Global Category Manager

Company: This company is a global leader in speciality ingredients for the food and beverage industry. It specialises in

developing customised solutions across dairy, ice cream, beverage, bakery and foodservice applications. With a strong focus

on innovation, sustainability and long-term customer partnerships, it collaborates closely with multinational and regional

clients to deliver tailored solutions aligned to local market preferences. Its extensive international production network

ensures consistent quality and global supply capability, positioning the business as a trusted partner to leading food

manufacturers worldwide.

Role: The position of Global Category Manager – Ice Cream will be responsible for driving proactive and innovative new

product development projects to accelerate growth in sales volume, value and profitability across the global ice cream

segment. The role will lead the design and optimisation of the Ice Cream category strategy, ensuring the portfolio remains

competitive and positioned to win market share against established global competitors.

The successful candidate will combine strong commercial acumen with deep ice cream category expertise and structured

project leadership. This role requires close collaboration with Sales, New Product Development, Marketing and Operations

teams internationally, ensuring innovation is translated into scalable and commercially viable growth platforms. The

position plays a key role in expanding category volume over the five-year strategic horizon and strengthening the company’s

competitive position within multinational accounts.

Main Responsibilities

• Create and manage proactive and innovative product development projects to enhance, extend and optimise the

Ice Cream portfolio

• Lead the definition, development and execution of the Ice Cream category strategy, including portfolio positioning,

pricing framework, production capabilities and network optimisation

• Identify scalable business cases and replicate successful market initiatives across multiple geographies

• Drive acquisition of new sales opportunities by aligning value propositions with customer brand strategies and long-

term growth objectives

• Strengthen cross-functional collaboration between Sales, Brand Management, R&D and Production to ensure

structured project execution

• Develop internal understanding of market size, competitive landscape, customer requirements, trends and

innovation opportunities within Ice Cream

• Enhance customer engagement through collaborative innovation projects and clear communication of added value

• Represent the category at trade fairs and industry events, ensuring impactful brand presence.

Key Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of experience in product and/or category management within the Ice Cream industry (Ice Cream

experience is essential)

• Strong understanding of industrial food manufacturing and multinational customer structures

• Proven experience driving innovation and category growth within competitive ingredient environments

• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, able to translate complex concepts into clear

commercial narratives

• Highly structured with strong project governance capability and experience leading international, cross-functional

teams

• Strategic thinker with measurable track record of delivering growth

• Willingness to be based in Vienna, Austria, with relocation openness required if not currently resident

• Fluent in English; Spanish is advantageous but not mandatory