Director, Category Strategy & Sales Ops

HARIBO of America, Inc.; Rosemont (IL); On-site; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

HARIBO of America, Inc. in Rosemont, IL is seeking a Director - Category Management & Category Strategy to lead category growth, generate shopper insights, and build a high-accountability team across sales and brokers.

The role requires 10+ years in CPG with 5+ years in category management, a Bachelor’s degree, and proven people leadership. Travel up to 20% nationwide is required; not a procurement/buyer position.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10+ years of experience in the CPG / Consumer Packaged Goods industry.
• Must have prior experience specifically in Category Management roles – not procurement or buyer.
• Must have prior people management experience, coaching & developing direct reports.
• Must have prior experience in impulse CPG categories such as candy, confectionery, beverage, or salty snacks.
• Ability to travel up to 20% of the time, nation-wide, with overnight stays.

Responsibilities

• Develop category management strategies for channel and customer strategies across assortment, space, pricing, promotion, and execution to drive category growth.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Demand Planning to improve forecast accuracy.
• Coordinate Sales Planning routines, leadership meeting agendas, and material preparation.
• Ensure Sales organization has tools and technology, including data analytics platforms, to support planning and decision making.
• Align broker partners on category priorities and track results against objectives.
• Lead and develop Category Management, Sales Analytics, and Broker Management teams.
• Translate trends into practical recommendations for Sales leadership using syndicated data and customer information.

Skills

Category management

Sales analytics

Broker management

Advanced Excel

CRM systems

Data-driven decisions

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Tools

IRI

Circana

NielsenIQ/NIQ

SPINS

Numerator

Job description

HARIBO of America, Inc. in Rosemont, IL is seeking a Director - Category Management & Category Strategy to lead category growth, generate shopper insights, and build a high-accountability team across sales and brokers.

The role requires 10+ years in CPG with 5+ years in category management, a Bachelor’s degree, and proven people leadership. Travel up to 20% nationwide is required; not a procurement/buyer position.