Brussels | Full-time

Context

As Senior Manager Category Development – Away from Home (AFH), you are the strategic category leader responsible for driving sustainable growth of the non-alcoholic beverages category across national customers and a wide variety of AFH environments, ranging from Food-to-Go and Petrol to At Work and Leisure.

You will define and bring to life the Category Vision, translating shopper, customer and market insights into clear strategic priorities and high-impact category growth initiatives. A key element of the role is ensuring these strategies translate into execution by working closely with commercial and execution teams to turn priorities into practical actions that create measurable impact in outlets.

As the visible leader of Category Development within AFH, you will ensure strong stakeholder management and alignment across the business. Positioned at the heart of the relationship between customers, commercial teams and execution teams, you will shape long-term category growth and reinforce CCEP's position as the preferred category partner.

In addition, you will lead, coach and develop a team of two Category Managers while personally driving strategic customer relationships and key business initiatives across the AFH channel.

Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Growth

• Define and land the Category Vision, ensuring it is tailored and impactful across national customers and AFH environments.
• Translate shopper, customer and market insights into clear strategic priorities and actionable growth plans.
• Identify and unlock sustainable growth opportunities across assortment, space and category execution.
• Drive category growth initiatives that create value for both customers and CCEP.
• Support the development of channel strategies aligned with broader commercial objectives.

Customer Partnership & Influence

• Lead customer-facing category discussions, influencing decision-makers through compelling, insight-led storytelling.
• Deliver best-in-class category reviews with clear, data-driven recommendations.
• Build strong relationships with key national customer stakeholders and position CCEP as a trusted category partner.
• Partner closely with commercial teams to shape customer and channel strategies.
• Act as a strategic advisor on category trends, shopper behaviour and growth opportunities.

Execution Excellence

• Ensure category strategies are effectively translated into actionable execution priorities.
• Collaborate closely with execution teams to drive excellence in outlet execution.
• Act as the connecting point between customers, commercial teams and execution teams, ensuring priorities remain clear, relevant and executable.
• Monitor implementation and identify opportunities to continuously improve category performance.
• Ensure category initiatives generate measurable business impact in outlets and across the AFH channel.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Commercial, Shopper Marketing, Revenue Growth Management and Execution teams.
• Represent Category Development in AFH stakeholder forums and business discussions.
• Lead and contribute to channel-focused cross-functional projects and initiatives.
• Drive stakeholder alignment to ensure effective implementation of category priorities and business plans.

Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead, coach and develop two Category Managers, creating an engaged and high-performing team.
• Strengthen category management capabilities and ways of working across the AFH organization.
• Share best practices, insights and learnings across the Commercial Development function.
• Foster a collaborative, customer-focused and growth-oriented team culture.

Profile

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in economics, Business Administration or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience within FMCG, Category Development, Commercial Development, Commercial Excellence or Sales.
• Proven experience in Category Development is strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of category management principles, shopper insights and customer strategies.
• Experience within the Away from Home channel is considered an asset.
• Experience leading, coaching or mentoring colleagues is highly desirable.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to translate insights into clear business direction.
• Excellent analytical capabilities and ability to develop compelling, insight-led recommendations.
• Strong storytelling, influencing and presentation skills.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders internally and externally.
• Strong customer focus and passion for driving sustainable growth.
• Ability to connect category strategies with practical field execution.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building capabilities.
• Leadership mindset with the ability to coach, support and develop others.
• Collaborative approach and ability to thrive in cross-functional environments.

Technical Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Strong experience working with category, shopper and customer data.
• Experience with syndicated data sources and category management tools is an advantage.
• Strong ability to interpret complex data and translate it into actionable commercial recommendations, including in environments with varying levels of data availability.

Languages

• Fluent Dutch is required, with the ability to confidently present recommendations, lead customer discussions and influence stakeholders.
• Professional proficiency in French is strongly preferred.
• Good command of English, enabling effective collaboration within CCEP's international environment.

Why Join CCEP?

We join for the brands. We stay for the people.

Behind every bottle are passionate and talented colleagues who make our success possible. Working at CCEP means being part of a fast-paced, performance-driven and supportive environment where you are encouraged to take ownership, bring ideas and grow.

At CCEP, you'll have the opportunity to influence decisions across a diverse and dynamic Away from Home landscape while working with some of the world's most iconic brands.

We are proud to be recognised as a Top Employer globally and in Belux for several consecutive years, a reflection of our commitment to creating a great place to work.

What makes us a great place to work

• We love our brands
• We put our people first
• We grow together
• We make a positive difference for our customers, colleagues and communities

We also offer

An attractive total reward package designed to support your wellbeing, development and financial security:

• Competitive salary complemented by a performance-related bonus
• Meal vouchers and eco vouchers
• Comprehensive insurance coverage including hospitalisation insurance (also for your family), life insurance and income protection insurance ensuring financial support in case of extended work incapacity
• A generous complementary pension plan fully funded by CCEP
• Flexible benefits: choose between dental insurance or sports & culture vouchers
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), offering confidential professional support 24/7 on topics such as wellbeing, legal or financial matters
• On-site fitness facilities at our Anderlecht headquarters
• Discount on our products
• A share savings plan with the opportunity to receive matching CCEP shares
• Tailored learning programmes and real career development opportunities
• Hybrid ways of working, including up to 2 days of homeworking per week depending on the role and team needs
• A nice holiday package with 20 legal vacation days, 12 recuperation days and an additional leave day every 4 years
• ... and much more

About Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) is one of the world's leading consumer goods companies and a global leader in the beverage industry, as well as the largest Coca-Cola bottler worldwide.

Every day, our 42,000 colleagues across 31 countries make, move and sell some of the world's most loved drinks, supporting over 2 million customers and reaching hundreds of millions of consumers.

In Belux, around 2,000 colleagues contribute across our three production sites in Ghent, Antwerp and Chaudfontaine, our logistics and distribution network, field sales teams and headquarters in Brussels. From production to in-store activation, our teams manage the full value chain locally, manufacturing a significant share of our beverages in Belgium and distributing them across the Belgian and Luxembourg markets through retail, horeca and other channels.

Whatever our role, we are united by a shared ambition: delivering excellence, growing responsibly and creating lasting value for our customers, consumers and communities.

Recruitment Process & Inclusion

Our Vision

At CCEP, we champion equal opportunities and welcome candidates from all backgrounds. We recruit based on skills, potential and the unique perspectives that diversity brings to our teams.

We are committed to providing a friendly and inclusive recruitment experience. If you require any adjustments during the selection process, please let us know.

Our Process

Our recruitment process is designed to help us get to know you better while giving you a clear understanding of the role, our culture and the people you may work with.

Depending on the position, it may include:

• Initial CV screening by our Talent Acquisition team
• Online assessments (cognitive and personality)
• First conversation with Talent Acquisition via Microsoft Teams
• Final on-site panel interview with the Hiring Manager and key stakeholders (typically including a future cross-functional colleague to bring different perspectives). During this meeting, you may be invited to present a business case or complete a practical exercise related to the role, either prepared in advance or carried out on the day depending on the position
• Final feedback and offer, Welcome to CCEP!

We aim to keep the experience transparent and smooth, so you always know what to expect. We want you to feel comfortable being yourself throughout the process — authenticity matters to us.

For additional information, please contact our Talent Acquisition team: TalentAcquisitionBelux@ccep.com.

Please apply exclusively via our online platform; for GDPR reasons, we do not accept applications by email.

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