Senior Category Development Manager (1 year parental leave) - Solna

Do you want to lead the Category Development within Dairy and Cheese at a global FMCG market leader? Can you coach and motivate a team of Category Development Managers, Shopper Marketing and Instore to perform at their very best to deliver outstanding performance?

We are currently looking to recruit a Sr Category Development Manager to fill a parental leave for 1 year starting in September/October.

How you will make an impact

As our Sr Category Development Manager, you will play a key leadership role in our ambitious change agenda to adapt to a volatile and changing environment to become even sharper in analysis and delivering insights-driven business opportunities for commercial growth - to enable Arla to win in the market.

You will ensure we stay up to date on what is important to Swedish shoppers and guarantee we translate consumer, shopper and customer insights into a meaningful direction for Arla Sweden and our retail partners.

Reporting into the Customer Development Director, you will develop and execute short and long-term commercial sales plans to drive growth across categories, channels and customers. Your team will be responsible for translating category- and brand strategies into execution plans. This is a multi-disciplinary strategic role, where you will work across the organisation with stakeholders in sales and marketing to ensure we execute the category mix brilliantly.

Key Responsibilities

• Coach and develop 10 engaged team members to drive the right initiatives and deliver category growth. Improve co-operation and ongoing build-up of competences in the team to ensure we have the capabilities for the future
• Create longer term category growth forecasts driven by an understanding of underlying shopper and category behavior changes and provide business foresights on future growth opportunities
• Developing best in class field sales program for Sweden's largest field sales force. Creating the tools needed to win in store whilst aligning our category and customer strategies with Arla's overall growth ambitions.
• Drive the commercial perspective within innovation development. The team plays a vital role supporting in the creation of business cases, and end-to-end launch plans together with marketing to create success in the market.
• Ensure we have toolkits around right range on shelf, space, distribution, display layouts, promo, pack sizes across all categories/channels/customers that enable Arla to practically unlock growth in our customers and deliver on set KPIs and numerical targets.

What will make you successful

You skilfully balance long-term and short-term decision-making, keeping an eye on underlying market trends 3 years ahead while always staying on top of the sales opportunities for the next half year. You are a High Performer with Growth Mindset, open to continuous improvement as an individual and as part of a team, willing to grow and learn to support the functions delivery

• Minimum 5 years FMCG Experience in senior commercial roles in sales/category/ marketing. Experience from sales is highly valued, as crucial to have strong commercial understanding to be successful in this role
• You are highly analytical, experienced in managing data and insights, creating ways of working and tools for the team you are leading. Fully knowledgeable in all data sets – Nielsen/GFK/ICA self-serve/other shopper research
• You are an experienced and successful people manager with a university degree and can communicate effortlessly in English and Swedish
• You are driven, have a winning mindset and skilled at managing change and volatility
• You can navigate in a matrix organisation with a complex stakeholder landscape

Application and contact

If this opportunity excites you, and you fulfil the required criteria for the role, please apply! We are screening on an ongoing basis and the role will be filled as soon as the right person applies. Welcome to contact Frida Sjöbom, Customer Development Director for further questions about the role, frida.sjoebom@arlafoods.com

Please be aware that any applications or CVs coming through email or direct messages will not be accepted or considered.

Shape the Future of Dairy 

Arla is a global leader in the dairy industry, committed to producing high-quality products while championing sustainability and innovation. We're passionate about people and our planet, striving to unleash the full potential in each of us. Our goal is to make healthy dairy nutrition and good food habits accessible to all. Join us at Arla Foods and become part of a worldwide cooperative dedicated to making a significant impact on the planet and steering the dairy industry towards a sustainable future. 

We are devoted to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. Diversity and collaboration are key to our success, propelling us to new heights in the dairy industry. 

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