Group Category & Marketing Strategy Manager

HARMAN International; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

13th month salary

Commuter travel package

Environment allowance

Pension

Health insurance

Employee discounts

Job summary

HARMAN in Amsterdam seeks a Group Category & Marketing Strategy Manager to steer global category and marketing initiatives, aligning with enterprise goals and regional needs. You will partner with regional Sales and Marketing, BUs, GTM, and Product teams to translate insights into actionable plans and investments.

The role emphasizes strategic leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and delivering category growth across markets, with a hybrid work arrangement and a competitive package.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership in global marketing strategy or category management.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking with the ability to synthesize complex data into actionable insights.
• Demonstrated success in cross-functional collaboration and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Experience influencing multiple teams and driving performance across diverse markets.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; ability to translate strategy into compelling narratives.

Responsibilities

• Develop global category and portfolio strategies with growth opportunities.
• Guide strategic planning cycles across categories, brands, and products.
• Lead creation of long-term category strategies adaptable to regional dynamics.
• Partner with regional sales and marketing to translate strategies into objectives.
• Collaborate with GTM and HTW to finalize strategy and pitches.
• Own measurement frameworks for targets and KPIs and optimize allocations.

Skills

Global marketing strategy

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytical thinking

Strategic storytelling

Executive communication

Job description

A Career at HARMAN

As a technology leader that is rapidly on the move, HARMAN is filled with people who are focused on making life better. Innovation, inclusivity and teamwork are a part of our DNA. When you add that to the challenges we take on and solve together, you’ll discover that at HARMAN you can grow, make a difference and be proud of the work you do every day.

Do you want to work for some of the world’s leading audio brands? Become a part of the HARMAN team and get to work for JBL and Harman/Kardon.

By joining HARMAN, you’ll dive headfirst into the exciting world of headphones, portable speakers, party boxes and other audio technologies, and contribute to the success of Harman Lifestyle EMEA business. The consumer audio industry is fast paced, fun and dynamic and we’re looking for someone who is proactive, loves to work with a lot of different stakeholders from all over the globe and has creative ideas.

You will join our Group Category & Marketing Strategy department in Amsterdam in the position of:

Group Category & Marketing Strategy Manager

About the Role:

The Manager, Category & Marketing Strategy provides strategic leadership across multiple teams to drive long-term growth and category excellence. This role is accountable for developing global marketing and category strategies that align with enterprise objectives, while ensuring regional relevance and commercial impact. The Manager partners closely with regional Sales and Marketing leaders, Business Units (BUs), Go-to-Market (GTM), and Product teams to translate strategic insights into actionable plans, frameworks, and investments.

What You Will Do:

Strategic Leadership & Planning

• Develop global category and portfolio strategies, identifying “big bet” growth opportunities through robust segmentation, market analysis, and strategic frameworks.
• Guide strategic planning cycles, recommending targets, KPIs, brand roles, and budget allocations across categories, brands, and products.
• Lead the creation of long-term category strategies that are adaptable to regional market dynamics and consumer needs.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Act as a trusted business partner to regional Sales and Marketing teams, integrating commercial strategies and market insights into a coherent global marketing strategy.
• Ensure alignment between regional and global marketing strategies and their connection to Harman’s enterprise strategy.
• Partner with regional marketing teams to translate global strategies into qualitative and quantitative objectives and initiatives.

Category Strategy Development

• Support analyzing and drive distilling the market forces that are impacting the category today and tomorrow
• Identify opportunities that will grow the category or enable growth in the category and manage category development through tools, processes, and templates Assess the attractiveness and attainability of category growth opportunities and feed category growth story and growth opportunities into the BU roadmap.
• Own creation of opportunity blueprint required to realize the opportunity across the marketing mix, informing Category Strategy and HTW strategy.
• Collaborate with brand teams on strategic initiatives by informing about market enablers and barriers and competitive forces and brand growth plan and campaigns.
• Collaborate with regional category & marketing planning to tailor category strategies to local market conditions and ensure fit-for-purpose execution.

Go-to-Market Involvement

• Represent Marketing in the GTM triangle in early phases of GTM process
• Support HTW draft with category and consumer insights
• Collaborate with GTM team on finalizing HTW strategy and product and pitch deck

Investment & Resource Optimization

• Design and implement a recommendation framework for global targets and KPIs based on market attractiveness and cost of playing.
• Co-manage regional marketing investment balance with regional leaders to optimize long-term success.
• Enable regional GMs and marketing leads to prioritize key business challenges and opportunities, driving efficient resource allocation.

Marketing Planning & Execution

• Contribute to annual marketing planning cycles, ensuring strategies are fact-based, investment-optimized, and aligned across global and regional teams.
• Ensure consistent execution and integration of category and portfolio strategies across all touchpoints

What You Need to Be Succesful:

• Proven leadership experience in global marketing strategy, category management, or portfolio strategy roles.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to synthesize complex data into actionable insights.
• Demonstrated success in cross-functional collaboration and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Experience influencing multiple teams and driving performance across diverse markets.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; ability to translate strategy into compelling narratives.

Bonus Points if You Have:

• Leadership experience in B2B2C or premium brand environments, especially in tech industry / consumer electronics.
• Demonstrated success in leading teams through cultural integration in fast-changing business environments.
• Known for introducing structured frameworks or innovative approaches to resolve entrenched challenges and unlock enterprise value.

What Makes You Eligible:

• Due to the nature of global infrastructure, you understand that flexibility in working hours is required.
• This role is eligible to work remotely.

What We Offer:

• A flexible work schedule where you will be able to work from home up to 40% and the remaining days in a fantastic new office at Houthavens, Amsterdam.
• You are going to work in an international team within a friendly global working atmosphere.
• HARMAN offers a diverse and inclusive work environment that fosters and encourages career development opportunities, professional training and competitive market base compensation plus a 13th month salary, 28 holidays per year.
• You will also receive a highly valued commuter travel package, a EUR 100,- environment allowance when commuting via public transport or bike. Additionally, we provide an interesting collective health insurance scheme, pension and top-notch employee discounts on world class HARMAN/Samsung products (JBL, HARMAN Kardon, AKG etc.)
• Professional development opportunities through HARMAN University’s business and leadership academies.
• Internal talent management leadership acceleration programs.
• “Be Brilliant” employee recognition and rewards program.
• A unique opportunity to contribute to drive revenue growth and nurture strategic trust-based relationships.

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HARMAN is proud to be an Equal Opportunity /