Category Activator Seasonal & Pralines (Alba, IT)

About the Role:

As a Category Activator for the Seasonal & Praline team, you will play a key role in shaping and executing sell-in and sell-out strategies, leveraging a strong understanding of category performance, shopper dynamics and business KPIs.

You will manage one direct report and work cross-functionally with Marketing, Sales, Category and Shopper Marketing teams to translate business and brand priorities into effective activation plans across channels and store formats.

Based in Alba, this role offers the opportunity to combine strategic thinking with strong execution, contributing directly to business performance in categories where seasonality, gifting occasions and in-store visibility play a critical role.

Main Responsibilities:

You will lead the planning and execution of sales plans for Seasonal & Praline assortments, including in-and-out products and closed-lot initiatives, ensuring alignment with business priorities and commercial objectives.

Manage and optimize the promotional budget dedicated to point-of-sale activations, identifying the most effective investments to achieve sales and profitability targets.

Define channel assortments across different store formats and shopper missions, identifying the most effective product mix and out-of-shelf opportunities to maximize category performance.

Define the Category Activation Plan for the modern trade channel, leading the development and execution of shopper promotions and in-store activations, including promotional mechanics, POP materials, hostess activities, contests, coupons and other activation initiatives.

Recommend the most effective display solutions, with particular attention to key seasonal periods, ensuring strong visibility and execution at point of sale.

Monitor the effectiveness and competitiveness of sell-out activities through ex-ante and ex-post performance evaluations, analyzing ROI, market share, sell-out performance and relevant channel KPIs. You will translate these insights into actionable recommendations to continuously improve future activation plans.

You will translate category and activation strategies into clear guidelines for the sales force, communicating assortment, display and promotional priorities through national KAM meetings, field meetings, trade marketing tools and digital platforms.

About You:

You bring a strong strategic and commercial mindset, combined with solid experience in Trade & Shopper Marketing, Sales or Marketing within the FMCG industry. Your understanding of category dynamics, shopper behavior and market trends allows you to identify opportunities and translate them into effective commercial actions.

You have excellent analytical skills and a data-driven approach, with the ability to evaluate performance, manage complexity and make sound business decisions. Experience working with categories characterized by strong seasonal peaks and rapidly changing commercial priorities is an asset.

You are able to work effectively across functions and stakeholders, combining strong influencing and communication skills with a pragmatic, execution-oriented approach.

You have people management skills and the ability to guide and develop your direct report, fostering ownership and accountability.

Fluent in English, with a strong command of Microsoft Office tools, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.

A Master’s degree in Economics or a similar field, combined with significant professional experience, enables an immediate impact in this role.

What We Offer:

The role is classified at Level Quadro 1S under the National Collective Agreement for the Food Industry (CCNL Industria Alimentare). The guaranteed minimum base annual gross salary established by the CCNL for the applicable level is € 50.083. The compensation package also includes an annual variable component with a target of up to 10% of base salary.

The overall compensation will be determined based on the experience, skills, and qualifications of the selected candidate.

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About Ferrero:

Ferrero began its journey in the small town of Alba in Piedmont, Italy, in 1946. Today, it is one of the world’s largest sweet-packaged food companies, with many iconic brands sold in countries all over the world. Find out more about Ferrero at ferrero.com.

DE&I at Ferrero:

Ferrero is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture in which all employees feel welcomed and appreciated and have the same opportunities. We believe all our people are equally talented in their own way. In nurturing the curiosity and natural abilities of our employees, we provide them, generation after generation, the means to succeed personally and professionally, enabling them to craft their journey at Ferrero. The diversity of our talents is what makes our work environment multicultural, innovative, and highly rewarding. Find out more here.