Category Consultant - Strategic Channels - Mississauga

Job Location: Mississauga (Hybrid)

The Hershey Company:

Your career. Your ownership. Together, we’ll make more Moments of Goodness.

Hershey employees get to make real, impactful changes daily. We are looking for thinkers, leaders and challengers – people who initiate and make a true impact. Here at Hershey Canada, we strike the perfect balance between autonomy and support. Our managers are equipped to foster your career aspirations and empower your growth. With resources like e-learning, coaching, cross-functional projects, your personal and professional growth is paramount to the team. Hershey’s people-focused mindset is what makes our culture so sweet.

Major Canada brands include OH HENRY! HERSHEY’S KISSES, BROOKSIDE, POT OF GOLD, JOLLY RANCHER, REESE’S, TWIZZLERS, HERSHEY’S, SKOR, CHIPITS and ICEBREAKERS.

Hershey Canada is proud of our position as Forbes Canada’s Top Employer. We’ve been recognized as a Greater Toronto Top Employer’s for the 5th consecutive year. We’ve also been named as a Great Place to Work for 2024 - 2025!

At The Hershey Company, we're committed to making a difference in the communities where we live, work and do business. This commitment dates from the earliest years of our company and is a vital part both of our heritage and of who we are today.

About the Role:

As a member of Hershey’s Category Management and Shopper Evolution team, the Consultant is responsible for bringing the power of insight to the organization and external stakeholders in a meaningful and accessible way. The Consultant shapes future growth through analytics and an innovative approach to deeply understand shoppers, category performance, retailer dynamics, and broader macro trends. This knowledge and insight are leveraged to drive influence and solutions with internal and external stakeholders.

In this role you will partner with key stakeholders to provide thought leadership and subject matter expertise. You will be responsible for managing insights and data from multiple sources and evolving priorities to build efficient solutions and capabilities rooted in data-driven insights and shopper behavior. We are not looking for just a category manager, we are looking for a holistic insight professional.

You will work cross functionally with internal and external stakeholders to unlock category growth by retailer within your assigned portfolio. You will provide full category insights, planogram support, strategy recommendations, and in-depth understanding of the confectionary shopper to drive category leading growth. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Function as category/vendor advisor to and collaborate with large Canadian retailers to propel category growth
• Lead the development and assessment of Planograms across various store formats and sizes
• Deliver best-in-class insights and recommendations as an indispensable strategic partner to our stakeholders
• Execute solutions in-line with the short and long-term vision for Category Management & Shopper Evolution
• Develop actionable recommendations for key stakeholders. Present them with confidence in a clear, concise manner
• Leverage multiple data sources (including custom research, industry reports, loyalty data, Nielsen data, retailer POS, shopper data, etc.) to answer ad-hoc questions about category performance and shopper behavior
• Effectively communicate with all levels of the organization and retail partners
• Play a leadership role for external communication with a critical retail partners, providing ad hoc insights, reporting, strategy reviews, and Planogram support

Education, Experience and Skill Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree required in Business or closely related field; MBA is an asset. 
• A minimum four years’ experience of sales, category management, or business analysis, preferably in CPG

• Experience with Nielsen Discover and data analysis
• Experience with Shelf Management software (JDA ProSpace)
• Excellent presentation skills with experience presenting to internal stakeholders and retail partners
• Category management and/or previous vendor advisor experience is an asset
• Experience across multiple retail channels/classes of trade considered an asset

• Experience with Retailer Loyalty Systems (LDIA, Retail Link, Circana, Dunhumby, 1screen) considered an asset

• Experience with Business Intelligence Tools (Alteryx, Tableau and Power BI) considered an asset
• Previous Shopper Insights experience and tools (Shopper Intelligence, Numerator) considered an asset
• Experience collaborating with multiple stakeholders

• CMKG Certification is an asset

Benefits & Perks of working with us:

• Of course… exposure to some of the finest chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products
• Health and Wellness Reimbursement program as well as other great employee benefits
• Corporate social responsibility programs - because we should leave the world a little better than we found it
• Strong work-life balance values (flextime and work from home options available)
• Flexible dress policy – this includes jeans!
• Fantastic reward and recognition programs
• Working in a LEED certified and open concept environment
• Working for a company recognized as one of the best in the GTA!