Category Advisor - Kroger

COMPANY OVERVIEW

We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best - bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one another and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what’s next.

As a Category Advisor on the Kroger business, you will use your analytical skills to develop category and aisle strategies, leading shelf initiatives to influence Kroger’s vision and go-to-market strategy for your categories. You will be part of the Kroger Category Management team where we “Deliver Clear Unbiased Insights. Collaborative Partners. Category Champions.” You’ll be joining a high-performing team that has experience, prioritizes a team-first culture, likes to win, and celebrates successes together.

You will be the Cereal, Snacks, and Baking physical and digital shelf expert, and own and support the KOMPASS category review process, partnering with numerous cross-functional partners, including sales teams, brand teams, and insights to uncover key omnichannel insights and create a strategy to drive distribution share growth. In addition, you will lead key strategic initiatives for your categories as we work to drive POG optimization, packout targets, and uncover key insights to share with Kroger with the goal of being the go-to manufacturer.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

PROBLEM SOLVING & ANALYTICS

• Develop holistic, omnichannel category strategies by leveraging the tools, insights, and analytics from internal, industry, and retailer-specific sources.
• Build an influential selling story by gathering and analyzing category, consumer behavior (purchase behavior, demographics, trends, competition), market, and customer information from multiple internal and external data sources (e.g., 84.51, Circana, Numerator, shopper insights, sales data).
• Cultivate actionable insights and strategic category initiative recommendations to drive category growth, distribution, merchandising, and shelving.
• Translate shelf and category insights into clear, customer-relevant recommendations that address Kroger’s strategic priorities and identify opportunities for joint growth.

EXECUTIONAL EXCELLENCE

• Take personal accountability and ownership for distribution results, deeply understand the consumer, and prioritize what’s important.
• Follow through on customer commitments and ensure insights, recommendations, and shelf initiatives are executed with consistency and urgency.

INFLUENTIAL LEADERSHIP

• Interface with the customer on a regular basis to deliver consumer and category insights.
• Own and build strong, trusted relationships with Kroger Category Managers and other customer partners by serving as a consistent, proactive thought partner on strategic shelf and category opportunities.
• Proactively understand Kroger partner needs, tailor insights to customer priorities, and create collaborative solutions that strengthen General Mills’ influence and credibility.
• Participate in special strategic category projects intended to evolve or advance General Mills category management influence.
• Manage one direct report (BCA) as they support you within your category responsibilities and support their development.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 5+ years of experience with category management, shopper/consumer insights, customer-facing account management, analytics, and/or trade funding.
• Experience in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry.
• Analyst experience with Nielsen/IRI and syndicated data to help create sales stories.
• Prior experience working with Kroger.
• Strong analytical skills and experience aggregating internal and external data (e.g., Nielsen, IRI, CPM, sales data) to build an influential selling story.
• Ability to think systemically and lead complex processes.
• Ability to influence decision-making across multiple levels and functions of an organization to drive results.
• Ability to build and maintain trusted customer relationships and communicate strategic shelf and category insights in a compelling, customer-relevant way.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft applications (Excel and PowerPoint).

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Corporate or field experience working with cross-functional partners.
• Prior category management experience.
• Demonstrated experience building relationships with retail customer partners and influencing decisions through category or shopper insights.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

• This role is located at the Kroger Business Center in Cincinnati, OH. Relocation assistance will be provided if you are not local to the area.
• Applicants for this position must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. General Mills will not sponsor applicants for this position for work visas.
• International relocation (outside of the US) will not be considered.

SALARY RANGE

The salary range for this position is:

At General Mills we strive for each employee's pay at any point in their career to reflect their experiences performance and skills for their current role. The salary range for this role represents the numerous factors considered in the hiring decisions including, but not limited to, educations, skills, work experience, certifications, etc. As such, pay for the successful candidate(s) could fall anywhere within the stated range.

Beyond base salary, General Mills offers a competitive Total Rewards package focusing on your overall well-being. We are proud to offer a foundation of health benefits, retirement and financial wellbeing, time off programs, wellbeing support and perks. Benefits may vary by role, country, region, union status, and other employment status factors. You may also be eligible to participate in an annual incentive program. An incentive award, if any, depends on various factors, including, individual and organizational performance.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must meet a minimum 18-year age qualification.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER (EOE)

General Mills is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital or familial status, status regarding public assistance, or membership or activity in a local human rights commission.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION REQUEST

If you need to request an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please fill out our online accommodation request form by following this link: Accommodation Request.