Senior Director, Category Strategy & Growth

Colonial Group; Bedminster Township (NJ); On-site; USD 205,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision insurance

Life insurance

Disability protection

401(k) with company match

Paid parental leave

Pet insurance

Tuition assistance

Generous PTO

Job summary

Freshpet seeks a Senior Director of Category Development & Planning to shape long-term strategy across channels and product lines. You will lead category analytics, assortment, and retail activation while aligning with Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, and Executive Leadership.

The ideal candidate has enterprise consumer goods experience, can scale complex processes, and thrives in lean teams, with start-up or high-growth exposure and a bias toward action.

Qualifications

• 10-15+ years in consumer goods category management, with 5-7+ years owning P&Ls for top-tier retailers.
• Experience with large CPG companies; comfortable with structured planning and national leadership.
• Strong partnership with Sales and Finance to deliver joint plans and targets.
• Proven ability to influence retailers with financial insights and category storytelling.
• Experience in startups or high-growth environments; flexibility and hands-on leadership.

Responsibilities

• Define multi-year retailer category vision, growth roadmap, and competitive strategy.
• Lead analytics, assortment strategy, and retailer collaboration across channels.
• Develop category narratives, line reviews, and merchandising strategies for retailers.
• Own annual/quarterly sales planning and translate insights into targets and activation.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Finance to plan demand and S&OP processes, optimize tools.

Skills

Category management

P&L ownership

Retail partnerships

Data-driven decisions

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Tools

Nielsen/IRI analytics

Space planning/planograms

Retailer category platforms

Job description

Freshpet seeks a Senior Director of Category Development & Planning to shape long-term strategy across channels and product lines. You will lead category analytics, assortment, and retail activation while aligning with Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, and Executive Leadership.

The ideal candidate has enterprise consumer goods experience, can scale complex processes, and thrives in lean teams, with start-up or high-growth exposure and a bias toward action.