Job Overview:

The Category Management Manager will accelerate the growth of the category and UNFI Brands+ by using deep customer, consumer, and market insights to drive medium (2-3 years) and short-term category strategies to feed to our customers and sales. They will create Category visions and identify category growth opportunities through analysis, evaluation of placement, distribution, assortment, merchandising, and pricing strategies. They will work closely with the Sales team at the national, regional, and customer levels, in addition to the B+ Product Business Management Teams and UNFI’s Category Management team to help deliver category growth strategies, recommendations, and plans.

What does it mean to be part of the Brands+ Team?

UNFI Brands+ is one of the most comprehensive private label programs available today. With over 5,000 products across 200 categories throughout the store, we believe we have what today’s consumer is seeking from national brand equivalents to opening price points to gourmet, specialty, and organic offerings. Joining our team of food scientists, product developers, brand managers, sourcing experts, product managers, and chefs, you would be part of delivering quality category-leading brands to consumers, diversifying assortment to attract a wider range of shoppers, and build shopper loyalty. More choices for consumers and more opportunities for retailers striving to make our customers stronger and our food solutions more inspired.

Job Responsibilities:

Category Strategy Development (40%)

• Establish and lead the implementation of category learnings, insight, business strategies, and thought leadership to accelerate Private Brands' growth in sales, units, penetration, and space.

• Identify, share, and align on specific category opportunities (including, but not limited to penetration, distribution, assortment, execution, and price). Deliver action steps for retail-specific implementation that will drive unit and dollar share growth, incremental return on inventory invested, and better performance.

• Provide insight on promotion timing, pricing, and tactics to improve category performance vs National Brands and Private Brands. Identify what is working in a category and what is not and

provide recommendations on how to improve performance. Able to do assortment analysis to recommend optimal assortment.

• Identify new approaches for growing the category, driving initiatives to increase category awareness and space, and creating processes to better manage the performance of the category over the long term.

• Evaluate Category performance across all channels to inform decision-making.

Support Joint Business Planning, Selling Strategies, and Trade Effectiveness (25%)

• Actively support line reviews Customer Category reviews, and “Top to Top” meetings.

• Partner with sales in crafting analysis, and messaging for key strategic topics. Develop insights based on the Brand Health & Household panel (Consumer Facts).

• Develop integrated selling presentation utilizing syndicated data, category insights, and supporting consumer trends with recommendations to grow categories and UNFI Brands.

• Maintain knowledge of promotional and pricing fundamentals and competitive brands to provide high-level insight into promotional effectiveness to Brands+ and customer teams. Recommend to both Merchandising and Professional Services Price Management teams optimal pricing strategies/opportunities for key categories to drive relevance and competitiveness in the market.

• Support the development of the overall UNFI Brands+ portfolio strategy identifying brand growth opportunities and helping influence brand strategies and innovation plans.

• Analyze syndicated data and use these insights in creating selling presentations. Develop insights and size/structure markets for new product ideas and sell-ins for new products. Aid in customer planning meetings.

Category Expert and Planogram Development (20%)

• Serve as category expert for Brand Marketing, PBM, Merchandising + Category Management, and Sales teams. Provide strategies to maximize category growth and Brands+ market share.

• Design planograms for various categories based on merchandising strategies, seasonal promotions, and sales goals.

• Analyze store layout and space constraints to ensure efficient use of space while maintaining a

visually appealing and shopper-friendly environment.

• Determining the optimal placement of products on shelves, endcaps, displays, and other fixtures to attract customer attention and drive sales.

• Synthesize category strategies to equip the sales team with a robust selling story supporting JBP, category growth, and new item meetings.

• Run, distribute, and continuously improve quad weekly tracking reports utilizing NielsenIQ syndicated data. We use all food and beverage categories for the Total US, across all available grocery customers, and for Walmart and Target.

Data Structure and Management (10%)

• Develop mastery of proprietary Nielsen tools and metrics, which will be used to help solve themost pressing category and business questions.

• Ensure data integrity and structure for how UNFI utilizes NielsenIQ’s syndicated databases. This will include creating and maintaining extensive custom totals for categories, segments, brands, sizes, etc.

• Develop insights based on ad hoc analyses utilizing Nielsen’s syndicated data. These will include, but are not limited to, the following: category segmentations and category sales measurement.

• Provide insights based on household panel (NielsenIQ Consumer Facts) data for marketing.

• Partner with our Nielsen and SPINS teams. This will include but is not limited to, collaborating with their resources to improve our category management tools.

Miscellaneous (5%)

• Contribute to annual forecasting based on sales trends and market input.

• Where appropriate, partner with the internal market research team to uncover consumer insights and help answer customer department/category questions.

• Performs other relevant job duties as required

Job Requirements:

Education/ Certifications/or Equivalent combination of education training and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing or business preferred or equivalent related experience and training

Experience:

• A minimum of 5+ years of experience in category management required, significant experience in the CPG industry preferred.

• Must possess an in-depth knowledge of syndicated data tools (Circana (IRI), Nielsen), pricing and promotion tools

• Proven ability to collect, organize, analyze, and interpret data to draw meaningful conclusions and communicate recommendations in line with category and business objectives is required.

• Curious mindset and passion for growing the category and UNFI Brands+ business. Must be comfortable and quick in MS Excel and PowerPoint.

Knowledge/ Skills/ Abilities:

• Excellent oral, written communication and excellent interpersonal skills

• Category Management Certification is a plus

• Nielsen IQ, Spectra, Numerator, Rakuten, Excel tool expertise

• Strong quantitative analysis and proficiency with Excel & PowerPoint

• Experience with financial analysis

• Experience managing large data sets and utilizing to drive performance and process improvements

• Team player

• Highly motivated / self-starter

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage various projects at the same time.

• Meticulous attention to detail

• Willingness and ability to travel a few times throughout the year

• Some travel may be required.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. UNFI is an Equal Opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive and respectful environment for all. - M/F/Veteran/Disability. VEVRAA Federal Contractor.