Category Manager

Position - Category Manager (Customer Marketing)

Brief Primary role - 

The Category Manager will report to AVP Customer Marketing (Sales Function) and is responsible for category (Hershey’s Chocolates: HSY Kisses, HED & Bars brands) growth stories including category Strategy & 5P’s across RE’s and the horizon is M+6 & beyond. They are the primary contact point for IBM demand plan process for their categories.

The Manager acts as a liaison between different functions Marketing, Supply Chain & Finance on all NPD projects.

Major Duties & Responsibilities -

Category Strategy

• Develop Category/RE strategy with a clear understanding of “Where to Play” & “How to Win” across Invested Brands
• Developing 5P Tactics for the Category/Channel/ RE
• Deliver Category/ Channel/ RE Targets by Month/QTR/year (Category KPI tracking & analysis)
• Develop impactful programs/activations in coordination with the Marketing / Customer activation team
• Working closely with the Region Teams on Activations / bringing in Regional nuances in the National Plans
• Developing Picture of Success for the Category/ Channel/ RE for all activations to enable last mile execution; Create POB solutions for the Category/ Channel/ RE solutions that enable successful execution
• Work with the Sales capability team on the Incentive Plans (Field Force) that will make them stretch/exploit the market potential Category / RE
• Track category and competitor KPI's (Distribution, MS, ND, WTD).

Innovations and Process

• Building end to end activation plans for all innovations for the Category
• Co-ordinate with Supply Chain / Regional Teams on Brand / Innovation forecasting IBM Process
• Demand planning by category/Channel/ RE co-ordination for forecasting (rolling 12 months)

Management

• Category budget planning / execution / tracking and ROI
  a) Periodically reviewing plans to measure effectiveness & using the analysis to fine tune future activities
  b) Pilot testing key in-market initiatives, analyzing results and making recommendations.
  c) Track sales trends through market work/field sales and presenting business analytics and findings through planned reviews
• Conducting the S&M meeting to determine sales category growth
• Building plans by periodically measuring ROI - Liaise with Nielsen/Insights Team on shoppers’ insights for Category/RE
• Keep close interaction and build rapport across Functions

Revenue Managed - Rs. 200cr

Budget Managed - Rs. 30cr

Required Knowledge & Skills- 

• This role requires leadership and communication skills across multiple business partners including Marketing, Consumer insights, Strategy, R&D, Supply chain, packaging and external partners
• Highly develop ability to recognize market trends and organize information
• Excellent team player, team leader
• Demonstrated ability to be accountable for sales and income results
• Strong verbal and written communicator to wide breadth of audiences including senior management
• Skillful usage of Microsoft Office in business document development and presentation, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Competencies-

• Excellent Customer Marketing skills

Good knowledge on Shopper marketing/thinking, Retail environment (RE) Strategy, 5 P’s tactics, Brand activations & New Product development / Innovation

• Customer and market-oriented

Demonstrate a breadth and depth of customer / marketplace knowledge; Demonstrate the ability to understand customer insight and attribute that to business decision making

• Excellent Project Management

Identifies the processes, time and resources required to accomplish project tasks; prioritize steps and work tasks to enable efficient work flow; utilizes best practices to organize people and activities; measures results against key metrics; uses resources efficiently; able to deal with multi-tasks & perform under pressure

• Strong analytical & problem-solving skills.

Uses a systematic process to solve difficult problems including gathering and examining information from a variety of sources; identifying the root cause of problems; drawing appropriate conclusions; generating viable solutions; and, weighing the pros and cons to arrive at a final decision.

• Good interpersonal skills

Establishes and maintains constructive and effective relationships built upon trust. Uses diplomacy and tact to diffuse even high-tension situations. Works to find common ground and mutually beneficial solutions to conflicts. Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down and sideways, inside and outside the organization. Can represent his/her own interest and yet be fair to other groups. Viewed by others as a team player.

Education - MBA (Reputed Institute)

Experience - 5 to 7 yrs of Experience. Definitely worked as Customer Marketing for 2-3yrs and at least 1-2 years in Brand Executive position (Marketing)