Senior Category Manager

Job Description

Senior Manager Category Management | Bimbo Bakeries USA

The Tone:
This is a full-time Senior Manager role at Bimbo Bakeries USA, located in Cincinnati, OH. Bimbo Bakeries is a leading baking company. This role is crucial for interpreting shopper and category insights, optimizing product assortment, and driving overall category performance. This position serves as a key advisor to sales teams and leadership, ensuring strategic alignment and growth.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Hybrid, Cincinnati, OH

• Mission: Owns optimizing product assortment and placement to improve overall category performance through shopper and category insights.
• Tech Stack: JDA, Apollo, Microsoft Office suite (Excel, PowerPoint), POS data, Panel data, retailer shopper card data

What You’ll Actually Do
• Analyze: Interpret shopper and category insights to optimize product assortment, evaluate product placement, and propose solutions to improve overall category performance.
• Lead: Lead and deliver all space management projects and activities, including Kroger’s Kompass process and any internal space management initiatives.
• Advise: Act as a Category Management expert and advisor to leadership and the Customer Sales team, influencing decisions by reviewing shelf space opportunities and business trends.
• Present: Develop persuasive, fact-based sales presentations by leveraging customer, industry, market, and competitive information to recommend action plans.
• Collaborate: Proactively communicate and work with the Customer Sales Team, Brands, Business Units, and RGM on assortment opportunities, including void closures, at-risk items, and innovation.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s Degree in Sales, Marketing, or Business related field; Senior Manager career level in CPG Category Management.
• Experience: 10+ years of customer-facing experience in the CPG industry and Category Management. Proven experience converting data into logical, actionable strategies. Experience managing people, including the creation of individualized development plans.
• Skills: Strong problem-solving and analytical skills; effective written and verbal communication skills; thorough understanding of POS and Panel data; strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite (Excel, PowerPoint) and space management software (JDA or Apollo).
• Bonus: Grocery and Mass channel experience is preferred. Comfortable presenting to Customers and Senior Executives. Highly motivated self-starter with strong project management skills, capable of multi-tasking in a matrix organization.