Associate Manager, Portfolio Strategy and Planning -Yogurt

Lactalis American Group; Minnetonka (MN); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive Total Rewards Program

Insurance cost support

Generous retirement contributions

Education Reimbursement

Job summary

Lactalis American Group, located in Minnetonka, is seeking an Associate Manager for Portfolio Strategy & Planning. This position involves the strategic development and execution of initiatives across retail channels, focusing on the commercialization of Oui and Brown Cow products.

The ideal candidate will have substantial experience in CPG Sales or Brand Marketing and will work closely with various internal teams to drive insights and improve performance analytics. A Bachelor's degree and advanced Excel/PowerPoint skills are required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of CPG Sales or Brand Marketing required.
• Category Strategy, Sales Strategy & Planning and/or Trade Marketing experience a plus.
• Proven experience with syndicated data and decision data/tools.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development of the Lactalis Yogurt Sales Strategy.
• Manage Innovation Plan and ensure critical sales deadlines are met.
• Utilize category management skills to develop presentations.

Skills

CPG Sales

Brand Marketing

Category Strategy

Sales Strategy

Trade Marketing

Advanced Excel

Advanced PowerPoint

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

IRI/Circana

AC Nielsen

Numerator

Job description

Description

Looking for a job that can grow into a lifelong career? At Lactalis USA, we believe in promoting from within and giving our employees meaningful opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Whether you’re just starting out or bringing years of experience, we’ll provide the tools and support you need to succeed.

Lactalis is the world leader in dairy—a family-owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Every day, we’re proud to produce award-winning dairy products that bring people together every day.

In the US, we offer an unrivaled house of beloved brands, including Galbani® Italian cheeses and ricotta, Président® specialty cheeses and butters, Kraft® natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone’s® cottage cheese, Cracker Barrel®, Black Diamond® cheddar, and Parmalat® milk. Our yogurt portfolio includes siggi’s®, Stonyfield Organic®, Brown Cow™, Oui®, Yoplait®, Go-Gurt®, :ratio®, Green Mountain Creamery®, and Mountain High®, along with sour cream and a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun®, Gopi®, and Arz®.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values—Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We’re building a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone’s unique background and ideas are valued.

From your PASSION to ours

The Associate Manager, Portfolio Strategy & Planning Manager will contribute to the strategic development, storytelling, commercialization and execution of retail initiatives across retail channels. This role will be the go-to headquarter partner for the Field Sales team – collaborating throughout the selling process to deliver the strongest, insight-driven narratives while working internally with Brand Marketing, Supply Chain, Operations, Trade Planning and Finance to ensure optimal execution of priorities. This role will specifically be responsible for the commercialization of Oui and Brown Cow products, sales strategy and performance analytics. The Associate Manager, Portfolio Strategy & Planning reports to the Senior Manager, Portfolio Strategy & Planning.

Requirements

Key responsibilities for this position include:

Strategic Thought Leadership

• Contribute to the development of the Lactalis Yogurt Sales Strategy, utilizing point of sale data, shopper insights and trends. Partnerwith the Field Sales team to tailor strategy across customers – prioritizing innovation based on assortment gaps, regional trends, and internal capabilities.
• Manage Innovation Plan, working collaboratively with Marketing to ensure the right innovation is developed and shepherded through the commercialization process. Ensure critical sales deadlines are met without sacrificing the quality of the proposition.
• Utilize category management skills to develop fact-based sales presentations employing brand research to include customer and consumer syndicated data such as IRI/Circana, AC Nielsen, Numerator. Incorporate this information into on-going planning and decision making for focus brand(s).
• Collaborate with internal functions and customer teams to create innovative brand solutions to accelerate brand growth that address critical plan risks. Represent the voice of sales to the headquarter teams - ensure clear communication to the field sales team of changes in the plans and implications.
• Provide data-driven insights of brand(s) business trends, marketing strategies, competitive landscape, and regional/channel risks and opportunities; help develop the strategy that ties brand, category and customer plans together.

General Management & Executional Excellence

• Partner with Demand Planning and Brand Marketing to contribute to the forecasting process for Qui and Brown Cow. Coordinate the brand Risks & Opportunities, develop communication and action plan. Partner with the customer strategy team to ensure that accepted item volumes, reset timings, and promotions are all accurately reflected in monthly demand plan.
• Enable connectivity between field sales team and brand team, ensuring appropriate focus on priorities, adherence to brand guidelines and Topline partnership from concept to launch.
• Partner with Finance and Brand Marketing to develop project P&Ls; lead development and communication of recommendations based on financial analysis, project rationale and operational feasibility.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree

Experience

• 5+ years of CPG Sales or Brand Marketing required
• Category Strategy, Sales Strategy & Planning and/or Trade Marketing experience a plus

Certifications and specific knowledge

• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills required.
• Proven experience with syndicated data and decision data/tools such as IRI/Circana, AC Nielsen, Spectra, Numerator, Scintilla, HH Panel, SPINs, Symphony
• General knowledge of the Commercialization process.

#YOGURTIND

At Lactalis, we offer a comprehensive Total Rewards Program with a variety of affordable benefits and coverage options. We support insurance costs significantly, contribute generously to retirement plans, and offer Paid Time Off from day one. We are committed to your professional growth, providing training and development opportunities, including Education Reimbursement. Join us and grow your career.

Lactalis is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities.