Job Description:Category Leadership Director - Kroger/Target/MeijerFranklin, TN or Cincinnati, OHThis role can be based in Franklin, TN or Cincinnati, OH with regular in-office collaboration expected. Flexibility is a key enabler, empowering associates to make choices that support both business outcomes and personal needs, including occasional remote work.
This position is responsible for leading Category Strategy and delivering category growth plans across Kroger, Target, and Meijer for Mars Pet Nutrition. The Category Director will lead a high-performing team responsible for providing industry-leading category thought leadership, shopper insights, and strategic recommendations that drive mutual growth for both Mars and our retail partners.
This leader will develop and strengthen executive-level relationships across the retailers, positioning Mars Pet Nutrition as the trusted partner of choice in category growth, shopper understanding, and future-focused retail solutions. The role will serve as a critical connector between customer needs and Mars capabilities, ensuring the voice of the customer is embedded throughout category strategy, storytelling, activation, and innovation initiatives.
The Category Director will partner closely with Customer Development, Insights, Demand, Digital Commerce, Revenue Growth Management, and Marketing teams to identify emerging category trends, unlock growth opportunities, and deliver superior business results while maintaining appropriate separation between Category Leadership and Sales responsibilities.
What are we looking for?- Bachelor's Degree
- 10+ years of experience in Category Management, Account Management, Insights, or Sales Strategy/Trade Marketing roles - prior leadership experience preferred
- Experience developing category growth strategies with large national or regional retailers.
- Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders internally and externally.
- Strong leadership experience with a track record of recruiting, coaching, and developing talent.
- Deep understanding of category management principles, shopper behavior, retail analytics, and consumer insights.
- Strong strategic thinking, communication, and storytelling capabilities.
- Experience leveraging advanced data sources to drive business decisions and retailer recommendations.
- Ability to navigate complexity and lead change within a matrixed organization.
What would be your key responsibilities?- Deliver category and business objectives across Kroger, Target, and Meijer, including growth in Net Sales Value (NSV), market share, profitability, and retailer influence.
- Lead and develop a team of Category Managers and Category Analysts, creating a culture of accountability, capability building, and continuous learning.
- Serve as the primary category leadership contact for key retailer merchandising, strategy, and insights organizations.
- Build and execute customer-specific category growth strategies grounded in shopper, consumer, retailer, and marketplace insights.
- Identify emerging shifts in the pet category and retail landscape, translating insights into actionable customer opportunities.
- Drive category captaincy, advisory roles, and strategic influence across priority pet categories.
- Lead development of compelling customer-facing storytelling and recommendations that support retailer growth strategies.
- Ensure integration of advanced analytics, shopper insights, digital commerce data, loyalty data, and emerging data sources into business recommendations.
- Partner with cross-functional teams to develop innovative solutions that enhance customer outcomes and strengthen Mars' competitive advantage.
- Champion customer-back thinking and ensure retailer perspectives are incorporated into category strategies, activation plans, and organizational priorities.
- Develop retailer-specific learning agendas that deepen Mars' understanding of Kroger, Target, and Meijer shoppers and business drivers.
- Maintain deep expertise in assortment, shelving, pricing, promotion, merchandising, omnichannel retailing, and category management best practices.
What can you expect from Mars?- Work with over 150,000 diverse and talented Associates, all guided by The Five Principles.
- Join a purpose driven company, where we are 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.
