Pilgrim's · 19 hours ago
DIRECTOR OF CATEGORY DEVELOPMENT / SR MANAGER
Greeley, Colorado
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff, Director/Executive
$101K/yr - $155K/yr
7+ years expPilgrim's is a leading global food company seeking a strategic and business-minded Director/Sr Manager of Category Development. This role involves leading the long-term Category/Business/Channel Strategy process and managing the proactive development of market opportunities to drive growth and margin expansion.
Food and BeverageFood ProcessingMeat and Poultry
Responsibilities
Lead the business strategy process that defines the ambition, the market model, where to play, and how to win
Ensure shared understanding of category roles, competitive position, and growth horizons
Work with cross functionals to define the plan and roadmaps
Partner with Brand and Marketing teams to develop the consumer, customer and brand objectives
Own the process and strategic discipline for defining the branded portfolio, consumer target, positioning, and 4Ps strategy
Ensure all brand choices ladder up to category strategy and market opportunity
Lead development of long-term innovation platforms grounded in consumer, operator, and customer insights
Connect category and channel opportunities to R&D and Product Development pipelines
Provide structured, insight-driven opportunity definitions for stage-gate with clear prioritization
Own the commercial capability model: tools, systems, processes, dashboards, and decision frameworks
Build organizational category fluency and commercial discipline across the matrix
Standardize how insights, strategy, and action flow across the enterprise
Create GTM strategy frameworks across Retail, Foodservice, QSR, and emerging verticals
Partner with Channel Owners and Sales to ensure differentiated, insight-led approaches
Build cross functional GTM plans and aligned around the company goals
Drive cross-functional alignment on the logic behind channel choices and customer positioning
Bring clear, actionable consumer/operator insights to inform brand, category, and customer decisions
Clarify the short-term commercial implications of market shifts and address plans and action steps to refine and develop market position
Use category logic to guide product and portfolio decisions (assortment, SKU roles, pack strategy)
Partner with Supply Chain, R&D, and Category leads making sure item-level decisions are made and executed
Ensure decisions aligns our goals with market logic, seeking significant economic impact
Develop with the teams channel playbooks focused on category dynamics, customer needs, and drivers
Provide clarity across channels (Retail, Foodservice, etc) on market dynamics, competitive activity, trends and immediate opportunities
Develop customer-facing category narratives, opportunity frameworks, and JBP inputs
Enhance customer credibility by integrating insights and cross-functional expertise
Equip Sales with consistent, enterprise-backed category stories
Diagnose market, category, and customer performance gaps, with clear routines and processes to drive action and disciplined execution
Convene RGM, Sales, Category, Marketing, and Ops to align on actions
Bring clarity to short-term levers: mix, price, pack, assortment, promo, GTM adjustments
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred
7+ years in category development, insights, RGM, brand/marketing, or commercial strategy
Strong track record of cross-functional leadership in a matrix environment
Exceptional strategic thinking, communication, and storytelling capability
Proficiency with syndicated data and insight platforms
Strong business acumen; experience in multi-channel food industries preferred
Can perform the functions of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation
As a salaried position with the company, you may be required to travel at some point to other facilities, to attend Company events, or as a representative of the Company in other situations. Unless otherwise specified in this posting, the amount of travel may vary and the most qualified candidate must be willing and able to travel as business needs dictate
Preferred
MBA preferred
Strong business acumen; experience in multi-channel food industries preferred
Benefits
Vision, Medical, and Dental coverage begin after 60 days of employment;
Paid Time Off: sick leave, vacation, and 6 company observed holidays;
401(k): company match begins after the first year of service and follows the company vesting schedule;
Incentive Pay: This position is eligible to participate in the Company’s annual bonus plan, the amount of bonus varies and is subject to the standard terms and conditions of the incentive program;
Career Development: Our company is dedicated to supporting professional growth by offering continuous learning opportunities and a focus on career growth through various learning and development programs.
Company
Pilgrim's
We are a global chicken and pork company.
10001+ employees
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$2.5B2023-09-27Post Ipo Debt· $500M
2023-04-04Post Ipo Debt· $1B
2021-04-08Post Ipo Debt· $1B
Leadership Team
Dustin Dickson
💼 SENIOR DIRECTOR
Recent News
Mexico Business
2026-01-16
2025-11-19
2025-11-14
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