Retail Category Leadership Manager

McCain Foods; Villeneuve-d'Ascq; On-site; EUR 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

McCain Alimentaire SAS in Villeneuve-dAscq, France, invites an experienced Retail Category Leadership Manager to shape and drive a European category vision. This strategic role interfaces with Marketing, Sales, Innovation, and local Category Management teams across Continental Europe.

You will translate consumer and shopper insights into category growth opportunities, align with local markets, and influence cross-functional partners to execute a shared agenda without direct line management.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of Category Management experience, preferably in FMCG.
• Experience with market data tools Circana/IRI, Kantar or GfK and BI platforms such as Power BI.

Responsibilities

• Shape the European category strategy: define vision, segmentation and growth priorities for Retail Continental Europe, aligning with Sales and Marketing Directors.
• Lead category strategy development for McCain and co-develop Pickers/Strong Roots agendas with International Snacking Category Manager.
• Turn insights into opportunities across countries and channels, informing assortment, innovation, promotion, merchandising and in-store activation.
• Translate priorities into actionable recommendations for local teams and channels.
• Build relationships with Category Managers, Sales, Key Accounts, Marketing, Innovation and global stakeholders to align priorities.
• Embed category insights into joint business plans with Key Account Managers and partnerships with European retailers.
• Collaborate with BI, Insights, Data & Digitization to translate data into clear actions.
• Represent Continental Europe in global category community and share best practices with GB and EMENA.
• Coach local Category Managers and foster a culture of knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.

Skills

Category mgmt

Strategic thinking

International experience

Analytical skills

Influence

Cross-functional collab

Communication skills

Digital curiosity

Tools

Power BI

Circana/IRI

Kantar

GfK

Job description

Position Title: Retail Category Leadership Manager

Position Type: Regular - Full-Time

Requisition ID: 45010

Retail Category Leadership Manager

Villeneuve d'Ascq, France

In every role, McCainers are ambitious, curious, and passionate about creating exceptional work experiences — together. With a customer-first mindset, we make doing business with McCain easy.

About The Role.

Are you passionate about category strategy, shopper insights and driving growth across diverse European markets? Do you enjoy connecting the dots between strategy and execution, influencing stakeholders and turning complex market insights into tangible business opportunities?

At McCain, we are looking for a Retail Category Leadership Manager to shape and drive our category leadership agenda across our key European Retail markets.

This is a newly created role with a unique opportunity to build a European category vision from the ground up. Working at the intersection of Marketing, Sales, Innovation and local Category Management teams, you will translate consumer and shopper insights, market dynamics and brand strategies into actionable category growth opportunities for our retail business.

You will lead category strategy for McCain and co-develop the category strategies for Pickers and Strong Roots in partnership with our International Snacking Category Manager. Across Continental Europe, you will turn market and shopper insights into growth opportunities, balancing a consistent regional vision with the specific needs of local markets

This is a strategic leadership role with a strong hands-on dimension. You will not have direct reports, but you will play a pivotal role in aligning and influencing a network of local Category Managers, building strong cross-functional partnerships and ensuring that our European category vision translates into meaningful local execution.

If you combine strategic thinking, strong category expertise and the ability to bring people together around a shared ambition, this is an opportunity to make a lasting impact on McCain's Retail business across Europe.

What you'll be doing.

• Shape the European category strategy: Define and drive the category vision, segmentation and growth priorities for Retail Continental Europe, working closely with the Sales and Marketing Directors and aligning with McCain's long-term strategy and commercial objectives.
• Build category strategies across our brand portfolio: Lead category strategy development for McCain and co-develop the Pickers and Strong Roots category agenda in close partnership with our International Snacking Category Manager, connecting European market realities with global category perspectives.
• Turn insights into business opportunities: Leverage shopper, consumer, market and competitive insights to identify category growth opportunities across countries and channels, using data to inform decisions on assortment, innovation, promotion, merchandising and in-store activation.
• Bridge strategy and execution: Translate European category priorities into clear, actionable recommendations that local teams can implement, ensuring that category strategies are relevant to individual markets, customers and retail channels.
• Connect and influence across Europe: Build strong relationships with local Category Managers, Sales teams, Key Account Managers, Marketing, Innovation and global stakeholders to align priorities, share best practices and drive a consistent category agenda without direct line management authority.
• Strengthen customer partnerships: Partner with Key Account Managers to embed category insights into joint business plans and develop category-led partnerships with European retail customers and buying alliances, creating value for McCain, our customers and consumers.
• Champion data-driven decision-making: Work closely with Business Intelligence, Insights, Data & Digitization teams to maximise the value of market research and analytics, translating complex data into compelling recommendations and clear business actions.
• Represent Continental Europe within McCain's global category community: Connect with global and regional teams, particularly GB and wider EMENA, to exchange best practices, influence strategic discussions and bring relevant global insights into the European category agenda.
• Build a shared category leadership culture: Coach and support the local Category Manager community, encouraging intellectual curiosity, constructive challenge, knowledge sharing and continuous improvement across markets.

