Director, Category Management & Insights

Darigold is seeking an experienced and motivated Director, Category Management & Insights to join our Marketing team! The Director, Category Management & Insights leads the strategic planning, execution and performance optimization of product categories across multiple channels. This leadership role has one direct report and is responsible for driving category growth, profitability and customer satisfaction through data-driven decision-making, supplier partnerships and cross-functional collaboration.

Darigold is the fifth largest dairy cooperative in the United States based on milk volume and one of the largest privately held organizations headquartered in the state of Washington. Since 1918, our producers have taken pride in producing dairy products with unsurpassed quality. Today, we are one of the nation's largest agricultural cooperatives, producing over 8.5 billion pounds of milk every year. Through innovative technology and our efficient, flexible production capabilities, we deliver value added products and customer-driven solutions. Darigold is now known throughout the world for bringing fresh, wholesome dairy products and ingredients from the Northwest to people all around the globe.

What You Will Do:

Category Strategy & Leadership -

- Define and execute multi-year growth strategies for assigned product categories.

- Develop good-better-best assortment strategies tailored to customer segments and channels.

- Lead category-level goals related to revenue, margin, velocity and market share.

Market & Consumer Insights –

- Analyze market trends, consumer behavior and competitive benchmarks.

- Guide SKU rationalization and portfolio optimization to balance profitability and shelf impact.

- Integrate consumer research and sales data into category planning.

Category Management Vendor & Supplier Management -

- Build and maintain strategic vendor relationships.

- Lead negotiations to drive cost efficiency, innovation and supply reliability.

- Manage contracts and pricing strategies to optimize product selection.

Cross-Functional Collaboration –

- Partner with Product Development, Sourcing, Planning and Inventory teams.

- Align category strategies with supply chain capabilities and seasonal rhythms.

- Collaborate with Sales and Marketing to ensure effective in-store execution and promotional planning.

Performance Monitoring –

- Implement KPIs and metrics to monitor category performance.

- Report on sales trends, profitability, inventory health and promotional ROI.

- Make data-driven decisions to improve results and meet business objectives.

What You Will Bring:

- Bachelors degree in Business, Marketing or related field (MBA preferred).

- 7–14+ years of experience in category management, merchandising or buying.

- Proven track record of driving category growth and profitability.

- Strong analytical and financial acumen.

- Excellent communication, negotiation and leadership skills.

- Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint and merchandising analytics tools.

- Experience in consumer-packaged goods (CPG), retail or eCommerce environments preferred.

- Strategic thinker with a customer-first mindset.

- Collaborative leader who fosters high-performing teams.

- Comfortable presenting to senior leadership and external stakeholders.

- Deep understanding of retail operations, shopper behavior and vendor dynamics.

Benefits of Working at Darigold:

We understand that as an employee, benefits that support you and your family in and out of work are important. Were proud to offer eligible positions a competitive total rewards package that includes:

- 401k competitive employer matching

- Comprehensive medical, dental & vision benefits

- Employer paid life & disability coverage

- Paid time off and paid holidays

- 8 weeks paid parental leave

- Education assistance

- Employee assistance program

- Flexible hybrid working arrangement where it applies (up to 1 day/week after initial 90 days and approval by hiring manager and HR)

Our Commitment to Diversity:

Achieving our vision to Lead Dairy Forward requires cultivating and supporting a team with varying backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We are committed to providing a workplace based on mutual respect where all employees feel included and can bring their best and authentic selves to work every day. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and Affirmative Action Employer. We welcome all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability, marital status, creed, religion, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. As a condition of employment applicants offered a role will be required to successfully pass our pre-employment background screen, receive a negative drug screen result & confirm eligibility to work in the U.S. We participate in E-Verify - please follow the links for details, English / Spanish & view our Right to Work Statement, English / Spanish .