Category Manager

McCain Foods Limited

$81K — $108K *
Food & Beverages
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • University degree required
  • Minimum of 5 years of progressive commercial experience
  • Experience in the food industry and global organizations is strongly preferred
  • Strong commercial acumen including data analysis and forecasting
  • Proven ability to translate data into compelling business recommendations
  • Entrepreneurial mindset with a problem-solving approach
  • Strong storytelling and presentation skills
  • High level of resilience and adaptability

Responsibilities

  • Provide category leadership to inform McCain's operating plan and commercial strategy across North America
  • Develop and adapt category reporting to identify opportunities and support analysis
  • Partner with channel leaders to shape category components of Joint Business and Customer Growth Plans
  • Translate channel strategies into specific execution plans that support customer needs
  • Own the development and tracking of category execution plans for customer engagement
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver differentiated category solutions
  • Monitor sales execution performance at various levels to support planning
  • Provide insights and analysis to support management decision-making

Benefits

  • Health coverage (medical, dental, vision, prescription drug)
  • Retirement savings benefits
  • Leave support including medical, family, and bereavement
  • Company-supported volunteering time
  • Mental health resources
Full Job Description
Position Title: Category Manager

Position Type: Regular - Full-Time

Requisition ID: 42180

About the role.

The Category Manager is a key member of McCain's North America Go-To-Market (GTM) team and serves as a trusted category partner for internal and external customers. This role blends strategic thinking with strong execution, transforming data and market insights into compelling category stories and actionable business recommendations. The Category Manager plays a critical role in shaping channel and customer strategies that drive positive category outcomes, strengthen customer partnerships, and deliver disproportionate growth for McCain.

What you'll be doing.

  • Provide category leadership and insight to inform McCain's annual operating plan, commercial strategy, and channel plans across North America
  • Develop and adapt standard category reporting to proactively identify opportunities, support QBRs, and inform portfolio, innovation, and gap analysis from a GTM lens
  • Partner closely with GTM channel leaders and cross-functional customer teams to shape the category components of Joint Business Plans and Customer Growth Plans
  • Translate channel strategies into customer-specific executional plans that support listings, distribution, assortment, pricing, promotions, space, and layout decisions
  • Own the development, implementation, and tracking of category execution plans that enhance customer engagement and fuel sustainable commercial growth
  • Collaborate with channel leads, culinary, and sales analytics teams to deliver differentiated category solutions that grow the business and the category
  • Monitor and evaluate sales execution performance at the category, channel, and North America levels to support target setting and planning
  • Deliver value-added commercial insights and analysis to support management decision-making and in-market execution
  • Ensure adherence to commercial controls, processes, and governance to enable consistent and coordinated sales execution
  • Share category performance results, insights, and action plans with channel managers, channel leads, and sales partners


What you'll need to be successful.

  • University degree required
  • Minimum of 5 years of progressive commercial experience
  • Experience working within a global organization; food industry experience strongly preferred
  • Strong commercial acumen, including data analysis, planning, forecasting, and performance tracking
  • Proven ability to translate data and insights into clear, compelling business recommendations
  • Demonstrated ability to influence across all levels of a matrix organization
  • Entrepreneurial mindset with a hands-on, problem-solving approach
  • Strong storytelling, communication, and presentation skills
  • High level of resilience, adaptability, and comfort navigating ambiguity
  • Performance-driven with a strong sense of urgency and accountability
  • Alignment with McCain's values, leadership principles, and culture of humility


About the team.

This role sits within the North America Go-To-Market team and works cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Culinary, Analytics, and Channel Leadership. The Category Manager operates in a highly collaborative, matrixed environment and plays a central role in connecting category strategy to customer execution across multiple channels.

Compensation Package : $81,600.00 - $108,900.00 . USD annually + Bonus eligibility

The above reflects the target compensation range for the position at the time of posting. Hiring compensation will be determined based on experience, skill set, education and training, and other organizational needs. This posting is for an existing vacancy.

Benefits: At McCain, we're on a mission to create a winning culture that puts employee safety and well-being at the heart of what we do, every day. We understand and appreciate that each person's needs are unique and ensure our benefits & well-being programs reflect that. Employees are eligible for the following benefits: health coverage (medical, dental, vision, prescription drug), retirement savings benefits, and leave support including medical, family and bereavement. Well-being programs include vacation and holidays, company-supported volunteering time, and mental health resources. Coverages are aligned with country, provincial and state governing plans and can vary by work level, location and nature of the role. Additional benefit detail available during the application process.

Your well-being matters to us, and we're here to provide you with the necessary resources to support you in being your best self at work - and at home.

Job Family: Sales
Location(s): CA - Canada : Ontario : Toronto

Company: McCain Foods USA, Inc.

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