What you'll need to be successful.

• Category management expertise: At least 8 years of experience in Category Management, preferably within FMCG, with a proven track record of developing and implementing category strategies that deliver measurable business results.
• Strategic and operational thinking: The ability to build a long-term category vision while remaining close to execution, translating strategic priorities into practical recommendations that local teams can activate.
• International and multicultural experience: Experience working across multiple markets, countries or international organisations, with the ability to understand different market dynamics, recognise common opportunities and adapt strategies to local realities.
• Strong commercial and analytical capabilities: A solid understanding of retail category performance drivers, including distribution, volume, promotional performance, rotation, in-store visibility and competitive dynamics. Experience with market data tools such as Circana/IRI, Kantar or GfK, as well as BI platforms such as Power BI, is highly valued.
• Influence without authority: Demonstrated ability to align stakeholders, build trust, challenge constructively and bring people together around shared priorities, particularly in matrix organisations without direct line management responsibility.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Experience partnering effectively with Sales, Marketing and other business functions, balancing different perspectives and turning shared ambitions into concrete outcomes.
• Brand and portfolio understanding: Experience working across multiple brands or product categories is an advantage, particularly where category growth requires balancing shared strategic priorities with distinct brand positioning.
• Digital and AI curiosity: An open, proactive mindset towards digital tools and AI-enabled solutions, with a willingness to explore how new technologies can improve analysis, collaboration and ways of working.
• Excellent communication skills: The ability to simplify complex information, build compelling business recommendations and influence stakeholders at different organisational levels.
• Languages: Fluent English is essential for effective collaboration across our international organisation. French, Spanish or Italian would be an additional asset.
• Mobility: Willingness to travel across Continental Europe, with travel expected to average approximately one trip per month or every two months once established in the role, depending on business needs.

About The Team.

You will join McCain's Retail Continental Europe Marketing team, reporting to the Marketing Director, Retail Continental Europe, and working in close partnership with the Sales Director and the wider regional leadership team.

This role has been created to strengthen category leadership at the European level and establish a stronger connection between Marketing, Sales, Innovation, global category strategies and local market execution.

You will work alongside the central Retail Marketing team, including colleagues responsible for brand marketing and media, while partnering closely with the local Category Managers embedded within country Sales teams. You will also collaborate with Key Account Managers, the International Snacking Category Manager, Innovation, Business Intelligence and global category communities.

Your mission is to bring these different perspectives together and create a shared European category agenda that delivers both strategic direction and practical value for local teams.

With no direct reports, your impact will come from your expertise, credibility, relationships and ability to influence. You will have the opportunity to shape how category leadership works across Continental Europe, identify common ground between diverse markets and establish a strong foundation for sustainable category growth.

Based at McCain's EMENA headquarters in Villeneuve d'Ascq, France, you will combine regional strategic ownership with regular collaboration across our European markets.

About McCain.

Leadership principles.

At McCain, our leadership principles guide how we engage with customers, collaborate as a team, and achieve success. We focus on understanding customer needs, driving innovation, empowering people, and taking ownership to clear obstacles and deliver results.

For This Role, Two Principles Are Particularly Important

We think big and plan ahead.

You will build a category vision for Continental Europe, anticipate market and shopper trends, challenge established thinking and turn ambitious growth opportunities into clear strategic priorities.

We bring out the best in our people.

You will build trust, encourage constructive debate, share expertise and empower local Category Managers to contribute to a common ambition — creating alignment and impact without relying on formal authority.

Alongside these, being customer obsessed and acting like an owner will be essential to delivering meaningful results for McCain, our retail partners and consumers.

AI & Digital Capabilities.

At McCain, AI and digital capabilities are part of how we work and innovate. We value curiosity toward emerging technologies and the thoughtful, responsible use of AI-enabled tools to improve outcomes as part of our future-ready culture.

In this role, you will use your analytical mindset and digital curiosity to make better use of market intelligence, shopper insights and data analytics. You will be encouraged to explore how digital and AI-enabled tools can strengthen decision-making, simplify ways of working and help translate insights into actionable category strategies.

The McCain experience.

We are McCain. This statement is a testament to our collective strength and our individual value. Your contributions play a vital role in our success. Our winning culture is rooted in authenticity and trust, empowering us to bring out the best in one another. Here, you'll find opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Join us and experience why we're better together.

McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family-owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions.

Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with McCain’s Global Privacy Policy and Global Employee Privacy Policy, as applicable. McCain leverages AI in the hiring process, though all final decisions are made by humans. You can understand our approach to AI and how your personal information is being handled here.

Job Family: Marketing

Division: Continental Europe

Department: Marketing Retail CE

Location(s): FR - France : Nord : Villeneuve-d'Ascq

Company: McCain Alimentaire SAS