Category Development Manager

About Arla Foods

Arla Foods is a global dairy company producing a range of dairy products, including brands such as Puck®, Lurpak®, The Three Cows®, Starbucks®, and Castello®. The company operates in over 100 countries, with 1,200 employees in the Middle East and Africa and a global workforce of 19,000. Arla Foods has an annual turnover of €10bn, establishing its position as one of the largest dairy companies globally.

The Opportunity: Category Development Manager

Arla Foods is seeking a Category Development Manager to lead the development of the cooking cheese category in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This full-time position is based in Riyadh and reports to the Category Lead for the Cooking Portfolio. The role involves supporting the creation and execution of local category strategies, developing insight-based recommendations, and collaborating with commercial teams to enhance in-market performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead local category strategy development for cooking cheese across all key channels and customers.
• Translate shopper, consumer, and customer insights into actionable growth plans, focusing on penetration and market share acceleration.
• Drive the annual category planning process in partnership with Regional Marketing, Sales, and Finance.
• Lead innovation planning and in-market execution for New Product Developments (NPDs).
• Partner with Customer Growth and NRM teams to build commercial stories, initiatives, and toolkits that drive in-store performance.
• Manage the category P&L in collaboration with Finance, ensuring sound financial decision-making and scenario planning.
• Coach and influence internal stakeholders across functions to champion the category and embed best practices.

Qualifications and Experience

• A degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Economics, or a related field.
• 5-7 years of experience in FMCG, ideally within Category Development, Marketing, or Commercial roles.
• Proven leadership in category strategies and cross-functional collaboration.
• Comfortable navigating both strategic and operational aspects of the business, with a solid grasp of category P&L dynamics.

Required Skills

• Excellent analytical capabilities.
• Strong communication skills.
• A track record of influencing stakeholders at multiple levels.
• Proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Knowledge of Nielsen, shopper panels, or retail audit tools is an advantage.

Work Location

This role is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.