Category Strategy & Insights Lead Condiments - Foods Europe

Unilever is hiring for a Category Strategy & Insights Lead (Condiments) – Foods Europe.

Job purpose

This role defines and drives the strategic direction and growth of our Condiments Vertical in Europe. The role is integral to shaping and executing category growth, pricing, and portfolio strategies, while ensuring the voice of the customer and the markets are central to decision-making.

The role reports into the CSP Category Strategy & Insights Lead for Foods Europe and operates with a dotted reporting line to the Category Director for Condiments Europe, ensuring strong alignment between category strategy, portfolio direction, and in-market execution.

You will lead cross-functional, data-driven initiatives that enable top customer & category growth across key condiment segments, ensuring the overall platform vision is translated into clear, market-relevant strategies. The role is great for someone with a background in commercial and customer strategy and experience in category management.

Two mandated principles

1. Our North Star is the Category Growth Strategy: To grow our customers’ condiment categories and, in doing so, win disproportionately from that growth. This role leads our Market Making agenda for Condiments, together with the vertical cross-functional team.

2. As CSP Category Strategy & Insights Lead, you are an Objective Expert, Customer- and Country-Facing, responsible for:

   • Category Growth Strategy, Management & Insights (as part of One Plan), reflected in the Customer Category Growth Story (CCGS) including: Category Value Drivers (CVDs), 12-Quarter Activity Plans, Trade Stories, Must-Do Basics
   • Channel & Customer Strategy and Design, including: Design 4 Channel / Retailer Plans for EU Value Channel (LIDL, Action, Aldi)
   • Top Customers (e.g. Tesco, REWE, Albert Heijn)
   • Deploying Revenue Growth Management (RGM) for Condiments Europe, in close cooperation with the Foods Europe RGM team, ensuring RGM principles (pricing, price-pack architecture, mix and promo logic) are consistently translated into category strategies and customer plans — effectively bringing RGM to life for the Condiments Vertical.
   • (Cross-functional) CSP Community & Capability Building
   • Prioritisation of Resources, leading and focusing talent to drive efficiency across Europe and to build and execute plans via Market / Cluster CSPs and country teams.

About the Condiments Vertical

The Condiments Vertical team is accountable for the development and performance of the Condiments business in Europe across BG-led markets, representing > €600 million in turnover.

The objective is to lead the business into volume-led, sustainably profitable growth and market share gains. Within this context, CSP plays a pivotal role in defining the strategic course of the Pan-European Condiments portfolio, with a strong focus on brands such as Hellmans.

Key responsibilities

1. (Customer) Category Growth Strategy

• Develop and maintain the Pan-European Condiments Category Growth Strategy (Vertical CCGS), aligned with the overall Foods Business Category strategy.
• Build on Category Value Drivers to identify Category Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBDs) for platform and market CSPs, ensuring strategies unlock sustainable category growth.
• Identify and lead multi-year initiatives across innovation, renovation, and market development to deliver ambitious Sales Performance Index (SPI) and Net Revenue Realisation (NRR).
• Leverage consumer and shopper insights to unlock customer and category growth through Price Pack Architecture, balancing volume and value growth.

2. Voice of the Customer & Country

• Represent the Voice of the Customer and the Markets within One Plan and IBP processes.
• Translate customer and category JTBDs into data-driven insights that inform strategic choices and shape impactful, customer-relevant strategies.

3. BG-led European Vertical Initiatives & Campaigns

• Lead Pan-European Condiments initiatives to amplify strategic priorities and ensure strong execution across markets.
• Lead Design 4 Channel / Retailer initiatives for Pan-European customers (e.g. LIDL, Action) and Top Customers (e.g. Tesco, Albert Heijn, REWE).
• Drive the creation of Trade Stories and Must-Do Basics, including: Perfect Pricing, Assortment & Execution
• Shopper Marketing & Retail Media guidelines

Required qualifications

• Relevant (5-6 years) experience in CSP and/or Account Management in a local market environment.
• Strong understanding of customer and country dynamics within a BG-led European context.
• Proven ability to analyse and interpret large data sets and translate them into sharp, structured trade and strategy stories.
• Experience working cross-functionally.
• Experience managing a team, with 1 direct report.

Required skills

• Strong leadership with the ability to focus on the big picture, preparing the business for future opportunities rather than managing the status quo.
• Excellent data-based selling and storytelling skills.
• Ability to proactively challenge peers and stakeholders (without reporting line) to drive superior outcomes.
• Strong strategic thinking and deep understanding of categories, customers, and markets.
• Ability to navigate complexity and ambiguity with confidence.
• Pragmatic, positive, and driven — with a mindset to always go the extra mile.

Preferred leadership qualities

• An inclusive motivator who builds high-performing teams that deliver with passion, learn together, and achieve quick wins.
• Able to balance personal accountability with coaching and motivating others.
• Emotionally intelligent, with strong awareness of the broader business context.
• Thinks three steps ahead, executes with excellence, and acts as a natural connector across functions.