Category Development Manager Benelux

Location: Amsterdam

Language requirements: fluent Dutch and English

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.

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.

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.

Our team partners with Revenue Growth Planning Shopper marketing and Customer Activation leads. Together, we develop the one commercial plan and ensure the entire commercial and Category Development teams are fully equipped with comprehensive selling tools.

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 revenue, margin, operational efficiency and shopper satisfaction. Our team strives to establish Diageo as the most trusted and respected supplier in Benelux, recognised for their collaborative win:win approach and outstanding understanding of category, customer and shopper behaviour.

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 Benelux, with a focus on the Belgium market.
• 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/respected) for category management across all strategic customers.
• Make in outlet navigation (assortment, merchandising, pricing, promotion, display) simple and commercially focused.
• Connect our internal teams across commercial, shopper marketing, activation, NRM & data insights to drive tangible actions from insight that will drive the triple win for Diageo, Customer, and Shopper.

About you

• 8+ years of relevant marketing/commercial experience
• 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 competence
• Good knowledge of Excel

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
• A first contract for 6 months, with possibility to become permanent
• …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.

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.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions.

Don’t let anything stop you from applying!