Category Strategy Manager

**Auto req ID**: 285524BR
**Main Purpose**
Category leadership position with ownership for the PepsiCo Category Management Strategy, encompassing range review process, customer engagement agenda and Portfolio Strategy. Responsible for coaching and developing a team of seven people, elevating capability and thinking. Chair and process owner of the IBP portfolio alignment meeting, working with cross functional senior leaders to align to category/commercial plans.

**Key Accountabilities**
- ** Influencing the PepsiCo Commercial Category Strategy**
- Part of the Category Leadership Team informing and influencing overall business strategy including innovation strategy
- Having a Category first brand second mindset
- Working with the PepsiCo Shopper Insights Manager annually on the Category Growth Framework & every 3 years on the Category vision and SOTF.
- Create and drive the category customer engagement plan to enable PepsiCo to land category plans and meet AOP targets.
- Being the voice of the customer internally to ensure PepsiCo strategies are set up to deliver against the needs of retailers and channel requirements.
- Key support role as part of the annual brand planning cycle ensuring strategies and tactics are built into plan to enable PepsiCo to meet AOP targets and drive category growth.
- **Coaching and developing Category Management team**
- Day to day management of the team across 1.1s, team meetings, performance reviews and ensuring general wellbeing.
- Coaching and developing the team to improve functional capability and provide stretch opportunities for growth and motivation.
- Proactive career planning and development plans to ensure readiness for future roles and feed into people planning processes securing sufficiency of team for now and into the future.
- **Responsible for delivery of the full Category Review Campaign**.
- Work with cross functional teams and support CCMs to deliver the annual engagement plan across Insights, Innovation and Activation
- Ensuring the team plan and execute the full range review process from Objective planning à customer delivery and post on shelf tracking.
- Continue to evolve range review processes to ensure it is fit for purpose
- Continuous improvement cycle on customer delivery via tools such as Virtual Reality.
- **Working with the broader commercial function to deliver against the PepsiCo Business Plan.**
- Building relationships and influencing senior leaders across Sales and Marketing to align them to category recommendations and plans.
- Analysing current market dynamics to anticipate future threats and working with cross functional teams to mitigate risks, close gaps to AOP/JBP and influence future business strategy.
- Support the CCMs on Joint Business Planning processes and materials.
- **IBP lead: Portfolio Alignment Meeting**
- Chair for monthly Portfolio Management meeting, leading a cross functional team in aligning to PepsiCo portfolio strategy.
- Responsible for the full monthly cycle and all corresponding communications

**Qualifications/Requirements**:
**Qualifications, Skills & Experience**

Minimum 10+ years FMCG experience

**Qualifications**:

- Tertiary qualification in marketing / commerce economics / business: or equivalent

Essential Experience / Job Knowledge
- Functional expert in Category management with a minimum of 4 years in Category Management with a minimum of 2 years in a senior Category Management role.
- Has been responsible for leading and delivering end to end Range Review process with major customers and has full capability in utilizing space planning software.
- Analytical mindset, proficient in scan and panel software (IRI/Nielsen)
- Experience in leading, coaching and managing people.
- Experience in strategy development as well as execution
- Proven ability to develop good working relationships cross functionally both internally and externally.
- Ability to manage and influence senior leaders internally and externally
- Commercial account management experience including total P&L responsibility

Desirable Experience / Job Knowledge
- Experience in creating or refreshing processes.
- International FMCG experience in UK, Europe or USA (global catman leaders)

**Relocation Eligible**: Not Applicable

**Job Type**: Regular