Shopper Insights Manager

Smith Hanley Associates; New York (NY); On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Smith Hanley Associates is partnering with a leading consumer brand in New York to elevate its Category & Shopper Insights capability. This hands-on role combines data, storytelling and strategic guidance to shape decisions across Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain.

You’ll work with Circana, Numerator, Scintilla, Nielsen and advanced visualization tools to surface actionable insights, identify growth opportunities, and influence pricing, promotions and assortment strategies.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years in category management, shopper insights, or similar analytics roles.
• Ability to turn data into actionable stories and business recommendations.
• Experience with syndicated data and experience across consumer categories.

Responsibilities

• Dig into syndicated, panel and POS data to uncover drivers of performance.
• Work hands-on with Circana, Numerator, Scintilla and Nielsen platforms.
• Analyze pricing, promotion, assortment, distribution and shopper behavior.
• Turn complex datasets into clear, commercially relevant stories and recommendations.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing on category reviews and selling stories.
• Identify white-space opportunities and support innovation decisions.
• Build dashboards, scorecards and self-service tools for the organization.
• Help colleagues become smarter consumers of data and reduce ad-hoc requests.
• Experiment with AI, automation and new analytics tools to speed insights.

Skills

Syndicated data analysis

CPG insights

Commercial analytics

Storytelling with data

Communication to non-analytical

Tools

Circana

Numerator

Scintilla

Nielsen

Power BI

Tableau

Excel

Job description

Location: New York, New York (in office Tues-Thurs)

Compensation: $130-150k + bonus

This is one of those roles that is way bigger than the title suggests.

I'm partnering with an iconic consumer brand that is building out its Category & Shopper Insights capability, and they're looking for someone who wants more than a job pulling syndicated data and producing the same report every month.

This person will have the opportunity to help shape how an organization uses data and insights to make decisions.

You'll sit at the intersection of category, shopper, analytics and commercial strategy, working across Sales, Marketing, Finance, Innovation and Supply Chain to answer the questions that actually matter:

What's happening? Why is it happening? Where is the opportunity? And what should we do about it?

The company has the data. They're looking for someone who knows how to turn it into a story, a recommendation and ultimately action.

What You'll Do:

• Dig into syndicated, panel and POS data to uncover what's driving brand, category and customer performance
• Work hands-on with platforms like Circana, Numerator, Scintilla/Walmart and Nielsen
• Analyze pricing, promotion, assortment, distribution, shopper behavior, new item performance and competitive activity
• Turn complicated datasets into clear, commercially relevant stories and recommendations
• Partner with Sales and Marketing on customer-specific category reviews, business plans, line reviews and selling stories
• Identify white-space opportunities and provide the analytical foundation for innovation and growth decisions
• Build dashboards, scorecards and self-service tools that make insights more accessible across the organization
• Help colleagues become smarter consumers of data rather than simply answering every ad-hoc request
• Experiment with AI, automation and emerging analytics tools to find smarter and faster ways to get to insight
• Help build the playbook for a growing Category & Shopper Insights function rather than simply inheriting someone else's way of doing things

This role is intentionally hands-on. This isn't a position where you hand the analysis to someone else and wait for the PowerPoint. You'll get into the data, figure out what's really happening, develop the story and help the business decide what to do next.

Who We're Looking For

You probably have around 5-8 years of experience across category management, shopper insights, commercial analytics, CPG insights or a similar function.

More importantly, you know how to think with data, not just pull it.

You'll likely bring:

• Strong hands-on experience with syndicated/POS data such as Circana, Numerator, Scintilla or Nielsen
• A strong understanding of CPG and the retail environment
• Experience digging into the drivers behind performance, not simply reporting that something went up or down
• Strong commercial instincts and the ability to connect insights to growth, margin and business decisions
• Experience with Power BI, Tableau or similar visualization tools
• Advanced Excel skills
• The ability to turn a messy analytical problem into a clear, compelling story
• Confidence communicating your thinking to both analytical and non-analytical audiences
• Curiosity around AI, automation and how emerging tools can make an insights function better
• Bonus points for experience with pricing/promotion analytics, retailer-facing work, automated reporting or mentoring junior analysts.

Why This One Is Interesting

You're not walking into a giant, mature insights machine where your piece of the puzzle has already been decided for you.

You're joining a newly formed function with the opportunity to help define how insights are used across the organization.

You'll have visibility. You'll have autonomy. You'll work across the business. You'll get to experiment with new tools and AI. And you'll actually be able to see your recommendations translate into real decisions.

For someone who likes being both the analytical brain AND the person in the room explaining what it all means, this could be a really fun next move.