CATEGORY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Pilgrim's is seeking a strategic, collaborative Manager of Category Development to translate market insights into actionable commercial opportunities. This role leads short-term category development for assigned categories, channels, or workstreams while supporting long-term category, business, and channel strategy.
The Category Development team partners with Category Management, Marketing, R&D, Revenue Management, Sales, and Channel Teams to align on market opportunities, priorities, selling stories, and growth initiatives.
This role owns defined workstreams end-to-end, including routines, insights, business cases, commercial recommendations, and execution against agreed objectives.
SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE
- Models company values and takes initiative with limited supervision.
- Identifies market opportunities and translates data into clear business recommendations.
- Builds strong cross-functional partnerships across Category, Marketing, R&D, Revenue Management, Sales, and Channel teams.
- Manages multiple priorities, projects, and stakeholder needs effectively.
- Understands category dynamics, competitive activity, consumer trends, and customer needs.
- Connects daily work to broader business objectives and continuously improves ways of working.
ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES
SHORT-TERM BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LEADERSHIP
1. Market Opportunity Identification & Prioritization
- Identify and evaluate category, customer, and channel growth opportunities.
- Monitor performance, trends, competition, and market changes to recommend actions that support volume, revenue, and margin growth.
2. Consumer, Customer & Category Insights
- Analyze syndicated, customer, and internal data to develop actionable insights.
- Build category narratives, business cases, and commercialization recommendations.
3. Product & Portfolio Development Support
- Partner with Category, Brand, R&D, and Revenue Management to evaluate portfolio opportunities.
- Support assortment, pack architecture, pricing, promotion, and innovation recommendations grounded in market and financial insights.
4. Channel & Customer Development
- Develop customer-facing category stories, presentations, and opportunity assessments.
- Support Joint Business Planning and partner with Sales to improve customer performance.
5. Performance Management & Business Activation
- Monitor performance against objectives and identify gaps or corrective actions.
- Facilitate cross-functional alignment to keep initiatives on track and deliver expected outcomes.
LONG-TERM STRATEGY SUPPORT
- Support long-term category, business, and channel strategy through market intelligence, opportunity sizing, and growth framework development.
- Identify emerging trends and unmet needs to support innovation platforms and align short-term recommendations with long-term priorities.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree required.
- 3-5 years of experience in category development, consumer insights, category management, revenue growth management, brand strategy, commercial strategy, or a related field; experience in consumer-packaged goods, food, or retail preferred.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, presentation, and storytelling skills, with experience using syndicated data and business intelligence tools.
- Ability to manage projects, influence cross-functional teams, and balance multiple priorities.
- Ability to perform the functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation and travel as business needs dictate, including to other facilities, company events, or other company-related activities.
The applicant who fills this position will be eligible for the following compensation and benefits:
- Benefits: Vision, Medical, and Dental coverage begin after 60 days of employment;
- Paid Time Off: sick leave, vacation, and 6 company observed holidays;
- 401(k): company match begins after the first year of service and follows the company vesting schedule;
- Base salary range of $92,000-$125,000;
- Incentive Pay: This position is eligible to participate in the Company's annual bonus plan, the amount of bonus varies and is subject to the standard terms and conditions of the incentive program; and
- Career Development: Our company is dedicated to supporting professional growth by offering continuous learning opportunities and a focus on career growth through various learning and development programs.
The posted salary range represents the Company's good faith estimate of the compensation that the Company reasonably expects to pay for this role at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience, skills, qualifications, tenure, internal equity, market data, and may vary accordingly.
This position does not have an application deadline. We will continue to recruit until the position has been filled.
