Regional Category Manager at Arla Foods

About the Role

• This role is based in West Africa (flexible).
• You will report to the Head of Marketing, West Africa and will be responsible for developing and executing category strategies to drive growth and market share for our Cheese, BSM, Cooking & MBB Categories and agreed focus brands, in our Core & Distributor Sales markets.
• You will work closely with the Local Marketing teams & other relevant stakeholders to secure growth plan implementation.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop 2-5 year Category plan/strategy for Cheese, BSM, Cooking & MBB in West Africa; Combine market, shopper, consumer and customer insights to identify growth opportunities and execute these in close cooperation with in-market teams
• Actively drive and deliver annual business plans together with colleagues in local markets
• Responsible for Global brand adaptations/plan for West Africa
• Category P&L ownership - ensure efficient assortment, price/pack, driving initiatives to ensure long term profitability
• Lead Category Innovation/roll out strategy, develop pipeline to support growth ambition, ensuring alignment with business objectives, consumer insights, and market demands
• Project lead of specific NPD/MROs and ensure effective delivery of launches in markets
• Execute the pipeline in collaboration with the local and global teams from ideation to market launch
• Development of Category/Brand integrated campaign assets for Cheese, BSM, Cooking & MBB
• Work closely with local in-markets team to deliver category best practice, through sharing with others and driving improvements throughout the team
• Category/Brand budget planning & management
• Perform other tasks as required within the Marketing function

Key Skills

• Category management expert
• Consumer centricity
• Strong commercial acumen
• Strong analytics on different data like Nielsen, Kantar, Euromonitor, etc.
• Creative and Assets development expert, including creative briefing
• Good Presentation Skills
• Excellent Stakeholder management
• English fluency, French is an added advantage

Qualifications & Experience Required

• Bachelor’s Degree in any Discipline. MBA would be an added advantage
• Minimum 10 years Brand building experience in FMCG
• Experience in the Cheese, BSM, Cooking & MBB category is an added advantage
• Experience working in multiple team, multicultural environment with cross-border collaboration