ExxonMobil recruits a Category Advisor – Bentonville, AR, US

The Category Advisor, has responsibility to serve select key retail customers with category development support.  This role will provide unbiased insights, analytics and category reporting based on a variety of data sources for motor oil category.  Primary focused is on regular customer reporting, ad hoc support and serving as a major contributor to significant customer planning periods.  This position is part of a growing Shopper Based Design team that is focused on improving the overall shopping experience for the motor oil category and the synthetic share leading brand Mobil 1 and more. This role is based in Bentonville, AR working with retailers throughout North America.  This position works under the direction of the Shopper Based Design Supervisor.

• Lead category projects from refresh to overhaul
• Collaborate with and provide regular reporting for retailers to optimize space-to-sales, efficient assortment, for current and adjacent categories.  Create meaningful solutions that solve shopper’s needs to improve the motor oil buying experience.
• Analyze, create and recommend action and improvements for shoppers, customers and internal stakeholders
• Strengthen category competency for the organization and influence processes for efficiency and effectiveness.  Advance ways of thinking about the shopper journey, shopping decision trees, need states, barriers and opportunities both internally and with customers.  Participate in customer planning and contribute to customer presentations.
• Support cross-functional partners with ad hoc needs while upholding the strictest integrity of confidential customer information
• Assigned retailer(s) across all North American retail channels
• Develop process, plan, and deliver key needs ranging from urgent to a 3 year horizon
• Lead shelf-reinvention and category management, contribute to customer presentations
• Leverage and integrate new forms of key in-store communication, education and navigation
• Develop new processes that improve our go-to-market approach and Shopper Based Design initiatives

• 3+ years of recent experience leading category development projects
• Be a wizard with JDA or similar space planning software
• Excellent organizational skills
• Analytical skills (trend, data, financial)
• Effective communication skills (in-person, written, presentation)
• Project management and collaboration skills, direct customer interaction experience
• Experience influencing without authority
• Proficient in MS Office, preference for those particularly skilled with creating impactful Excel tools and PowerPoint communication
• Proficient with supplemental data resources including syndicated data (IRI, Nielsen, NPD) and customer point of sale data

• Bachelor’s degree
• Experience with a variety of categories and/or retailers
• Demonstrated resilience and ability to managing a complex workload
• Proficient with data visualization tools such as Tableau

Review the level of proficiency needed in this Job Role for both Functional Skills and Behavioral Skills.

Proficiency Levels