Global VP, Category Strategy (Mars Snacking)

Job Description

Job Description:

Mars Snacking’s vision is to create Better Snacks for Better Days, with a clear One Demand vision at the heart of it. As we bring together an expanded and more comprehensive snacking portfolio, this role exists to define, lead and orchestrate a future-proof Category Vision and Strategy—deeply insight-led, digitally enabled, and technologically scaled—to drive superior category and customer growth.

As Global VP, Category Leadership, you will set and drive the global category growth vision and strategy, turning consumer, shopper, and market insights into winning category strategies and plans that accelerate category growth, share, revenue, and profitability across regions and channels. You will act as the global subject-matter expert in category capabilities and lead a high-performing global category leadership team, partnering closely with Commercial/Sales, Marketing, Strategic Revenue Management (SRM). You will help shape the agenda of the ‘Integrated Intelligence’ function to ensure category and shopper remain at the center of our business and you will also own the Strategic Perfect Store program, developing strategies, methodologies, tools and capabilities to unlock winning Mars Snacking execution at point of purchase.

Reporting to: Global Chief Customer Officer

Location: Chicago
Travel: 25–40% (global, customer and market visits)
Direct reports: 8 – Category Vision Sr Directors, Retail Strategy Director, Category Display Directors, Global Customer Partnership Director, Perfect Store Strategy Director

What are we looking for?

• 15+ years of progressive experience in Category Management/Category Leadership, Shopper Marketing, Commercial Strategy, or RGM within CPG; snacking/food/beverage experience strongly preferred.
• International experience in different geographies, working across cultures, different markets, prior experience in managing different trade development and structures & multiple channels.
• Proven senior leadership experience building and leading global and/or multi-region teams in a matrix organization.
• Demonstrated track record of driving category and commercial outcomes (share growth, distribution gains, improved promo ROI, margin expansion) with major retailers and eCommerce customers.
• Deep expertise in syndicated and shopper data (e.g., NielsenIQ/IRI), retailer POS, and category analytics; ability to translate analysis into simple, compelling selling stories.
• Strong understanding of the end-to-end commercial system: pricing architecture, promotion strategy, assortment, merchandising, and trade terms.
• Comfort influencing C-suite and customer executives; strong executive presence and negotiation skills.
• Bachelor’s degree required (Business, Marketing, Economics, Analytics or similar); MBA or advanced degree preferred.

What will be your key responsibilities?

• Define and own the Global Category Vision - Define the category vision, growth choices (by need-state, occasion, format, and channel, and 3–5 year roadmap, to fully reflect a technology‑enabled, data‑driven, omni‑category future, incorporating new sub‑categories, emerging consumption moments, and external trends across channels. translate into annual priorities and measurable OKRs.
• Engage and inspire stakeholders across the organization: Engage all stakeholders and deploy the vision effectively across 30+ markets globally so that it drives our strategies, wins more customer partnerships and most importantly delivers mutual category growth.
• Partner with Marketing/Portfolio/R&D Teams to evolve the Demand Map using integrated data, analytics, and scenario modelling, ensuring holistic, One Demand‑aligned choices that inform activation, innovation, and communication.
• Innovation and pipeline shaping: Partner with Brand, R&D, and Strategy to identify whitespace, write insight-led innovation briefs, and validate concepts/price-pack architecture through testing. Utilize relevant metrics and measures to drive visibility of Category Leadership contribution and to hold stakeholders accountable for delivery of Category Leadership strategies and Category growth.
• Build and own a ‘Store of Future’ vision - partnering with Integrated Intelligence to leverage customer, shopper, and behavioral data—combined with advanced analytics—to create an omnichannel, omni‑category vision of the Store of the Future, grounded in the evolved Category Vision.
• Own the Display Strategic Display framework and toolkits/assets - build leading expertise in Transaction Zone/Approach Zone, main aisle, secondary display and translate into capability assets to unlock winning execution for Mars in our key markets globally.
• Elevate in-store and digital execution: Establish best-in-class merchandising standards (shelf, secondary displays, seasonal, cross-merchandising) and eCommerce content/search/shelving principles; create scalable playbooks for regions.
• Own the Category Leadership and Perfect Store Digitalization Strategy - create advanced category intelligence tools, embedding analytics, automation, and digital technologies. These tools would have the objective to quantify Category Vision choices with precision, enable dynamic/fact‑based planning and decision‑making, and translate moments by brand, channel, and customer into scalable activation frameworks.
• Drive a step‑change in category capability (measured Globally via Advantage Group Trade Attitude Survey) by defining a future‑back capability roadmap, prioritizing digital fluency, analytics adoption, and tech‑enabled ways of working through targeted interventions with regions and markets.
• Customer-facing category leadership: Serve as a senior thought partner to top global and regional retailers, delivering compelling category stories, joint business planning inputs, and growth pilots.
• Global-to-local operating model: Build clear ways of working across global and regions (cadence, templates, governance) to ensure consistency while enabling local adaptation.
• Performance management: Build a maintain a Performance culture - Create dashboards to track category KPIs (share, penetration, velocity, distribution, price index, promo ROI, shelf health); diagnose issues and drive corrective actions.
• Team leadership: Hire, coach, and develop diverse talent; build analytical, storytelling, and influence capabilities; create succession pipelines.

Critical Skills & Leadership Capabilities

• Strategic category architect: Connects consumer need-states to portfolio choices and execution, balancing short-term delivery with long-term brand/category health.
• Managing Vision and Purpose: Ability to create and cascade an inspiring vision across the organization, and to mobilize large sales populations across markets
• Influencing without authority: Strong influencing skills, across regions and markets, with no formal authority.
• Analytical rigor: Strong commercial acumen, comfort with retail math, price-pack architecture, and performance diagnosis; can set hypotheses and validate quickly.
• Influence without authority: Aligns cross-functional partners through clarity, narrative, and trade-off management; drives decisions and accountability.
• Executive storytelling: Builds crisp, retailer-ready category narratives and recommendations; adapts message by audience.
• Builder mindset: Creates scalable tools, playbooks, and operating rhythms; improves ways of working and capability maturity.
• People leadership: Coaches talent, sets a high bar, and fosters a culture of inclusion, curiosity, and performance.
• ADAPT Competencies: Ensures Accountability, Manages Complexity, Courage, Decision Quality, Values Differences, Nimble Learning, Organizational Savvy, Being Resilient, Strategic Mindset, Instills Trust

Measures of Success

• Category share, penetration, and velocity improvements across priority markets/channels.
• Distribution and shelving gains with top customers; improved planogram compliance and merchandising execution.
• Stronger innovation hit rate and faster scaling of winning launches across regions.
• Elevated category capability (tools, dashboards, talent) and consistent global operating cadence.
• Top Tier Trade Attitude Survey ranking in all key capabilities and markets.
• Positive feedback from stakeholders across the organization

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• A strong focus on learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

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The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is between the range listed below, however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position will include variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in 401k plan, and paid time off benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment.

The pay range shown is applicable to all US locations listed within the job posting:USD 252,000.00 - USD 346,500.00