Category Analyst

Acosta; Mississauga; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Category Analyst to deliver insights and shape category strategies. This role involves analyzing market opportunities and collaborating with teams to drive growth. The ideal candidate will have strong analytical skills and experience in category management, particularly in the Canadian consumer goods sector. You will be responsible for developing relationships, presenting findings, and utilizing various data sources to inform decisions. If you are passionate about data-driven insights and thrive in a collaborative environment, this position is for you.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in category management in Canadian consumer goods.
• Post-secondary education or equivalent work experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop effective relationships with account contacts for category management.
• Analyze data to create insights-driven analyses for category growth.
• Present market updates and insights to accelerate growth.

Skills

Presentation

Analytical

Communication

Problem Solving

Education

Business Diploma

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Nielsen

Planogram Management Software

Job description

Join to apply for the Category Analyst role at Acosta.

Get AI-powered advice on this job and more exclusive features.

Description

As a Category Analyst, you will deliver insightful and fact-based solutions to shape category strategies and identify opportunities, working collaboratively with cross-functional teams across the organization internally and externally.

Your role involves uncovering insights, market opportunities, and industry trends to support internal sales and client teams, accelerating both client and overall business growth. Additionally, you will handle analytical ad-hoc deep-dive requests, providing recommendations to grow categories and Acosta’s business. Part of your responsibilities will also include developing and analyzing planograms (POGs), offering recommendations, and providing space-related insights at both the account and market levels.

Core Values

• People Minded: Must show dignity and respect to all people.
• Integrity: Must exemplify the highest degree of ethical behavior.
• Results Oriented: Must show passion, pride, and commitment to succeed.
• Trust: Must be honest, sincere, and confident.
• Teamwork: Must build trusting relationships.
• Innovation: Must progress through a combination of creativity, common sense, and vision.
• Balance: Must maintain an optimistic attitude and keep perspective on what is important in life.

Responsibilities

1. Develop and cultivate effective relationships with assigned account contacts that establish Acosta as the indispensable partner for category management needs.
2. Support internal sales and external client teams with fact-based insights to achieve overall goals, strategies, and initiatives in identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the respective market and turn them into meaningful observations and solutions to drive category growth.
3. Analyze data and act as a category expert to create insights-driven analyses by working collaboratively with key internal stakeholders from Sales ensuring internal strategic alignment on category recommendations and objectives.
4. Lead analysis and leverage various data sources (ex. Nielsen Discover; Retailer data: Retail Link, LDIA, Dunnhumby, Circana, etc) to identify business opportunities, risks, and performance gaps (Ex. Distribution, assortment mix, incrementality, shelving, and placement).
5. Present internally and externally market updates, trends, insights, and sales opportunities to accelerate growth for clients, retailers, and Acosta using the 4 P’s.
6. Analyze, prepare, and present merchandising recommendations such as planograms to key internal and external partners.
7. Support shelf presentation, assortment decisions, and promotional planning/pricing analysis.
8. Assist with planogram delivery projects, including various reporting requirements in Excel.
9. Employ critical thinking and problem-solving skills to recognize and anticipate issues and opportunities, translating insights into retail actions.
10. Stay updated on developments and best practices in Category Management and pursue knowledge to improve capabilities.
11. Communicate confidently (orally and in writing) at all levels to convey clear messages.
12. Develop and maintain effective working relationships with team members, internal partners, customers, and others through strong interpersonal skills.
13. Utilize rigorous logic and methods to analyze root causes of problems.
14. Coordinate with relevant areas to resolve issues and develop processes to achieve shared goals.
15. Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Post-secondary education or equivalent work experience (Business Diploma or Bachelor's degree preferred).
• 3-5 years of experience in category management in Canadian consumer goods (CPG), preferably in the food industry.

Technical Proficiency

• High proficiency with Nielsen (Discover, Homescan) and retailer POS/Loyalty databases (e.g., Retail Link, Circana, LDIA, Dunnhumby, Toolbox).
• Experience with planogram management software (JDA/Blue Yonder Space Planning) is an asset.
• Advanced knowledge and use of Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Skills and Abilities

• Strong presentation skills, capable of effectively presenting findings to audiences of various sizes.
• Ability to communicate clearly and adaptively.
• High-level analytical capability to interpret data into actionable insights.
• Ability to prioritize and adapt in a fast-paced environment.
• Drive to meet stakeholder expectations.
• Experience working independently and in teams.
• Problem-solving with a positive attitude.
• Solid knowledge of current Internet, Intranet, Extranet, and client-server architectures, including SharePoint.

Competencies

• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Excellent presentation skills in English (French is a plus).
• Good analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Independent, dynamic, with strong teamwork skills.
• Excellent time management and prioritization skills.
• Ability to work in a constantly changing, fast-paced environment with a positive attitude.
• Aptitude for collaborative work across departments.
• Ability to build strong internal and external relationships.
• Skill in synthesizing data into compelling stories.

Additional Information

We are committed to providing accommodations for persons with disabilities. If needed, we will work with you to meet your needs, as required by law.

By applying, you agree to the Privacy Policy (US) and Privacy Policy (Canada).