Pets are our passion, safety is our promise and progress is our pledge. We work smarter, not harder. As a result, we’re widely known as a ‘Best Place to Work’. We make some of the world's most popular and trusted food brands and are committed to advancing the science, health and food products for pets.  

Position Summary

Lead the PetCare Category growth through the development and implementation of the category, channel and shopper strategies supported through the assortment, the promotions, the merchandising, Tariff and communication at the POP.

A day in the life of a Purina Head of Category Development 

• develop the Local Category Strategy approach leveraging the Cat Strat Blueprint from NPPE tailored to the Belgilux specificities in terms of business needs, category dynamics, channel landscape and shoppers profiles. Assess the potential of the different growth levers engaging with the relevant channels, sub-channels and customers ;
• develop and activate the approach to assortments, promotions, merchandising and tariffs for all channels and sub-channels and plan for optimal investment choices (Strategic Revenue Management);

• develop plan to answer business needs in terms of category and shopper data, shopper partners, studies and tools in order to activate in line with the Purina Category Strategy with strong positive ROI ;
• responsible for the implementation of the appropriate communication tools at the point of purchase adapting the marketing key messages to the shoppers profile(s) ;
• coordinate the Commercial Planning (ICP) process through relevant recommendations to drive the commercial priorities and objectives ensuring a strong alignment between the sales and marketing strategies ;
• identify new sources of business growth for the PetCare category and implement the plans to make them a competitive advantage for Purina Belgilux ;
• Identify and communicate to NPPCOF and NPPE the local needs and local expectations in order to contribute to the local growth of the category and the business for each channel / subchannels ;
• enable, develop and grow the MDO team in order to achieve the ambition and reach the short and longer term objectives while strongly inputting to the Purina Belgilux Leadership Team in full compliance and respect to the value and management principles of Nestlé.

As Head of Category Development you report to the Purina PetCare BEO and you are part of the Leadership Team of Nestlé Purina PetCare Belgilux.

What will make you successful

• minimum 5 years of commercial experience including 3 years of category development combined with some Marketing (brand management, marketing manager) and / or sales experience (senior KAM, sales manager) in FMCG.
• at least 3 years of people management / development.
• experience in the PetCare category a plus.
• familiar with the everyday use of Nestlé tools (SAP, PowerBi, APO)
• capable of running data analysis to uncover insights
• strong collaborative mindset at all levels of the hierarchy
• a strong sense of initiative with the will to make a positive difference to the business and the teams.
• desire to grow people enabling results through others

What we offer

• a fulltime position in a dynamic and ambitious team who looks after strong brands and thrive for results;
• exposure to different geographies and Purina PetCare Europe Senior Management;
• excellent terms of employment, with elements such as a 13th month, company car, 27 holidays and seniority days and many other extra’s;
• strong onboarding plan and support with a broad variety of corporate training and development programs;
• career opportunities, within Belgium as well as internationally.

Respect is at the heart of Nestlé's culture, of which room for differences is an important part. Differences between people who buy our products and in our workplace. We believe it is important that everyone feels welcome and safe at Nestlé, regardless your gender, religion, cultural background, age, disability or who you love. We are convinced that diversity leads to more creativity and innovation and moves our organization forward. That is why we actively work to create a culture and leadership that offers equal opportunities for all!