, vendors, and suppliers to support marketing initiatives and campaigns. 

• Measurement and Reporting: 

• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of marketing strategies and campaigns. 

• Conduct regular performance analysis and reporting to track progress against goals and objectives. 

• Provide insights and recommendations for continuous improvement and optimization of marketing efforts. 

What are we looking for? 

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration or Marketing with preference towards an advanced degree (MBA or higher) 

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in in strategic marketing roles, with a track record of developing and executing successful marketing strategies. 

• Data Analytics: Analytical ability and can interpret data and insights to drive decision-making. 

• Leadership: 

  • Excellent leadership and team management skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate team members. 

  • Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders. 

• Problem Solving: 

  • Creative thinking and problem-solving abili