Cooking Category Growth Lead – UAE

Arla Foods UAE, Oman & Qatar; Dubai; On-site; AED 420,000 - 640,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Professional development

Promotions from within

Collaborative culture

Job summary

Arla Foods UAE, Oman & Qatar seeks a Senior Category Development Manager – Cooking for UAE. You will lead the Cooking portfolio across channels, set the vision, and translate consumer and market insights into growth priorities that boost penetration and profitability.

You’ll collaborate with Sales, Customer Growth, NRM and Finance to strengthen Arla’s leadership while driving category health; 8+ years FMCG experience and a relevant degree are required.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of FMCG experience across Category Development, Marketing or Commercial roles.
• Degree in Business Administration, Marketing or Economics.
• Strong leadership, influencing capabilities and stakeholder alignment.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills.
• Analytical mindset, turning consumer and market insights into growth opportunities.
• Experience with NielsenIQ or shopper panels is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Set and lead the UAE Cooking portfolio strategy across channels and customers.
• Identify growth opportunities from consumer, shopper and market insights.
• Lead annual category planning and align with UAE market priorities.
• Shape channel, assortment, pricing, promotion and activation strategies.
• Lead innovation and NPD from ideation to launch.
• Own category performance with Finance and NRM, driving profitability.
• Collaborate with senior stakeholders to champion the growth agenda.
• Coach and raise capability across the business.

Skills

FMCG experience

Category development

Commercial strategy

Analytical thinking

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Education

Business Administration

Marketing

Economics

Tools

NielsenIQ

Shopper panels

Retail audit tools

Job description

Arla Foods UAE, Oman & Qatar seeks a Senior Category Development Manager – Cooking for UAE. You will lead the Cooking portfolio across channels, set the vision, and translate consumer and market insights into growth priorities that boost penetration and profitability.

You’ll collaborate with Sales, Customer Growth, NRM and Finance to strengthen Arla’s leadership while driving category health; 8+ years FMCG experience and a relevant degree are required.