Foods New Zealand Category Manager

Who are we? 

On any given day, 2.5 billion people globally use Unilever products to feel good, look good and get more out of life. Many of our brands are well-known, household staples and old-time favourites including Dove, Rexona, Lynx, Vaseline, OMO/Persil, Surf, TRESemmé, and Continental.  

We have a long tradition of being a progressive, responsible business. It goes back to the days of our founder William Lever, who launched the world’s first purposeful brand, Sunlight Soap more than 100 years ago, and it’s at the heart of how we run our company today. In 2022 Unilever Australia & New Zealand became a Certified B Corporation™ (B Corp), joining a growing network of organisations committed to galvanising a stronger, more inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy for all.   

A job at Unilever is a career made by you, with development opportunities, benefits and a working culture that embraces diversity and is pioneering flexibility. There’s no better time to join our team!  

Purpose of the role

The Customer Strategy & Planning (CSP) team is responsible for delivering the commercial plan by developing and deploying Category Growth Strategies through fully integrated shopper, customer and channel insights for the Foods Business Group to Country.

What will your main responsibilities be?

Category Operational Lead for NZ Foods

• Drive the business planning rhythm through S&OP (Sales & Operation Planning) to deliver an accurate and reliable category forecast partnering with Supply Chain and local Customer Management teams.
• Optimize Trade Spend (TTS) budgets and Net Review Management (NRM) principles to drive efficiency of investment and optimal pricing and promo strategies.
• Working with the Brand Marketing Lead, input into and shape NPD business case development with key category and customer metrics and inputs.

Lead Category Analytics

• Analyze market and shopper data (scan, panel & loyalty data) to build insights that support decision-making and craft customer strategies and stories.
• Build category knowledge and expertise within CSP and across the business by generating standardised category market data reporting and analysis on a monthly cadence.
• Work with the ANZ CSP Lead and NZ local customer managers, using customer and category insights to shape category expertise and external range review and Joint Business Planning (JBP) delivery.

What you will need to succeed

Experience & Qualifications

• 2-3+ years of business experience, preferably cross-functional, with customer-facing and category experience and a proven track record.
• FMCG or similar retail industry experience.
• Planning experience and a strong analytical mindset.
• Exposure to the NZ market will be desirable, although not essential

Skills

• Strong commercial skills and ability to understand all elements of the P&L.
• Data-driven mindset, with experience in data analytics and reporting to support decision making.
• Customer and Shopper centric, with retailer understanding.
• NRM and Category Growth Management.
• Ability to collaborate with a wide range of cross-functional teams, including customer, supply chain, brand and finance.
• Agility – Constantly Curious, Consumer Love, Bias for Action, Negotiation experience.

Leadership

• You are energized by delivering fantastic results. You are an example to others, through both your results and your resilience. You are constantly on the lookout for better ways to do things, engaging and collaborating with others along the way.
• You will be able to demonstrate a high degree of autonomy and be self-motivated, taking ownership of priorities and delivering outcomes along with NZ local customer management team with minimal supervision.
• As an individual, you are responsible for your own wellbeing and for delivering high standards of work. You must also focus on the shopper and consumer and what they need. You are humble and have your head up, looking around to interpret evidence and data smartly, spot issues and opportunities, and make things better.

SOL (Standards of Leadership) Behaviors

• CARE DEEPLY: Demonstrates genuine care for consumers, customers and colleagues, combining high performance expectations with openness, courage and constructive challenge.
• FOCUS ON WHAT COUNTS: Ruthlessly prioritises the work that matters most, making clear choices to deliver the greatest impact through fewer, bigger outcomes.
• STAY THREE STEPS AHEAD: Anticipates future opportunities and challenges, using curiosity, insights and forward-thinking to shape solutions that deliver today while building for tomorrow.
• DELIVER WITH EXCELLENCE: Takes ownership and follows through with pace and excellence, turning ideas into results through disciplined execution and commitment to continuous improvement.

What awaits you at Unilever? 

The core of Unilever’s culture is captured as Human, Purposeful, Accountable. You will be joining a dynamic, flexible, and inspiring work environment that truly cares about your wellbeing, values what you do and celebrates your success. 

This is your opportunity to be part of a purpose-led business and a global community where you can progress your career both locally and internationally. You will also benefit from amazing discounts on external company products, attractive employee referral reward program amongst other benefits. 

This is a great opportunity to work within an iconic and global organization. We have gained our reputation as one of the world's most admired employers by providing an environment where individuals can achieve their goals, both professionally and personally. 

Make no mistake we expect a lot from our people as they do of us. So, if you can rise to the challenge, don't waste any time - apply now! 

Unilever is an organization committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities.

This means we encourage people with all backgrounds to apply, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Māori and Pacific Peoples, and people with disabilities.

At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! We encourage you to advise us at the time of your application if you require any reasonable adjustment so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.