Rijswijk/Hybrid

We are seeking a dynamic and driven Category Strategy Manager Dairy & Plant Based to join our Category Management team at Danone. Reporting directly to the Sr. Category Manager Dairy & Plant Based (leading a team of 5), you will play a pivotal role in shaping our category strategy and driving brand growth. This role offers a unique blend of internal collaboration and external vision.

The Category Strategy Manager Dairy & Plant Based is accountable for driving Danone brand growth. You understand various factors at play driving category & brand performance within the Dairy & Plant Based market. You will be defining these category, consumer and shopper insights and translating them into strategies and actions and fuel it into the cross-functional teams where you will act as the active interface between the category managers and the sales & marketing teams across the full Dairy & Plant Based scope.

• Category Development: Generate and synthesize market insights across Danone, the broader category and competitors—leveraging all available data sources—to identify and validate growth opportunities. Balances external realities with internal objectives and translates our Dairy & Plant-Based brand plans into category strategy and actions.
• Category Strategy & Vision: Together with the sr. Category manager develop and on-going improve a strong vision on how to grow category and how Danone can play a leading role. You will have a pro-active role in translating vision, insights and internal feedback into category strategies and annual roadmap. Refine them and ensure they meet internal and external needs with the goal to drive Danone category growth.
• Business Planning & Monitoring: Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, and other departments to shape annual strategic plans and build strong commercial assumptions for innovation and renovation, grounded in category, shopper and consumer insights. Create compelling selling stories and strategies that resonate with retailers to drive category & brand growth.
• Stakeholder Engagement: High level of partnership and engagement with internal cross-functional stakeholders both functionally (KAM/Field/Shopper) and cross-functionally (MKT, PRGM). Act as a key liaison to ensure alignment of strategic priorities, enabling visibility on all various data/category insights, and influence decision-making.

You are a strategic thinker with a passion for category development who combines analytical acumen with creative problem-solving to lead our category strategy and deliver exceptional results.

As a key player in our category team, you’ll harness market intelligence, consumer insights, and cross-functional collaboration to unlock growth opportunities. You thrive in a dynamic environment and know how to turn data into action.

You have:

• Bachelor/Master degree (preferably in Business or Marketing)
• Min. 5+ years of working experience in FMCG Retail (Marketing, Commercial, Sales, Finance)
• Experience in Category Management and demonstrated leadership on category projects
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, with a collaborative mindset.
• Excellent communication and presentation abilities, with a keen eye for detail.
• Strong analytical + conceptual skills
• Demonstrated high aptitude in Nielsen/Circana, SIS, 7Even and other tools
• Fluent in English, Dutch is a strong plus

At Danone we are committed to our mission “bringing health, through food to as many people as possible”. Working together to make sure that our brands, like Hipro, Nutricia, Alpro, Activia, Nutrilon and Evian, create real benefits for people, communities and the planet. You will be part of one of the largest Certified B Corps™ in the world. Being B Corp means to be part of a select movement of companies verified to be meeting the highest standards of social and environmental criteria and using business as a force for good. One Planet. One Health.

We Offer

All Danoners receive a complete package of benefits. This includes a competitive salary and yearly bonus, a premium free pension, 30 days of annual leave (with the opportunity to purchase more) and you will receive a monthly health care allowance.  In addition, you can get discount on your gym membership, and we offer initiatives focused on nutrition, physical, and mental health. We provide continuous learning opportunities through workshops, online courses and training sessions.
In the Netherlands we also offer a hybrid working environment which enables each team to meet our people's desire for flexibility. You can work from one of our People Hubs in Hoofddorp, Utrecht and Rijswijk or you can work from home.

It’s simple – hit the “apply” button before the application deadline of July, 15th 2025 . In order to comply with GDPR we can’t process your personal data without your given consent, so please apply directly via this website. Good luck! We can’t wait to meet you.

Need more information? Please contact Esther Vermeer, Talent Manager Sales & Marketing via esther.vermeer@danone.com.

* all applications will be considered for a vacancy without discrimination based on ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, disability, or any other protected status.

We put people at the center of everything we do. Bring your unique perspective, ambitions and ideas to the table – the impact you could make might surprise you. We are committed to embrace diversity, nurturing an inclusive workplace where every individual is valued; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is deeply embedded in Danone's DNA.

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