Sr. Category Leadership Manager, Kroger

Kraft Heinz Company; Cincinnati (OH); Hybrid; USD 118,000 - 148,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Sr. Category Leadership Manager to drive strategic growth initiatives within a key customer team. This role involves leveraging analytical tools and category management principles to identify business opportunities and develop impactful recommendations. The ideal candidate will excel in storytelling with data, possess strong project management skills, and have a deep understanding of the CPG landscape. If you're passionate about driving category success and fostering team development, this position offers a dynamic environment with a hybrid work schedule and competitive compensation.

Benefits

Healthcare

Wellbeing Programs

Paid Time Off

Retirement Plans

Qualifications

• 3+ years in CPG industry, preferably in Category Leadership.
• Strong analytical skills to synthesize data into actionable insights.

Responsibilities

• Identify root causes of customer issues and opportunities.
• Develop impactful category recommendations supporting business initiatives.

Skills

Category Management

Analytical Skills

Project Management

Sales Knowledge

Communication Skills

Mentorship

Tools

Kroger Data Systems (84.51, On Demand, Circana)

Syndicated Data (Circana, Numerator)

Job description

Job Description

Here at Kraft Heinz, the Category Leadership Team is an essential partner to our customers and sales organization. We focus on transforming our categories' future faster and better than anyone else by being shopper-obsessed, fostering a high-performing culture, acting with integrity, and maintaining a growth mindset. We excel at the basics and love KHC and our customers.

The Sr. Category Leadership Manager, Kroger, reports to the Kroger Director of Category Leadership. As a top-focus customer team member, this role serves as a strategic category advisor to Kroger buyers, developing long-term growth strategies. It also involves facilitating prioritization of category topics with the KHC Kroger sales team and applying category management principles to identify business opportunities, including shelf, assortment, innovation, and aisle strategies using Kroger-specific data applications. Additionally, this position coordinates activities with the internal KHC Customer Business Development team.

The Sr. Category Leadership Advisor is an expert storyteller skilled in analytical tools, capable of synthesizing data and insights into compelling narratives, and can independently conduct category reviews and present findings to Buyers and senior management.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

1. Proactively identify root causes of customer issues and opportunities, delivering compelling stories to drive action.
2. Act as a strategic leader and a go-to team member, excelling at category fundamentals and fostering team development.
3. Analyze alternative courses of action using analytical and evaluative thinking skills.
4. Establish customer-specific category priorities aligned with goals and objectives.
5. Develop impactful category development recommendations supporting business initiatives.
6. Expertly use syndicated data, shopper card, and household panel data, especially Kroger systems like 84.51, On Demand, and Circana, to support business recommendations.
7. Educate and advise on category management best practices.
8. Represent the category leadership in strategic customer meetings, such as JVP meetings.

Experience & Skills Required

• 3+ years in the CPG industry, preferably in Category Leadership/Management.
• Knowledge of syndicated and panel data (Circana, Numerator).
• Expertise in Kroger data systems like 84.51, On Demand, and Circana.
• Project management experience with planning and execution skills.
• Strong industry and sales knowledge, particularly in category and space management.
• Excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience in mentorship and team development.

Work Environment & Schedule

This role is primarily in-office with a hybrid schedule (3 days in-office, 2 days remote). It requires a salaried, exempt schedule to meet customer and internal expectations.

Physical Requirements

• Willingness to travel up to 10% as needed.
• Operate a computer and view screens for approximately 100% of the workday.

This job description may be updated as duties evolve.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary range: $118,400 - $148,000. Position is eligible for performance bonuses. Benefits include healthcare, wellbeing programs, paid time off, and retirement plans, among others.

Location

Cincinnati Sales

Equal Opportunity Statement

Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We support diversity and inclusion for all protected classes. Applicants requiring accommodations should contact [e-mail].