Director, Category Leadership

Position Overview

Lead category strategies for Giant Eagle and Military Channel clients by delivering top-tier insights that propel customer growth. Utilize comprehensive channel and beverage category expertise by drawing on diverse internal and industry data. Actively guide customer decisions with evidence-based, category-focused leadership. Maintain direct customer partnerships to co-create strategies and tactics aimed at future category expansion.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the foremost expert on industry trends, channels, and beverage categories to support retailer and beverage strategies.
• Provide strategic advice to customer leadership, building trust through profound customer insights and sustained value delivery.
• Lead and nurture retailer beverage category initiatives.
• Evaluate and recommend opportunities and risks regarding beverage category shelf space.
• Identify and express opportunities during annual customer category assessments.
• Prioritize retailer category growth while collaborating closely with Sales to develop winning sales strategies.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree is required, with preference for an MBA or advanced degree.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry and retail customer roles (manufacturer, retailer, or distributor), ideally 8 to 10+ years.
• Broad customer experience is advantageous.
• Proficiency in category/space management or shopper insights is essential.
• Strong analytical skills and familiarity with syndicated data sources like Nielsen or Circana.
• Advanced capabilities in Microsoft Office.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, storytelling, and persuasion skills.
• Competent in managing and prioritizing multiple projects simultaneously.

Additional Information

• Preferred work location is Atlanta, Georgia, with openness to Pittsburgh, PA metro area.
• Position requires presence in the office at least three days per week.
• Travel commitments range from 0% to 25%.
• The company does not provide visa sponsorship; applicants must be authorized to work in the USA without sponsorship.
• The role offers exposure to global marketing leaders and opportunities to engage with emerging digital marketing platforms.
• Continuous learning supported via corporate training programs.
• The annual base salary range in the USA is $169,000 to $200,000, with a target annual incentive of 30% of base pay. Long-term incentive ranges from 0% to 20%.
• Relocation assistance is not available.
• Employment end date for applications is August 2, 2026.
• The company embraces an inclusive culture emphasizing curiosity, empowerment, inclusivity, and agility.
• Equal opportunity employment with no discrimination based on protected characteristics.