Director, Category Management

Overview

Are you a self-driven person looking to advance your career as a high-impact player on a team? If so, we have an exciting challenge for you and your future!

Our culture is built on value commitments to innovation, quality, results, integrity, community, people, and collaboration that fosters strong employee engagement, teamwork, safety and wellness. We offer a competitive benefits package that includes health, dental, vision, wellness programs, employee discounts, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, ongoing development, advancement opportunities and more.

Founded in 1846, HP Hood is one of the largest and most trusted food and beverage manufacturers in the United States. Our portfolio includes Hood, Heluva Good, Lactaid, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, Planet Oat and more.

• The Director Category Management is a strategic leadership role responsible for driving category vision, customer collaboration, and data-driven insights that unlock growth across multiple channels.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing to develop category strategies and tactics that maximize distribution, optimize assortment, enhance shopper engagement, and strengthen customer partnerships.
• Translate consumer, shopper, and market data into actionable growth strategies and execution plans with key customers.
• Lead the development and execution of category plans designed to win with customers, elevate brand success, and align internal and external partners around a unified vision.
• Provide expertise in CPG, retail dynamics, and cross-functional collaboration; oversee new item presentations, category business reviews, assortment strategies, shelving principles, and value-added customer touchpoints.

• Develop and implement category management strategies to maximize brand and segment growth across multiple categories.
• Identify market opportunities, consumer trends, and competitive threats to inform portfolio and innovation strategies.
• Partner with brand marketing, sales, and insights to build shopper-centric plans that drive category expansion.
• Lead development of category visions, shelving strategies, and assortment recommendations to drive category and brand growth.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Innovation on product development, pricing, and positioning.
• Serve as the lead strategic advisor for retail partners on category vision, shelving, assortment, and promotional strategies.
• Deliver compelling category growth stories using syndicated data, shopper insights and customer loyalty information.
• Build joint business plans with key retail partners to align brand priorities with customer/category strategies.

• Translate data into actionable insights that drive assortment, pricing, promotion, and shelving recommendations.
• Leverage space planning tools and shopper analytics to influence category resets and maximize brand visibility.
• Measure category and customer performance against KPIs, identifying opportunities to course-correct and optimize.

• Foster a high-performance culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement, including leading and developing a team of category managers.
• Champion a data-driven, shopper-first mindset across cross-functional teams with advanced analytics and digital tools.
• Foster collaboration with sales, marketing, trade, retail media and sales enablement for cohesive marketplace execution.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field required; MBA a plus.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in category management, trade marketing, sales or shopper insights within the CPG industry.
• Proven success in building category growth strategies and influencing retail partners.
• Expertise in syndicated data and shopper analytics.
• Strong leadership and people development skills with experience leading high-performing teams.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence senior-level stakeholders.
• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen and the ability to translate insights into action.

• Demonstrated success leading and developing…