Senior Category Insights Analyst

your adv; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life

401(k) with Company Match

Training & Development

Paid Time Off

Career Growth

Job summary

The Company in Chicago is seeking a Senior Category Insights Analyst to partner with national clients and deliver actionable consumer, category, and marketplace insights that diagnose challenges and drive sales growth.

You will analyze multiple data sources, develop reporting solutions, and translate complex information into compelling business recommendations, mentoring junior analysts and supporting process improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree is required.
• Category Management certification is preferred.
• Experience with syndicated data and retail performance metrics is required.

Responsibilities

• Monitor business performance and identify key opportunities, risks, and trends.
• Deliver actionable insights that support sales strategies and improve market execution.
• Partner with Sales and Category Analytics & Insights teams to optimize business performance.
• Support development of retail trade and promotional pricing recommendations.
• Conduct pre- and post-promotion analysis to evaluate effectiveness and ROI.
• Provide insights that improve trade efficiency and promotional execution.
• Analyze syndicated, customer, shipment, and market data to support business reviews and category recommendations.
• Develop customer-specific selling stories and strategic presentations.
• Provide insights that support client growth and retailer engagement.
• Design, develop, and maintain both standardized and ad hoc reports.
• Identify reporting needs and deliver meaningful analyses using multiple data sources.
• Translate complex data into clear business implications and recommendations.
• Manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Coordinate timelines, monitor progress, and resolve issues to ensure successful project completion.
• Build strong relationships with clients, customers, and internal teams.
• Present insights and recommendations to support business decisions and strategic initiatives.
• Serve as a trusted advisor on category, consumer, and market trends.
• Support the development and implementation of reporting tools and analytical processes.
• Maintain data integrity and promote best practices in reporting and analytics.
• Mentor and provide project-based direction to junior analysts as needed.

Skills

Data storytelling

Strategic thinking

Communication

Multi-source analysis

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Category Management cert

Tools

NIQ

Circana

Power BI

Tableau

Looker

Excel

Alteryx

MS Access

Job description

Summary

Senior Category Insights Analyst

Position Summary

The Senior Category Insights Analyst serves as a strategic business partner to national clients generating $20M+ in retail sales within a designated regional market. This role is responsible for delivering actionable consumer, category, and marketplace insights that help diagnose business challenges, identify growth opportunities, and drive sales performance.

Working closely with Sales and Category Analytics & Insights teams, the Senior Analyst analyzes multiple data sources, develops reporting solutions, and translates complex information into compelling business recommendations. This individual serves as the subject matter expert in syndicated consumption data and supports both internal and external stakeholders with data-driven decision-making.

The role may also provide guidance and mentorship to Business Intelligence Analysts and contribute to process improvements, reporting enhancements, and data quality initiatives.

About Us

We are one of North America's leading sales and marketing agencies, providing outsourced sales, merchandising, category management, and marketing services for manufacturers, suppliers, and producers of consumer-packaged goods. We support a wide range of retail channels, including grocery, mass merchandise, specialty, convenience, drug, dollar, club, hardware, consumer electronics, and home improvement retailers.

Our mission is to bridge the gap between manufacturers and retailers by bringing the best products to consumers.

What We Offer

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance
• 401(k) with Company Match
• Training and Professional Development Opportunities
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Career Growth Opportunities

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Business Insights

• Monitor business performance and identify key opportunities, risks, and trends.
• Deliver actionable insights that support sales strategies and improve market execution.
• Partner with Sales and Category Analytics & Insights teams to optimize business performance.

Trade and Pricing Analysis

• Support development of retail trade and promotional pricing recommendations.
• Conduct pre- and post-promotion analysis to evaluate effectiveness and ROI.
• Provide insights that improve trade efficiency and promotional execution.

Business Reviews and Market Assessments

• Analyze syndicated, customer, shipment, and market data to support business reviews and category recommendations.
• Develop customer-specific selling stories and strategic presentations.
• Provide insights that support client growth and retailer engagement.

Reporting and Analytics

• Design, develop, and maintain both standardized and ad hoc reports.
• Identify reporting needs and deliver meaningful analyses using multiple data sources.
• Translate complex data into clear business implications and recommendations.

Project Management

• Manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Coordinate timelines, monitor progress, and resolve issues to ensure successful project completion.

Client and Stakeholder Partnership

• Build strong relationships with clients, customers, and internal teams.
• Present insights and recommendations to support business decisions and strategic initiatives.
• Serve as a trusted advisor on category, consumer, and market trends.

