Senior Category Manager

Ornua Co-operative Limited•Evanston, IL

15d•Hybrid

About The Position

Ornua (meaning “new gold”) is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world since 1961. Are you a Senior Category Manager looking for the challenge of taking a mission driven organization to its next level of success? Ornua is actively seeking a Senior Category Manager to join the Ornua Family as we continue our growth trajectory. This position will play a key role in driving category growth, strengthening retailer partnerships, and shaping strategic decisions across the Ornua portfolio through advanced insights, analytics, and collaboration. WHY THIS ROLE IS VALUABLE As our Senior Category Manager, you will have the opportunity to take ownership of category strategy development, retailer-specific category plans, and insight driven recommendations directly influencing growth initiatives, product assortment decisions, promotional strategies and overall category performance. Your contributions will strengthen our operations, support our culture of continuous improvement, and help Ornua deliver high-quality products enjoyed by consumers around the world. WHAT YOU WILL BRING TO THE ROLE You bring a passion for excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement. You thrive in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment and take pride in producing high-quality insights that influence commercial outcomes. Your strong analytical skills, financial acumen, and ability to translate data into clear stories make you a trusted partner to both internal teams and retail customers. At Ornua, success is not just about what you do — it’s how you do it. You demonstrate our values by seeking new ideas, making things happen, showing care for your teammates, being your authentic self, and achieving great things together. WHY ORNUA? Ornua is a purpose-driven, values-led co-operative creating value for Irish dairy farming families through our global operations. With 10 business units, 16 production facilities, and in-market teams across the world, we operate through two divisions — Ornua Foods, which markets our iconic consumer brands including Kerrygold and Pilgrims Choice, and Ornua Ingredients, which provides innovative, customized dairy ingredient solutions to our customers. Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together. We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Career progression opportunities, including global mobility. Comprehensive benefits with region-specific offerings. Dynamic Working policy supporting flexible hours and hybrid work options.

Requirements

Undergraduate degree in an analytical, research, business, or related field
5+ years of experience in a category management role within FMCG/CPG
Highly numerate with strong analytical and critical-thinking skills
Advanced ability to extract insights from syndicated data (Circana, Nielsen – POS and Panel)
Strong presentation and communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex data
Proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint at an advanced level
Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a cross-functional team
Commercially aware with experience supporting customer-facing initiatives
Ability to travel for customer meetings as required
Must be legally authorized to work for any employer in the United States

Nice To Haves

Previous experience in sales or working cross-functionally with sales teams
Knowledge of joint business planning processes
Experience with shopper marketing concepts and retailer-specific decision frameworks
Familiarity with shopper insight platforms (Stratum, 84.51°, or similar)
Experience working in global, matrixed, or fast‑growing FMCG organizations
Exposure to project management or leading cross-functional initiatives
Multilingual ability or international market experience is a plus

Responsibilities

category strategy development
retailer-specific category plans
insight driven recommendations directly influencing growth initiatives, product assortment decisions, promotional strategies and overall category performance