Category & Merchandising Manager (Office Coffee Services)

ABOUT THE GROUP

From a small store in Turin to a large, internationally recognized group: we are present in 90 countries around the world, with over 4,000 employees and 30 companies, managed directly and indirectly by the Luigi Lavazza Spa parent company, which distribute and market our products and coffee machines. In addition to Lavazza, the following brands are also part of our Group: Carte Noire, Merrild, Kicking Horse, Eraclea and Whittington tea.

Joining Lavazza means doing business with passion, knowing that the impact of our work goes beyond the quality of the production chain. We are a big family, and are constantly looking for new talents who share our values and can enrich our team. We combine competitiveness with social and environmental responsibility as we create superior quality products available for consumption both at home and out of home, and distributed through all channels: Retail, Foodservice, Office Coffee Service (OCS), and Vending. Our strong, diversified presence enables us to offer consumers and clients perfectly suited solutions, for any occasion and time of day.

JOB OVERVIEW

At Lavazza North America, the OCS (Office Coffee Services) Category & Merchandising Manager will be key in setting and executing the strategy of the OCS Channel in terms of category vision, Flavia portfolio assortment & development, new brand partnerships, price guidelines, shopper selling stories. The position will liaise closely with other OCS Channel counterparts, Commercial Strategy, Sales, and HQ teams to foster collaboration and communication across teams. This individual will be crucial in developing category management capabilities within Lavazza for the OCS Channel for US & Canada.

Location: West Chester, PA 

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JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Setup shopper & consumer studies and to identify main AFH (focus OCS) shopper trends to build Flavia Category Vision and develop ad hoc OCS category program in partnerships with top customers.
• To assess category trends for OCS Channel, and to identify opportunities related to new product launches and its related activation plan.
• Responsible for OCS Innovation (portfolio) activities, including business requirement definition, business case development, and ongoing marketing project support.
• To analyze IoT data and getting insights about Lavazza/competitors/coffee segments trends to identify tactical and strategic opportunities.
• Build Flavia portfolio management strategy, catching new partnership opportunity and to lead and execute the innovation process.
• Build Flavia portfolio pricing strategy with the objective of maximizing Lavazza marginality and boosting assortment velocities.
• To build Assortment & Merchandising guidelines, providing local trade marketing team with the base to build country assortment priorities and distribution targets.
• Work with the Commercial Strategy team to build related Selling Story about Category Development and support Flavia system implementation at local level.
• Support Brand Director in managing Category Management related budget expenditures (budget planning & monitoring).

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in business management or marketing preferred or equivalent experience required
• 5+ years of experience in Trade Marketing and Category Management
• Familiarity with Sales Value Chain, Portfolio Strategy Setup, and Customer Management
• Ability to setup consumer & shopper research, interacting with agencies and managing main research tools
• Ability understand and manipulate syndicated data such as Nielsen, Numerator, IRI
• Strong communication & project management skills
• Strong proficiency in PPT, Excel
• Familiarity in working within international contexts
• Previous experiences in Sales is a nice-have
• Previous experiences within coffee industry is a nice-have
• Ability to travel as needed up to 25% of time
• Ability to occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds
• Ability to sit for extended periods of time

BENEFITS/PERKS

• Competitive Medical, Vision, Dental Benefits
• 401K Package
• Employee Assistance Program
• Onsite Cafeteria and Gym (West Chester location)
• Hybrid Work Schedule
• Ability to be barista certified
• Monthly Lunches provided by Lavazza
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Performance Development Plans
• Employee Discounts
• Flexible business casual dress code - jean friendly!
• Free coffee, anytime!