Data and Process Improvement

• Support the development and implementation of reporting tools and analytical processes.
• Maintain data integrity and promote best practices in reporting and analytics.
• Mentor and provide project-based direction to junior analysts as needed.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Category Management certification preferred.

Experience

• 3 to 5 years of experience in CPG, retail analytics, category management, or related fields.
• Experience working with syndicated data and retail performance metrics required.

Travel

• No regular travel required.

Required Skills and Knowledge

• Expertise in transforming data into actionable business insights.
• Strong experience with syndicated data platforms, including NIQ and Circana.
• Proficiency in data visualization and reporting tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or Looker.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and data analysis.
• Experience with database and analytics tools such as Alteryx or MS Access preferred.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to simplify complex analyses.
• Strong storytelling and influence skills, enabling recommendations that drive business results.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Leadership Responsibilities

Direct Reports: None

Indirect Leadership:

• May provide project guidance, mentorship, and analytical support to Business Intelligence Analysts and other team members.

#LI-DW1 #LI-Remote

Job Will Remain Open Until Filled

Responsibilities

The Company is one of North America’s leading sales and marketing agencies specializing in outsourced sales, merchandising, category management, and marketing services to manufacturers, suppliers, and producers of food products and consumer packaged goods. The Company services a variety of trade channels including grocery, mass merchandise, specialty, convenience, drug, dollar, club, hardware, consumer electronics, and home centers. We bridge the gap between manufacturers and retailers, providing consumers access to the best products available in the marketplace today.

• Associate Development: Provide coaching, training, and direction to associates to achieve professional objectives. Ensure project deliverables meet the quality standards of our partners.
• Client/Customer Management: Engage with assigned clients/customers and internal stakeholders to build strong, value added relationships. Leverages insights to provide recommendations that inform strategic direction enabling Advantage to be viewed as the “Trusted Advisor”. Utilizes syndicated, panel, client, and geodemographic data along with market research to proactively identify mutually beneficial, actionable, and quantifiable solutions.
• Thought Leadership: Identifies, develops, and presents insight-driven thought leadership to clients, customers, and internal stakeholders. Presentations will demonstrate both data and story-telling mastery and effectively integrate category, consumer, and shopper insights with a quantifiable action plan. Be a Strategic Thought Partner, driving insights to action through deep analytics of the category, macro-trends, competitive landscape, pricing, promotion, assortment, space management, and shopper trends.
• Peer Collaboration: Consult with cross-functional teams on the development of business-building strategies and tactics informed by demands of the everyday business.
• Strategic Collaboration: Establish trust and rapport with internal and external partners to accomplish business objectives through understanding of customer goals, strategies, and capabilities.

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, analytics, or related field required

Experience: 5-8+ years of experience in category management, shopper insights, business intelligence, strategy, or combination within the CPG, FMCG, retail, and/or consulting industries. 3+ years of people management experience leading teams of 5 or more members.

Professional Category Management Certification a plus (i.e. CMA, CKMG, TPG, Delta Associates, etc.)

Travel and/or Driving Requirements- Travel and Driving are not essential duties or functions of this job

Supervisor Responsibility

Direct Reports- Hires, retains, trains, coaches, guides, directs, and develops direct reports using company-wide processes, tools and resourcesIndirect Reports- May delegate work of others and provide guidance, direction and mentoring to indirect reports

Required Knowledge and Skills

• Strong leadership and team management skills – ability to lead, coach, mentor, and develop people
• Ability to collaborate with client, customer, and internal sales partners to influence business decisions with fact-based insights.
• Understanding and application of principles and practices of category leadership (assortment, pricing, promotion, shelving, and shopper)
• Communicate complex quantitative analysis in a clear, precise, and actionable manner / strong presentation skills
• Strong analytics, interpretive, & problem-solving skills – data into actionable insights

Environmental & Physical RequirementsOffice / Sedentary Requirements: Incumbent must be able to perform the essential functions of the job. Work is performed primarily in an office environment. Typically, requires the ability to sit for extended periods of time (66%+ each day), ability to hear telephone, ability to enter data on a computer and may require the ability to lift up to 10lbs.

Additional Information Regarding Job Duties and Job DescriptionsJob duties include additional responsibilities as assigned by one’s supervisor or other manager related to the position/department. This job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the position. The Company reserves the right at any time with or without notice to alter or change job responsibilities, reassign or transfer job positions, or assign additional job responsibilities, subject to applicable law. The Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable a qualified applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, and enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by law.

Important Information

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of associates so classified.

The Company is committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment practices without regard to age, race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, or any other category protected by law. As part of this commitment, the Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable an applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, and enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by law.