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Category Development Manager

AT Diageo
Diageo

Category Development Manager

Hamburg, Germany

Languages Required: fluent German and English

Contract: Fixed-term for 14 months

Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks company with an outstanding collection of brands, such as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray, and Guinness.

Our purpose - Celebrating life, every day, everywhere - has a meaningful role in our company, for our people, our diversity, our brands, in how we perform and how we build shared value.

Diageo has built a strong platform for growth - through investment in its own brands and by acquisition to broaden the geographical footprint and category depth and range. The company's strong local business units are well-positioned to win in increasingly competitive and fast-paced environments. Diageo's portfolio is well-diversified across price-tiers, enabling it to participate where consumer opportunity is greatest, and to capture shifts in consumer preference.

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About the Role

Winning at the point of purchase with customers is fundamental for business growth as retailers and wholesalers settle how our categories and brands are presented to consumers and shoppers. Shoppers increasingly buy from a repertoire of brands and the vast majority of decision making happens at the point of purchase, hence our ability to influence this is critical to business growth.

The Category Development team develops a deep understanding of customers while partnering closely with them on joint value creation projects. We utilise sophisticated category management skills to advise customers how to maximise their future category revenue, operational efficiency and shopper satisfaction. Our team strives to establish Diageo as the most trusted and respected supplier in Germany, recognised for their collaborative "win win" approach and outstanding understanding of category, customer and shopper behaviour.

As internal category advisor, our team partners with Key Account Management, Consumer & Shopper Planning and Customer Activation lead. Together, we develop the one commercial plan and equip the entire commercial teams with insights to optimize current category performance and push boundaries to lead future category opportunities.

The role is a great platform to build functional and leadership skills in operational and strategic category development, and provides plenty of future career options at Diageo in key account management, revenue growth and customer / shopper marketing.

Top Accountabilities
  • Establish and fully embed the Adult Drink strategy as the framework for expressing our category, brand, innovation and portfolio plans to customers in Germany.
  • Track, report, and articulate Category performance - turning data into insights and recommendations.
  • Trend prediction and forecasting, market analytics and identifying new business opportunities in line with category trends.
  • Lead customer engagement with Diageo's category vision, strategy and plans to identify opportunities to grow the spirits' category (incl. Non-Alc).
  • Support Diageo to become the go to supplier and most trusted for category management across all strategic customers.
  • Make in outlet navigation (assortment, space, merchandising, activation) simple and commercially focused.
  • Connect our internal teams to drive tangible actions from insight that will drive the triple win for Diageo, Customer, and Shopper.


About you
  • 4+ years of Category Development/Customer Marketing/Commercial experience, ideally in FMCG or food retail
  • Existing capability to build genuine relationships based on mutual trust & respect
  • Successful management of senior partners, resulting in strong and positive outcomes
  • Holistic skills across various marketing growth drivers as well as a track record of delivering groundbreaking business results
  • Comfortable dealing with ambiguity and complexity
  • Proven brilliant execution to high standards
  • Strong commercial and numerical skills
  • Good knowledge of panel data (retail, consumer)


Our Offer
  • An inclusive company culture that puts employees and their development first
  • A competitive salary with bonus and many benefits that suit your lifestyle
  • An industry leading parental leave policy
  • ...and of course, THE best colleagues!


Celebrating our inclusive and diverse culture is core to Diageo's purpose of "celebrating life every day everywhere". This purpose is, in itself, inclusive in nature, as it values everybody irrespective of background, disability, religion, gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity.

We know that for Diageo to thrive and to realize its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the 180 countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base. We view diversity as one of the key enablers that helps our business to grow and our values, purpose and standards set the conditions for us to respect the unique contribution each person brings.

Flexibility is key to success in our business and many of our staff work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time, compressed hours, flexible location. Please talk to us about what flexibility means to you and don't let anything stop you from applying!

Client-provided location(s): Hamburg, Germany
Job ID: Diageo-JR1111661
Employment Type: Full Time

Perks and Benefits

  • Health and Wellness

    • Health Insurance
    • Health Reimbursement Account
    • Dental Insurance
    • Vision Insurance
    • Life Insurance
    • Short-Term Disability
    • Long-Term Disability
    • FSA
    • FSA With Employer Contribution
    • HSA
    • HSA With Employer Contribution
    • Fitness Subsidies
    • Pet Insurance
    • Mental Health Benefits
  • Parental Benefits

    • Birth Parent or Maternity Leave
    • Non-Birth Parent or Paternity Leave
    • Fertility Benefits
    • Adoption Assistance Program
    • Family Support Resources
    • Adoption Leave
  • Work Flexibility

    • Hybrid Work Opportunities
  • Office Life and Perks

    • Commuter Benefits Program
    • Casual Dress
    • Happy Hours
    • On-Site Cafeteria
    • Holiday Events
  • Vacation and Time Off

    • Paid Vacation
    • Paid Holidays
    • Personal/Sick Days
    • Leave of Absence
    • Volunteer Time Off
  • Financial and Retirement

    • 401(K)
    • Pension
    • Stock Purchase Program
    • Performance Bonus
    • Relocation Assistance
  • Professional Development

    • Tuition Reimbursement
    • Promote From Within
    • Mentor Program
    • Access to Online Courses
    • Lunch and Learns
    • Internship Program
    • Leadership Training Program
    • Associate or Rotational Training Program
  • Diversity and Inclusion

    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program
    • Employee Resource Groups (ERG)
    • Woman founded/led

Company Videos

Hear directly from employees about what it is like to work at Diageo.