Location(s):

United States of America

City/Cities:

Cincinnati

Travel Required:

00% - 25%

Relocation Provided:

No

Job Posting End Date:

January 6, 2025

Shift:

First Shift (United States of America)

Job Description Summary:

This role will be responsible for leading category management work supporting Kroger.  This individual will identify, articulate, and commercialize key category growth strategies and tactics via effective storytelling to maximize the retailers’ category growth potential while creating value for Coca-Cola.  Key deliverables include opportunity assessment, beverage strategy development as part of a category blueprint, shopper insights, and assortment recommendations.

Position Responsibilities

Makes strategic and tactical beverage recommendations by leveraging unique insights from POS, panel data, as well as other industry sources

Ensures alignment between retailer and Coca-Cola strategic priorities

Influences customer decision-making by building relationships with senior executives to collaboratively build strategies and tactics designed for future category growth

Stewards development & implementation of process for sharing best practices, as well as sharing specific retailer shopper and category insights within Coca-Cola to drive/shape future corporate strategy

Leads interaction with cross-functional leads to address key business questions and develop volume and revenue growth strategies that allow both companies to meet and exceed plan expectations

Ensures that category management tools, data, and shopper insights are effectively leveraged to grow distribution, space, and optimized assortment for all beverage categories

Creates and maintains partnership with Sales Leads to become indispensable category partners with retailers

Prepares and makes presentations, including market and industry trends, SWOT, competitive review, assortment, and category reviews

Collaborates with Shopper Insights and apply the learnings to identify customer & sales growth opportunities. Lead the delivery of the shopper insights facts & proposed action to the customer.

Collaborates with Space Strategy team members to develop plans for the placement of company’s products through recommended schematics and points of availability. Lead the delivery of space strategy plans & proposed action to the customer.

KEY FOCUS AREAS

Strategic Thinking and Strategy Development:

Develops and drives Coca-Cola strategic processes and plans

Partners in the development of annual business plan; drive category strategy and opportunities; ensure plan has a relevant category strategy which will win in the marketplace

Delivers impartial and objective total store and beverage solutions for the retailer through masterful storytelling providing differentiated, timely, relevant, and actionable insights

Provides leadership & continued stewardship for retailer’s beverage categories (Sparkling, Still and Warehouse)

Recommends space opportunities and risks for the beverage category

Partners with Sales Teams in development of retailer account plans and programs to drive Coca-Cola market share

Leads the annual customer category situation assessment process

Project Management:

Provides leadership to a team of experts (within the customer team) across cross-functional teams to create dialogue via fact-based insights and actionable business analytics

Develops and inspires a cross functional team towards building effective category growth recommendations focused on the customer’s needs and strategic priorities

Relationship Management:

Develops solid working relationships with key retailer category managers and Coca-Cola bottlers to drive NARTD beverages into all aspects of their shopper engagement strategy in-store

Cultivates relationships within retailer’s merchandising team and throughout the broader organization (i.e. retailer’s insights and analytics teams)

EDUCATION:  Minimum Required Bachelor’s Degree Preferred:  MBA or other graduate degree

EXPERIENCE

Minimum Required: 

5+ Years in CPG Industry

Senior level experience within the consumer goods/beverages industry

Strong knowledge of category management principles and analytic techniques

Preferred Level:

8+ Years in CPG Industry

Experience across multiple disciplines beyond category management (Shopper Insights, Revenue Growth Management, etc)

SKILLS

Advanced analytical capability

Experience leveraging customer specific data sources (84.51, Stratum, Market6)

Strong working knowledge of syndicated data (Nielsen, Circana, Numerator)

High technical skill and aptitude with computer software (MS Office, JDA, Power BI, etc.)

Ability to utilize/manipulate/manage large data sets

Demonstrated reputation for customer engagement with ability to positively drive business results

Ability to link category leadership strategies to customer strategies

Analytics experience – ability to draw insights and actions from data

Planning experience – strategic thinking, forward looking, inherent sense of urgency

Ability to translate analytics into actions and results

Proven oral and written communication, storytelling, and influencing skills

Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects and assignments

Insatiable curiosity, proactive engagement internally and externally, and willingness to respectfully challenge conventional thinking

Travel: 10-20%

Location: Cincinnati, OH

Skills:

Pay Range:

$153,000 - $175,000

Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.

Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:

30

Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class. When we collect your personal information as part of a job application or offer of employment, we do so in accordance with industry standards and best practices and in compliance with applicable privacy laws.