ORGANISATION
The Kraft Heinz Company in the Netherlands is a key hub for one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies. With its European headquarters based in Amsterdam and additional locations including a research & development centre in Nijmegen and production facilities in Utrecht and Elst, Kraft Heinz combines global expertise with local heritage. In the Netherlands, the company produces a wide range of beloved food products, from iconic Heinz sauces to traditional Dutch brands such as De Ruijter, Venz, Karvan Cevitam and Brinta, serving both the domestic market and international customers. Our teams are driven by a passion for innovation, quality and consumer satisfaction, creating delicious experiences every day while contributing to sustainable growth and operational excellence across the food industry.
SENIOR CATEGORY MANAGER
POSITION
We have an opportunity for a driven SENIOR CATEGORY MANAGER with 2 direct reports. The role is positioned in Amsterdam, working in the Benelux Business Unit with a team full of performance driven peers. The Senior Category Manager reports directly to the Commercial Category Lead and is in close contact with the senior team members in the Business Unit. The Senior Category Manager has the responsibility to set out and implement the optimal category management strategy for their category. This includes drafting commercial strategies, identifying brand & category opportunities and regular external and internal sparring sessions with our retailers as well as the marketing, sales, finance, procurement and other commercial teams. Furthermore, you will help develop the Category Team’s expertise and improve the Category capabilities.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
In brief, you take ownership of;
- The definition of the Retailer strategy and Channel strategy including price/pack format differentiation;
- The Business Growth of the Kraft Heinz Company for the assigned category;
- Being the main point of reference in the implementation of the commercial strategy, partnering with Account Managers during internal and external sessions;
- Partnering with sales on bottom-up planning from customer segmentation and customer surgeries;
- Working closely with Marketing and CDM to build the commercial plan for NPD – assumptions on cost price, margin and distribution targets by customer and channel and engage the sales in executional delivery of the plan;
- Working closely with sales, finance and supply to build accurate forecast by month, quarter and year considering the sell-out, sell-in and stocks in the market;
- Coaching and developing the category team to drive performance and expertise;
- Improving and expanding category capabilities to enhance overall business impact.
YOUR PROFILE
PROFILE CANDIDATE
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
- Relevant master’s degree;
- Relevant experience within FMCG, preferably in consulting, business analyses, sales, marketing, category, trade marketing or similar roles;
- Experience in the innovation process;
- Languages: proficient in English and Dutch.
RELEVANT COMPETENCES
- Interpersonal Skills – At Kraft Heinz, people are easily exposed to senior management, no matter the level. Therefore, excellent communication skills to deal with all kinds of different collaborators is important;
- Confident / Ability to give pushback – We value people who are not easily thrown off their game, not even when getting resistance;
- Ability to Simplify – We like to keep it simple. And to implement fast. Simplifications skills are highly appreciated, when providing simple solutions dealing with sophisticated challenges;
- Commercial Sense – Always seeking for opportunities to expand the business and build more savings, while over delivering your targets;
- Analytical – We’re a very data driven company. You know how to translate complex data into a simple solution with an analytical approach.
