Find a job 
Featured Companies 
Featured Universities 
For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Shape category strategy and leverage insights for sustainable commercial growth.
- Company: Leading FMCG food & beverage organisation with a focus on innovation.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, benefits package, and opportunities for professional development.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by turning insights into actionable strategies that drive brand performance.
- Qualifications: Experience in Category Strategy or Insight within FMCG, strong analytical skills required.
- Other info: Dynamic role with opportunities to influence key stakeholders and drive business change.
The predicted salary is between 45000 - 50000 £ per year.
Can you share an example of how you used consumer, shopper, or category data to make a decision that strengthened brand performance and delivered measurable commercial results? Tell us about a time when insight helped you uncover a non-obvious growth opportunity for a brand within a category. What data pointed to the opportunity, and how did you turn that insight into a compelling business case and execution? Can you describe a situation where you used insight and data-driven storytelling to align stakeholders with different priorities around a brand decision, influencing direction and delivering a stronger category outcome?
This role is central to shaping the category agenda and leveraging insight to unlock sustainable commercial growth. Sitting at the intersection of category management, commercial strategy, and consumer/market intelligence, the successful candidate will act as a strategic advisor to senior commercial stakeholders and key customers across both Retail and Out-of-Home channels.
Key Responsibilities:
- Define the long-term category strategy - grounded in consumer behaviour, shopper missions, and channel dynamics - and ensure alignment with wider commercial goals.
- Lead the discovery of incremental growth opportunities, using syndicated data, loyalty analytics, panel insights, and bespoke research to identify white-space, occasion-based opportunities and portfolio optimisation levers.
- Turn insight into commercial action, partnering with revenue management, marketing and sales to inform pricing strategy, promotional planning, portfolio architecture, channel prioritisation and customer sell-ins.
- Strengthen customer relationships as a trusted strategic advisor, delivering persuasive evidence-based category stories to influence ranging, shelf blueprint, merchandising, and joint business planning.
- Support innovation and renovation strategy through insight, guiding opportunity sizing, concept screening, positioning, and launch tracking to maximise market traction.
- Monitor performance and market disruption, providing proactive read-outs on brand, competitor and category trends and translating them into clear business risks and opportunities.
- Manage external data and insight partnerships, ensuring value extraction from platforms including Nielsen, Kantar, loyalty datasets and other syndicated tools.
What We're Looking For:
- Substantial experience in Category Strategy, Category Management, Insight or Shopper Strategy within FMCG - ideally food or beverage.
- Advanced capability in analysing syndicated and shopper data (e.g., Nielsen, Kantar, loyalty programmes, OOH sources, consumer panels).
- Strong experience influencing commercial decision-making - able to shape strategy and drive business change through insight-led storytelling.
- Proficiency across Excel, Power BI, and PowerPoint to distil complex data into simple and compelling narratives.
- Proven success partnering with senior internal stakeholders and major retailers/OoH customers.
- Strategic thinker with commercial acumen, comfortable owning decisions and operating autonomously.
What Will Set You Apart...
- A track record of turning insight into measurable category or commercial value (e.g., distribution gains, NPD performance uplift, profitable mix shifts, improved promotional ROI).
- Demonstrable strength in navigating conflicting priorities and securing alignment through data-driven storytelling.
- Experience shaping portfolio / pack / pricing / promotional strategy within a commercial transformation journey.
Salary £45-50k plus benefits.
For more information, contact Alice Redmond.
Category Strategy & Commercial Insight Manager in St Albans employer: MacGregor Black
Contact Detail:
MacGregor Black Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Category Strategy & Commercial Insight Manager in St Albans
✨Tip Number 1
Get your networking game on! Reach out to people in the industry, attend events, and connect with potential employers on LinkedIn. We all know that sometimes it’s not just what you know, but who you know that can land you that dream job.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews like a pro! Research the company, understand their products, and think about how your insights can help them grow. We want you to walk in there with confidence, ready to showcase your data-driven storytelling skills.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice makes perfect! Do mock interviews with friends or use online platforms to refine your pitch. We suggest focusing on how you've turned insights into action in past roles, as this will resonate well with hiring managers looking for a Category Strategy & Commercial Insight Manager.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. We’re here to support you every step of the way, so let’s get you that job!
We think you need these skills to ace Category Strategy & Commercial Insight Manager in St Albans
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Data Skills: When you're writing your application, make sure to highlight your experience with consumer and category data. We want to see how you've used data to make decisions that boosted brand performance. Don't just tell us what you did; show us the impact it had!
Tell a Compelling Story: Use data-driven storytelling to illustrate your insights. We love a good narrative! Share specific examples where your insights led to significant business outcomes, and how you aligned different stakeholders around your recommendations.
Be Specific About Your Achievements: Quantify your successes! When discussing your past experiences, include metrics or results that demonstrate your impact. Whether it's distribution gains or improved promotional ROI, we want to see the numbers that back up your claims.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you don’t miss any important updates. Plus, it shows us you're keen on joining our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at MacGregor Black
✨Know Your Data Inside Out
Before the interview, dive deep into your past experiences with consumer and category data. Be ready to discuss specific examples where your insights led to measurable results. This will show that you not only understand the data but can also leverage it effectively.
✨Craft Compelling Stories
Prepare to share stories that highlight your ability to turn insights into action. Think about times when you influenced stakeholders with data-driven narratives. Practise how you’ll present these stories clearly and persuasively, as storytelling is key in this role.
✨Align with the Company’s Goals
Research the company’s current category strategies and challenges. Tailor your responses to demonstrate how your experience aligns with their goals. Showing that you understand their business context will make you a more attractive candidate.
✨Showcase Your Strategic Thinking
Be prepared to discuss how you’ve identified growth opportunities in the past. Highlight your strategic approach to problem-solving and decision-making. This will illustrate your capability to act as a trusted advisor and drive commercial success.
