Senior Category Development Manager

Ferrero International S.A.; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Ferrero Australia is seeking a Senior Category Development Manager to drive growth through shopper insights, analytics, and actionable plans across Confectionery, Spreads, and Biscuits. You’ll partner with Marketing, Commercial, and Retail teams to translate data into strategy that delivers value for consumers and retailers.

You will lead a small team, develop category frameworks, and shape assortment, pricing, and promotions to strengthen Ferrero's category leadership with key partners.

Qualifications

• University degree in Business, Marketing, Commerce, Economics, or related discipline.
• Significant experience in Category Management, Category Development, Trade Marketing, or related FMCG function.
• Demonstrated success using insights and analytics to shape business strategy and influence decisions.
• Strong commercial acumen, analytical capability, storytelling and presentation skills.
• Advanced stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration.
• Team leadership and talent development skills.
• Advanced MS Office skills and experience using consumer, shopper, and retail data sources.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of category, shopper, and market insights to support strategic decision-making.
• Leverage multiple data sources and research tools to identify growth opportunities and emerging trends.
• Deliver compelling analysis and recommendations that influence commercial strategy.
• Develop reporting frameworks and performance tracking to measure category and business performance.
• Develop and champion category growth frameworks across channels and categories.
• Translate consumer and shopper insights into actionable category strategies.
• Provide recommendations on assortment, pricing, space, visibility, and promotional effectiveness.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to build integrated annual plans and long-term growth initiatives.
• Partner with Marketing and Commercial teams to support innovation pipeline development.
• Provide category and shopper perspectives to help shape product launches and go-to-market strategies.
• Ensure innovation plans align with consumer needs, category opportunities, and retailer requirements.
• Act as a trusted category advisor to key retail partners.
• Support customer planning, category reviews, and joint business planning through evidence-based insights and recommendations.
• Strengthen Ferrero's reputation as a category leader through best-in-class category expertise and thought leadership.

Skills

Category management

Category development

Trade marketing

Data analytics

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

MS Office

Storytelling & presentation

Education

University degree in Business Marketing Commerce Economics

Tools

MS Office

Consumer/shopper data sources

Job description

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The Senior Category Development Manager is responsible for driving category growth through deep categories, channel, consumer and shopper understanding.Reporting to the Category & Trade Marketing Director, this role leads category strategy, insights, and planning initiatives that create value for consumers, customers, and Ferrero.

Working closely with cross-functional teams, the position translates insights into actionable growth plans while fostering strong partnerships with key retail customers. The role also plays an important part in shaping category strategies, influencing business decisions, and developing category capability across the organization. This is a great opportunity to join an expanding Category Development team with Ferrero Australia now present in multiple exciting categories across Confectionery, Spreads, Biscuit, Frozen Desserts & BFY (Better For You) Snacks.

Main Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of category, shopper, and market insights to support strategic decision-making
• Leverage multiple data sources and research tools to identify growth opportunities and emerging trends
• Deliver compelling analysis and recommendations that influence commercial strategy
• Develop reporting frameworks and performance tracking to measure category and business performance
• Develop and champion category growth frameworks across channels and categories
• Translate consumer and shopper insights into actionable category strategies
• Provide recommendations on assortment, pricing, space, visibility, and promotional effectiveness
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to build integrated annual plans and long-term growth initiatives
• Partner with Marketing and Commercial teams to support innovation pipeline development
• Provide category and shopper perspectives to help shape product launches and go-to-market strategies
• Ensure innovation plans align with consumer needs, category opportunities, and retailer requirements
• Act as a trusted category advisor to key retail partners
• Support customer planning, category reviews, and joint business planning through evidence-based insights and recommendations
• Strengthen Ferrero's reputation as a category leader through best-in-class category expertise and thought leadership

Lead, coach, and develop a team of category professionals. Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and high performance

• Strengthen category capability across the business through knowledge sharing, tools, and best practices

About You:

• University degree in Business, Marketing, Commerce, Economics, or a related discipline
• Significant experience in Category Management, Category Development, Trade Marketing, or a related FMCG commercial function
• Demonstrated success using insights and analytics to shape business strategy and influence decision-making
• Strong commercial acument and analytical capability, storytelling and presentation skills
• Advanced stakeholder management, influencing capability and cross-functional collaboration
• Strong project management, problem-solving and decision-making skills with ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Adaptability, resilience, and a continuous improvement mindset
• Team leadership and talent development skills
• Advanced MS Office skills, experience using consumer, shopper, and retail data sources

What We Offer:

Careers with caring built in - discover our benefits here .

About Ferrero:

Ferrero began its journey in the small town of Alba in Piedmont, Italy, in 1946. Today, it is one of the world's largest sweet-packaged food companies, with many iconic brands sold in countries all over the world. Find out more at ferrero.com.

DE&I at Ferrero:

Ferrero is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture in which all employees feel welcomed and appreciated and have the same opportunities. We believe all our people are equally talented in their own way. In nurturing the curiosity and natural abilities of our employees, we provide them, generation after generation, the means to succeed personally and professionally, enabling them to craft their journey at Ferrero. The diversity of our talents is what makes our work environment multicultural, innovative, and highly rewarding.
Find out more here.