Our Brands Category Strategy Manager II

Kroger; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Kroger is seeking a seasoned category leader for Our Brands to drive private label growth across assigned categories. You will lead cross-functional teams through business plans, product development, and category acceleration to deliver results.

You will articulate OB's vision and collaborate with merchandising, supply chain and innovation to ensure plans align with customer needs, regulatory requirements, and the corporate values of respect, integrity, and safety.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree business, marketing or comparable work experience.
• 4+ years of experience in retail, consumer packaged goods, sales and innovation.
• Experience in product development, sourcing, supplier negotiation, and project management.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage a large portfolio of categories.

Responsibilities

• Provide private label category financial performance insights and summary.
• Participate in category acceleration deep dives, leading stage gate presentations and action plan share out.
• Follow New Product Development process ensuring cross-functional briefings with project concept, rationale, attributes, financials and timing.
• Lead the commercialization of projects as identified in business plans.
• Drive growth by applying knowledge of competitive set, consumer trends and business needs.

Skills

Leadership

Collaboration

Strategic planning

Business analytics

Communication

Education

Bachelor's Degree in business/marketing or equivalent

Master's Degree

Job description

Act as the hub for all Our Brands business matters for the respective category. Efficiently lead cross-functional teams through business plans, product development and category acceleration deep dives to deliver results. Communicate our private label vision, goals, and budget, as well as how they align with overall category merchandiser strategies and the customer first promise. Exhibit category expertise in business financials, category insights and the retail marketplace. Demonstrate the company's core values of respect, honesty, integrity, diversity, inclusion and safety.

Responsibilities

• Provide private label category financial performance insights and summary
• Participate in category acceleration deep dives, leading stage gate presentations and action plan share out
• Follow Our Brands (OB) new product development process ensuring cross-functional team members are briefed with project concept + rationale, attributes, financials and detailed timing
• Prepare packaging design briefs for new product development; share out proposed designs
• Act as the OB subject matter expert for assigned categories
• Drive growth by applying knowledge of competitive set, consumer trends and business needs
• Partner with merchandising to build strategic plans to drive category growth and profitability
• Articulate respective business plans, OB's category role(s) and new product development plans to senior leadership
• Lead the commercialization of projects as identified in business plans
• Provide guidance on vendor selection, product segmentation, and sales planning
• Provide input to other OB functional teams, such as innovation and branding, to ensure respective plans support business needs
• Remain current with food, cultural and ethnic, category and product trends
• Participate in the sensory phase of product development and approve reformulations, packaging, sourcing, and specification changes
• Monitor and optimize retail execution, conduct post-launch analysis against OB initiatives and make recommendations
• Travel to divisions/store locations to support OB initiatives
• Follow established programs, policies, practices to produce safe, quality foods that meet regulatory and company requirements
• Accountable to the Kroger Manufacturing Food Safety and Quality Principles
• Must be able to perform the essential job functions of this position with or without reasonable accommodation

Qualifications

Minimum

• Bachelor's Degree business, marketing or comparable work experience
• Any experience in product development, new item marketing, sourcing, supplier negotiation, project management, strategy development, business planning, etc.
• 4+ years of experience in retail, consumer packaged goods, sales and innovation
• Excellent leadership/collaboration skills
• Ability to set priorities, delegate effectively/communicate responsibilities, and manage execution
• Ability to manage complex and/or large portfolio of categories with little supervision
• Highly motivated and self-directed
• Ability to function in a fast-paced, retail/office environment
• Ability to communicate and present to all levels of the organization
• Strong business analytical skills in sales, volume and profit forecasts
• Proven ability to make critical decisions
• Demonstrate initiative and willingness to take risks
• Master's Degree
• Any experience with the orchestration of commercialization plans for new product development pipelines
• Any experience with manufacturing operations and profit and loss
• Any experience in Our Brands, category management, operations or procurement