Associate Category Manager
Location: MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada (On-site)
Industry: Food and Beverage Services
Work Arrangement: Onsite
The Category Management Manager role focuses on leveraging retailer sales, consumer, and shopper data to generate actionable insights that drive category growth and strengthen relationships with retail partners. The position works closely with Sales and Business Strategy teams to develop data-driven recommendations, support category leadership initiatives, and maximize business performance.
Key Responsibilities
- Build strong relationships with account managers and retail partners.
- Analyze beverage category performance and identify growth opportunities.
- Conduct advanced analyses using Nielsen, Homescan, Shopper Intelligence, JDA, IRI, LDIA, Circana, and other retailer databases.
- Identify performance gaps related to distribution, assortment, shelf space, merchandising, and product placement.
- Develop category reviews, trend analyses, and customized reports.
- Present market trends and 4P (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) analyses.
- Create merchandising and planogram recommendations to optimize category performance.
- Partner with internal Sales and Strategy teams to align recommendations.
- Present insights and category strategies to internal and external stakeholders.
- Translate complex data into actionable business recommendations.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Administration, or a related field.
- 3 to 5 years of category management experience, preferably within the food, beverage, or consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry.
- Strong expertise in Nielsen Discover and Homescan.
- Experience with retailer POS and loyalty databases such as IRI, LDIA, or Circana.
- Knowledge of JDA/Blue Yonder Space Planning is preferred.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
Key Skills
- Strong analytical and critical-thinking abilities.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong presentation skills in English and French.
- Ability to synthesize multiple data sources into compelling business stories.
- Problem-solving mindset with attention to detail.
- Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
- Effective project management, prioritization, and time management.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
Ideal Candidate Profile
Suitable candidates may currently hold titles such as:
- Category Manager
- Associate Category Manager
- Category Analyst
- Shopper Insights Manager
- Consumer Insights Analyst
- Trade Marketing Manager
- Retail Analytics Manager
- Category Development Manager
