Category Manager - Consumer Products

MRA-The Management Association; Rockford (IL); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits plan

401K with match

16-week Paid Parental Leave

14 paid holidays

Generous PTO

Job summary

Medela LLC in McHenry, IL is seeking a Category Manager who blends analytics, strategy, and retail execution to shape our consumer products portfolio. You’ll analyze consumer behavior, retailer performance, and market trends to uncover growth opportunities and inform launches, pricing, and channel strategy.

You’ll partner with Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Finance, and Supply Chain to develop category plans, build dashboards, and deliver data-driven recommendations that strengthen

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Finance, or a related field.
• 4+ years in Category Management, Category Strategy, Shopper Insights, Consumer Insights, Product Marketing, Commercial Excellence, or related function.
• Experience with consumer products in CPG, Consumer Durables, Juvenile Products, Consumer Healthcare, Housewares, Electronics, Sporting Goods, or medical devices sold through retail channels.
• Experience using syndicated market data such as Circana (IRI), NielsenIQ, GfK, Numerator, or similar.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to translate data into actionable recommendations.
• Experience supporting product launches, pricing strategies, assortment decisions, and retail channel planning.

Responsibilities

• Analyze consumer, shopper, customer, market, and channel data to identify trends, growth opportunities, and competitive insights.
• Translate data into actionable recommendations to improve category performance and growth.
• Support development of retail channel strategies by evaluating opportunities, shopper behavior, and competition.
• Help define go-to-market strategies for new launches, including channel prioritization and pricing recommendations.
• Analyze syndicated market data alongside internal performance to identify opportunities for growth.
• Monitor category performance and changing consumer purchasing behaviors to provide insights.
• Support pricing strategy through competitive analysis and market evaluation.
• Develop customer presentations communicating insights, trends, and growth opportunities.
• Research evolving consumer needs, retail trends, and competitive activity to identify opportunities.
• Recommend assortment and distribution strategies to improve availability and retail performance.
• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Finance, and Supply Chain on initiatives and launches.
• Build dashboards and reports communicating category health and performance.
• Support customer meetings with data-driven recommendations to strengthen retailer partnerships.

Skills

Analytical skills

Category management

Cross-functional work

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in business

Tools

Excel

Power BI

Tableau

Circana/IRI

Job description

Category Manager - Consumer Products

Medela LLC in McHenry, IL www.medela.com

Hybrid: Three days in our McHenry, IL office if local

Remote if located outside the state

Salary: starting at $100K plus bonus

Help Shape Medela's Future in Consumer Products

-Do you enjoy connecting the dots between consumer behavior, retail performance, and product strategy?

-Are you energized by using data to influence product launches, pricing strategies, and retail growth?

-Do you enjoy translating consumer and market insights into business decisions that make an impact?

-Are you passionate about uncovering market trends, solving business challenges, and using data to influence strategic decisions?

We're looking for a Category Manager who is passionate about consumer products and thrives at the intersection of analytics, strategy, and retail execution. In this role, you'll help shape the success of our consumer product portfolio by analyzing consumer behavior, market trends, retailer performance, and competitive activity to uncover opportunities that drive profitable growth.

Working closely with Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Finance, and Supply Chain, you'll play a key role in developing category strategies, supporting new product launches, optimizing pricing, and identifying the right retail channels to maximize product success.

If you're brilliant in translating consumer behavior, enjoy solving business challenges with data, and want your insights to influence real business decisions, we'd love to hear from you.

What You'll Do

As a Category Manager, you'll become a trusted business partner by delivering insights that will help shape the future of our consumer products.

As Our Category Manager, You'll:

• Analyze consumer, shopper, customer, market, and channel data to identify emerging trends, growth opportunities, and competitive insights.
• Translate data into actionable recommendations that improve category performance and drive business growth.
• Support the development of retail channel strategies by evaluating customer opportunities, shopper behavior, and competitive dynamics.
• Help define go-to-market strategies for new consumer product launches, including channel prioritization, pricing recommendations, and distribution opportunities.
• Analyze syndicated market data (Circana/IRI, NielsenIQ, GfK, Numerator, or similar) alongside internal business performance to identify opportunities for growth.
• Monitor category performance and changing consumer purchasing behaviors to provide actionable insights across the organization.
• Support pricing strategy through competitive analysis and market evaluation.
• Develop compelling customer presentations that communicate category insights, consumer trends, and growth opportunities.
• Research evolving consumer needs, retail trends, and competitive activity to identify new opportunities.
• Recommend assortment and distribution strategies that improve product availability and retail performance.
• Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Finance, and Supply Chain to support commercial initiatives and product launches.
• Build dashboards and reports that communicate category health and business performance.
• Support customer meetings with data-driven recommendations that strengthen retailer partnerships.

What You’ll Bring as Our Category Manager

We're looking for someone who combines strong analytical skills with a passion for consumer products and retail strategies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Finance, or a related field.
• 4+ years of experience in Category Management, Category Strategy, Shopper Insights, Consumer Insights, Product Marketing, Commercial Excellence, or a related commercial function.
• Experience working with consumer products in industries such as Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Consumer Durables, Juvenile Products, Consumer Healthcare, Housewares, Consumer Electronics, Sporting Goods, or medical devices sold through retail channels.
• Experience using syndicated market data such as Circana (IRI), NielsenIQ, GfK, Numerator, or similar.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to transform data into actionable business recommendations.
• Experience supporting product launches, pricing strategies, assortment decisions, and retail channel planning.
• Understanding of retail environments, consumer purchasing behavior, and category management principles.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint; experience with Power BI or Tableau is preferred.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• A collaborative, curious mindset with a passion for understanding consumers and growing brands.

Why Join Us?

• Comprehensive benefits plan
• 401K with match
• Money Purchase Plan
• 16-week Paid Parental Leave
• Generous PTO package, including 14 paid holidays
• A great place to work!

This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the growing consumer products business at Medela LLC. Your insights will help shape product launches, influence pricing and retail strategy, strengthen customer partnerships, and drive category growth across multiple channels.

If you're brilliant in analyzing consumer behavior, retail strategy, and using data to influence the success of products consumers use every day, we'd love to hear from you.

At Medela, we are guided by our mission to turn science into care to nurture health for generations in everything we do. Through advancing research, observing natural behavior, and listening to our customers, we have become the healthcare choice for more than 6 million hospitals and homes worldwide, and remain committed to supporting millions of moms, families, patients, and healthcare professionals around the world by developing pioneering innovations for better outcomes.

This is not a job description.

As an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sex, protected veteran status, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, HIV/AIDs status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity (transgender status), weight, height or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law or ordinance.