Category Strategy Manager

Job Location: ​North Sydney​SydneyCompany descriptionFerrero is a family-owned company with a truly progressive and global outlook and iconic brands such as Nutella®, Tic Tac®, Ferrero Rocher®, Raffaello®, Kinder Bueno® and Kinder Surprise®. As the love for our brands continues to grow, so too does our global reach. Represented in more than 50 countries, with products sold in more than 170, the Ferrero Group is loved by generations around the world. The secret to our global success? 40,000 dedicated employees who celebrate care and quality to craft a business, careers and brands we are proud of. Join us, and you could be one of them.Diversity StatementFerrero is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture in which all employees feel welcomed and appreciated and have the same opportunities. We believe all of our people are equally talented in their own way. In nurturing the curiosity and natural abilities of our employees, we provide them, generation after generation, the means to succeed personally and professionally, enabling them to craft their journey at Ferrero. The diversity of our talents is what makes our work environment multicultural, innovative and highly rewarding.About the Role:The role is aimed to define and implement category strategies by channel for Impulse Confectionery (Chocolate and Mints) and leads category-centric thinking across the organisation to plan effectively and drive closer collaboration with retailers through category expertise, shopper & market insight and joint business planning ways of working.Main Responsibilities:Lead development of short, medium and long-term category strategies for the relevant channels, using shopper, consumer and channel insights, to effectively meet the needs of the consumer / shopper, Ferrero, and the key CustomersRecommend overall category and Ferrero growth opportunities by channel according to the 4 P’s (product range, price, promotion, placement) to ensure consistency with the trade and achievement of the priorities that best meet shopper / consumer needs and jointly achieve business results with Ferrero’s trading partnersTranslate insights and strategies into executional recommendations, including ideal range, location and space for products/segments on shelf, price & promotional strategy and visibility/activation initiatives, while influencing cross functional resources to project manage the initiatives internallyDrive “Perfect Store” initiatives (primary shelf, FOS, display) internally (including the field sales team) and with the retailer, with a focus on how Ferrero and the category appears for optimal shopping ease and conversionActively manage range reviews and customer planning sessions with major retailers to effectively engage on the short- and long-term opportunities for the category and FerreroAct as category/insight “consultant” to define key shopper and market insights needed and how to leverage into various plans and recommendations for the internal teams, and communicate to key retailers, providing insights and opportunities through strategic category/customer planning days, range reviews, key events planning and othersUtilise category and shopper insights to propose effective space management for categories by channelWork cross-functionally in key internal meetings to develop integrated planning and ensure a customer/ category focused agenda – including S&OP, NPD, Sales & Marketing, Session (field focus) meetingsSupport the commercial planning on the development of the promotional guidelines and advise on price changes (implications / modelling based on market insight with respective teams)Perform market analysis, monitor the performance of a specific categories to identify business opportunities and continuously evolve category development plansManage a direct report and guide the professional development to achieve target objectivesWho we are looking for:University degree8+ years of relevant experience in FMCG industry commercial roles, category management and retail is preferred, with good knowledge of trade, market, sales channel and marketingProven experience in category management strategy development, market analysis, category and promotional policies techniques, with the ability to draw actionable insights from dataStrong analytical capabilities, problem solving and result orientationAbility to communicate effectively across different teams and present complex information in a clear and concise manner to a range of stakeholdersMS Office proficiency, experience with market research tools, and other data analysis softwareHow to be successful in the role and at Ferrero:Consumers, quality and care are at the heart of everything we do. So, to be successful at Ferrero, you’ll need to be just as consumer and product centric as we are – dedicated to crafting brilliant results for consumers around the world.