Category Strategy & Process Excellence Lead

Job Description:

The Category Strategy & Process Excellence Lead is an execution-driven commercial role within the Central Europe MS&D department. This role is responsible for localizing regional category strategies, facilitating critical yearly processes (such as the GAME/Connect to Grow framework), and leading strategic coordination across key Limited Assortment Retail (LAR) communities (specifically Lidl and Penny).

What will be your key responsibilities?

Category Vision & Category Strategy Lead (CE)

- Regional Collaboration: Act as the primary operational link between the CE cluster and regional category strategy teams, ensuring local market insights and shopper trends are integrated into regional planning.
- CE Localization: Drive the end-to-end localization of regional and global category visions to match the diverse retail structures and consumer behaviour across Central Europe.
- Key Customer Category Stories: Author and customize high-impact, persuasive category stories and shelf guidelines for key cluster-level accounts, providing local sales teams with the arguments needed to secure range and shelf space.

CE Lead for the GAME Process (Connect to Grow Localization)

- Framework Localization: Own the localization and adaptation of the "Connect to Grow" framework (referred to internally as the GAME process) for the Central Europe cluster.
- Market Workshop Facilitation: Design, organize, and facilitate interactive workshops and capability sessions with individual country markets (e.g., Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary) to embed the GAME process into local business routines.
- Process Governance: Monitor process timelines, track deliverables, and support country-level commercial teams in maintaining the integrity and high execution standards of the Connect to Grow framework.

LAR Key Community Facilitation for Central Europe

- Lidl Community Coordination: Champion and facilitate the cross-market Lidl Category Community in CE. Drive best-practice sharing, range optimization, and joint category plans across the cluster's Lidl account teams.
- Penny Process Navigation: Lead and facilitate category processes and commercial negotiations for Penny across CE markets. Ensure a unified brand positioning and coordinate customer-specific activation calendars.
- LAR Catalogue Partnership to Region: Navigate the Lead Account Retailer (LAR) product catalogue processes. Act as the primary coordinator with the regional team to manage catalogue listings and ensure cluster-wide alignment.
- YTG ATB Category Agenda: Partner closely with Sales and key commercial leadership to define and establish a winning Category Agenda. Systematically bridge "YTG targets by identifying and unlocking ATB category growth pools.

What are we looking for?

- Higher degree
- Fluent English, writing and oral
- Minimum 5 years ideally in Category Management and Sales, or Analytical/Brand experience
- Must: experience in sales (i.e KAM) or an experience in a close cooperation with customers
- Proven track record in insight-driven storytelling and resulting actions
- Advanced level usage of sell-out data tools such as Nielsen

What can you expect from Mars?

- Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
- Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
- Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
- An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.