Category Insights Manager

Business Area: Nestlé Cereal Partners

Location: Welwyn Garden City – Hybrid working

Salary: £43,000 to £48,000 dependent upon experience

Some of our other fantastic benefits:

• Potential, discretionary bonus
• Generous pension scheme
• 12 flexible days on top of 25-day holiday entitlement
• 2 paid volunteering days
• A focus on personal development and growth

Although this is a full-time permanent opportunity, please speak to us about what flexibility means to you as we are always open to discuss individual’s flexible working needs, don’t let this stop you from applying.

Position Summary:

We have an exciting opportunity for a talented Category Insights Manager to join our CDT “Commercial Development team” in the UKI market to champion category and shopper insights within Cereal Partners and our retail multiple accounts and discounter channel; driving what’s best for the category and ultimately delivering growth for both. You’ll provide whole category analysis, recommendations and strategic advice based on solid category and shopper insight internally and externally. We want to be "Trusted for putting the Shopper first".

Your impact:

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Develop long term sustainable category partnerships with key retailers in our Developing Channels area of the business which includes Discounters, Convenience & Wholesale. The priority will be Aldi, Lidl & Coop but may go wider in these channels depending on the request.
• Design and execute an annual insight plan, demonstrating category thought leadership, expertise in knowing and understanding the shopper, and highlighting short-term & long-term growth opportunities.
• Set up and maintain regular meetings with the buyer to progress the category plan.
• Proactively manage customer range reviews, merchandising changes, store trials and ad-hoc projects providing fact-based recommendations and solutions, ensuring all key customer deadlines are met.
• Champion our Category and Shopper Vision as a framework for long-term growth, tailoring where possible to increase customer relevance & understanding.
• Work alongside the Shopper team to then provide actionable recommendations for activation or trial.
• Produce advanced data analysis from multiple data sources to provide relevant reports, category updates and trend updates.
• Participate in shopper research projects as and when required.
• Be a data expert – interrogating all available data resources which may include KANTAR / CIRCANA / IGD/ DUNNHUMBY/ NECTAR/ MINTEL to generate insight and champion data usage across the business.
• Contribute to the annual category planning process, and work with the Category Development Manager to drive strategic direction for your retailers and ensuring the category growth agenda is always top of mind.
• Be the shopper expert providing insight and the shoppers point of view to Sales, Marketing & the Shopper Activation team.
• Actively provide consultant advice and support to the Sales & Marketing teams to highlight distribution, range and promotional strategy opportunities for Cereal Partners in your customers / channels.

Your ingredients for success:

You’ll have a breadth of category insights experience within FMCG and have a proven track record in being a data expert. Ideally, you’ll have worked across different retailer multiple accounts and / or different channels. Experience of interrogating some of the following data sources such as Kantar, Circana, Dunnhumby or Nectar to generate insight and champion data usage across the business is essential.

You’ll also:

• Have excellent attention to detail.
• Be highly numerate and analytical with prior working knowledge of category sales data. Extracting the insight from the data sources is key but being able to craft and relay the story whilst providing clear insights, opportunities and actions is just as important.
• Be able to work on own initiative and as part of a wide cross functional team.
• Have a real aptitude for IT skills, strong in Excel and Powerpoint whilst previous experience in space planning systems would be advantageous.
• Be comfortable in front of customers and be able to influence them by presenting with expertise on the category.

What you need to know:

Advert posting date: 30/04/2026

Advert closing date: 14/05/2026

We will be considering candidates as they apply and we will occasionally close job advertisements early in the event we receive sufficient applicants, so please don’t delay in submitting your application.

At Nestlé, our values are rooted in respect and we believe that embracing diversity and fostering an inclusive environment allows everyone to reach their full potential and drives innovative thinking. We strongly encourage applications from individuals of all gender identities, ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities, parents, carers and members of the LGBT+ community. Please let us know if we can provide accommodations to ensure your full participation in the application process.

We take pride in championing inclusion and diversity. We proudly signed the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter, are committed to Disability Confidence, and have been recognised as a Times Top 50 Employer for gender equality for three consecutive years. Additionally, we are a headline partner of Diversity and Inclusion in grocery.