Director, Category Management & Insights bei Storck USA, L.P.

The Director, Category Management & Insights has a critical and highly visible leadership role within the Storck USA Business Activation Function. This leader will be responsible for driving and shaping the Category & Insights team agenda to ensure data-driven strategies and innovative, insight-based solutions that will drive incremental growth for our retail partners and internal Storck team.

This individual will lead a team of insights professionals to deliver best-in-class category leadership, shopper understanding, and support of Sales and Marketing plans for the company and our customers across the Storck portfolio of brands. The primary objectives of this role are to drive accelerated growth and elevate customer partnership through the development of actionable insights and analysis.

Managerial Responsibilities: This position has direct leadership responsibility for the US Category Management & Insights team supporting Storck USA. Management of talent could include Analyst, Senior Analyst, and/or Associate Manager level positions. The Manager is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of their areas. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the company’s policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include hiring, coaching, and directing employees; planning, assigning and directing work; yearly appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints, and resolving problems.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

Initiate, perform, and lead the team in providing business analyses, identify issues and opportunities, and make recommendations in collaboration with Sales, Marketing, Business Activation, and cross-functional partners. Responsibilities include:

Category Leadership & Insights Development

• Lead the creation of the “Picture of Success” for Storck brands across channels and customers 
• Develop insight-driven selling stories to drive category growth 
• Analyze macro category trends and consumer/shopper behavior to identify risks and opportunities
• Build frameworks to measure merchandising effectiveness, assortment, and shelf placement  

Customer & Commercial Support

• Support Sales teams in preparing line reviews, business reviews, and planning sessions with retail customers 
• Partner with Sales leadership to develop and execute Front-End strategy 
• Monitor customer and class-of-trade performance, making recommendations to improve sales and distribution

Strategic Planning & Execution 

• Define key category strategies and opportunities, ensuring execution and prioritization across channels and accounts
• Track progress of department initiatives and provide regular reporting to executive leadership 
• Develop and improve upon tools, reporting dashboards, etc. to enable data-driven decision making
• Stay current on industry trends, competitive landscape, and evolving shopper behaviors 

Communication & Leadership

• Present insights, recommendations, and selling stories to executive and cross-functional leadership 
• Act as an internal subject matter expert on category and insights, sharing knowledge cross-functionally
• Support the Sales team through direct engagement with key customers, while building relationships

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Fulfill Storck Company Values; Passion, Belonging, and Growth 
• Other duties as assigned

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strategic thinker with ability to connect insights to business strategies
• Ability to summarize data and develop concise reports that support storytelling and translate to sales results
• Strong presence with the ability to interact with and influence Senior Leadership
• Strong analytical skills with proven ability to manage large, complex data sets 
• Proficiency in either IRI, or Nielsen data and software
• Highly Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Power Point) and other presentation mediums 
• Excellent time management and organizational skills
• Strong teamwork, problem solving, and communication skills (written, verbal, interpersonal) 
• Energetic and action-oriented individual 

Education and Experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field, MBA preferred. 
• 7-10+ years of category management or customer/shopper marketing or Sales Strategy / Commercial Strategy experience required, preferably with a CPG/FMCG company.
• Prior people leadership experience, including multiple direct reports, required

Travel: 10-15%, including Domestic, and potentially International Travel

Working Conditions: Hybrid Work Model, including Monday and Friday Work from Home, and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday in normal working conditions for an office environment in downtown Chicago, IL.

Other Qualification, Safety Procedures: Must be willing to follow and comply with communicated Company, Travel, and Retailer safety procedures in order to attend meetings, travel domestically or internationally, comply with Retail Partner safety procedures, and/or follow other workplace health and safety requirements to fulfil job duties.

Additional Information: Storck USA is not currently hiring individuals for this position who now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status.

What We Offer: The salary range for this position is USD $170,000-$190,000 annually at the time of this posting. Pay is based on several factors, including but not limited to position offered, education, skills, work experience, and other factors permitted by law. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This position is also eligible for bonus pay. 

In addition to your salary, Storck offers a comprehensive total rewards package, including a 6% employer 401(k) plan contribution, Health benefits on day 1 including a 100% employer paid option for medical and dental, Hybrid flexible work schedule including reduced Friday hours all year round, Paid maternity/paternity leave, Monthly wellness stipend, and more. This position is also eligible for PTO ranging from 35-45 days based on our Company PTO Policies and paid Sabbaticals ranging from 5-20 days based on tenure. Plus, we can’t forget to mention the supply of delicious candy!!

Additional information regarding the benefits for this position can be found in the Benefits Summary that is available from our Human Resources Department.