LocationRemote
How will you fit in the big picture?The Manager, M&A Competitive Intelligence & Strategic Projects serves as a strategic advisor who transforms market intelligence, consumer trends, competitive insights, and business performance data into actionable recommendations that support enterprise growth and strategic decision-making. This role partners with business leaders across the organization to evaluate opportunities, assess competitive dynamics, identify emerging risks, and uncover insights that shape key business initiatives.
As the insights leader supporting Hershey's M&A agenda, this individual owns and delivers an end-to-end, holistic insights strategy that fuels strategic growth decisions and acquisition opportunities. The role is responsible for driving deep consumer, shopper, category, and marketplace intelligence to evaluate acquisition targets, identify growth opportunities, and provide actionable implications that support investment decisions. Working closely with Strategy, Consumer Insights, Commercial, Finance, and Business Unit leadership, this individual ensures strong linkage between M&A priorities and core business strategies.
As a recognized thought partner, you will lead high-impact strategic analyses, develop insight-driven recommendations, and provide leadership teams with perspectives needed to make informed decisions. This role offers an exciting opportunity to combine strategic thinking, analytical rigor, consumer understanding, and business partnership to create meaningful impact across Hershey's growth agenda.
What will you do?Lead complex strategic projects from opportunity identification through recommendation development, translating ambiguous business questions into clear analytical approaches and actionable recommendations.
Drive the M&A research agenda across consumer, shopper, category, and marketplace insights to ensure strategic decisions are grounded in a deep understanding of consumers, customers, category dynamics, and growth trends.
Lead end-to-end consumer, shopper, marketplace, and competitive intelligence assessments for acquisition targets, identifying opportunities, risks, growth drivers, and strategic implications.
Partner closely with Business Units, Strategy, Consumer Insights, and Corporate Development teams to connect acquisition opportunities with enterprise growth objectives and long-term business priorities.
Analyze consumer, category, competitive, market, financial, and business performance data to identify growth opportunities, emerging trends, risks, and key business drivers.
Conduct market assessments, competitive intelligence analyses, consumer evaluations, and industry research to support strategic planning, investment decisions, and enterprise priorities.
Synthesize findings from multiple information sources into clear, compelling business narratives that help leaders understand opportunities, implications, tradeoffs, and recommended actions.
Develop executive-ready presentations and strategic recommendations to support portfolio growth, innovation opportunities, capability investments, acquisition evaluations, and long-term business objectives.
Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders by providing insight-driven perspectives on strategic and operational decisions.
Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to align analytical priorities with business objectives and ensure recommendations address critical business needs.
Support opportunity sizing, scenario planning, growth assessments, competitive benchmarking, and strategic investment evaluations.
Monitor shifts in consumer behavior, industry dynamics, category trends, retailer developments, and competitive activity to identify implications for Hershey's business.
Collaborate with Commercial, Consumer Insights, Marketing, Finance, Innovation, Category Management, Revenue Growth Management, Sales, and Strategy teams to develop aligned, insight-driven recommendations.
Apply structured problem-solving approaches to complex and ambiguous business challenges while balancing strategic objectives and organizational priorities.
Contribute to the continuous improvement of strategic intelligence, analytical frameworks, and decision-making practices across the organization.
Bring an enterprise-wide perspective by constructively challenging assumptions, elevating strategic thinking, and accelerating the movement from insight to action.
Minimum Education & RequirementsExperience:- 5+ years of relevant experience in consumer insights, data analytics, business intelligence, commercial analytics, finance, strategy, consulting, or a related analytical field.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex analytical projects and delivering actionable business recommendations.
- Strong expertise in data analysis, visualization, dashboard development, and business intelligence solutions.
- Proven ability to translate complex analytical findings into executive-ready presentations and business recommendations.
- Experience influencing stakeholders and working effectively across a matrixed organization.
- Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to structure and solve ambiguous business challenges.
- Experience with data visualization and business intelligence platforms such as Power BI, Tableau, or similar tools preferred.
- Advanced Excel and PowerPoint proficiency required.
Education:- Bachelor's degree in Analytics, Business, Statistics, Economics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Finance, Engineering, or a related field.
- Advanced degree preferred.
Benefits and PerksAt Hershey, we offer competitive pay and a comprehensive total rewards package designed to support your wellbeing, financial security, and life outside of work.
- Health & Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus wellness programs that support your physical and mental health
- Financial Security: Competitive pay, annual incentive opportunities, and a 401(k) with company match
- Time Off & Flexibility: Paid time off, company holidays, and flexible ways of working where applicable
- Growth & Development: Career development programs, learning opportunities, and internal mobility
Benefits may vary based on role, location, and eligibility.
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