Kroger- Senior Category Development Manager

*This is a REMOTE role. Candidates must reside in Cincinnati, OH.

PURPOSE OF POSITION

Possess a deep knowledge of Kroger, the competition, the marketplace and 84.51 Stratum. Responsible for accelerating strategic and tactical thought leadership at Kroger and seen as the “go to” person both internally, at RANA, and externally, at Kroger, for strategic category analysis, insights and trends, best practices, innovation, and engagement.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Drive Best in Class Category Management principles as well as Consumer and Shopper Insights
• Actively advise Kroger on category and shopper centric opportunities to grow market share
• Develops category strategy and assists customer with integrated category strategy development
• Intelligently analyze, benchmark, interpret data across multiple sources to identify opportunities to promote/sell additional products
• Provides strategic and tactical recommendations on the Distribution, Shelving, Merchandising and Pricing goals to improve overall category performance
• Responsible for developing customer specific presentation of relevant consumer insights, competitive responses, and new item/category selling strategies
• Actively lead and participate in preparation of line reviews and reoccurring customer category reviews, JBP plans, and Top to Top meetings
• Lead comprehensive understanding of plan-o-gram insights and assortment to help identify and drive strategic sales opportunities and customer growth objectives.
• Ability to translate data to adaptable strategies that take advantage of changing customer and market dynamics
• Build strong relationships cross-functionally within internal RANA, including but not limited to – category management, marketing, Kroger business manager, etc.
• Collaborative relationships and team focused are vital to the success of this role

KEY SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES

• Proficient within Stratum, On Demand and point-of-sale data (IRI preferred)
• Proficient within Microsoft Office and Excel
• High degree of self-motivation, discipline and ability to work independently
• Strong time management, presentation and communication skills (both written & verbal)

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Home Office Based; Location: Cincinnati, OH
• Approximately 15-20% travel is required to Home Office (Bartlett, IL), customer and team meetings
• Will report directly to Director, Kroger Team/Central Area

Excited about this role but don’t meet every requirement listed? Studies show that often applicants will self-select out if they don’t check every box. We encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings.

About us: Rana is an international Company present in over 60 countries, with a turnover close to $1.5 billion. Founded by Giovanni Rana in 1962, the Company has been led for over 35 years by Gian Luca Rana, CEO and pioneer of the internationalization project that has led the Group to become a leader worldwide in the production and marketing of fresh food products (filled and unfilled pasta, gnocchi, sauces, and ready meals). Rana focuses its investments in the following areas: job creation (our workforce doubled in the last five years) and research and development, with the aim of offering Consumers delicious products made of the highest-quality ingredients. The Rana Group has always made innovation its strength, both in the technological field (with the registration of dozens of product and process patents) and in communication. As a family-owned Company, we are united by strong Values and the aspiration of building a better future for future generations. Ethics and sustainability are the cornerstones of our sixty-two-year history, which have made our business healthy and constantly growing.

Today, Rana has 8 factories (6 in Europe and 2 in the US) and is a large family of 3,500 People. The engines of our continued success will keep being innovation, internationalization, passion and constant search for excellence in everything we do.

Rana is committed to providing a workplace of diversity and inclusion. There shall be no discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Decisions related to hiring, compensation, training, evaluating performance, or termination are made fairly. We offer a welcoming and inclusive environment and actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential. We welcome all applications from a wide range of candidates and selection for roles will be based on individual merit alone.

NOTICE TO STAFFING FIRMS, AGENCIES AND EMPLOYMENT VENDORS:

Rana Meal Solutions and its affiliates will not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters without a signed Fee Agreement in place AND before the resume is inputted into our applicant tracking system. Vendor solicitation should be directed to the Human Resource Department directly; as such, firms that circumvent the required compliant process will be barred from submitting candidates. In the absence of a signed fee agreement AND proper resume submission, RMS does not recognize any claim on a candidate by a third party, will consider unsolicited resumes the property of the company and reserves the right to engage and hire those candidates without any financial responsibility to the third-party vendor.