What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Customer Business Lead - Kroger position at General Mills and Careers?
Job Description:
As a Senior Customer Business Lead for Kroger, you will own the total commercial agenda and P&L for key grocery categories, including trade and volume budget management with one of General Mills’ most important customers. You will lead and develop the grocery strategy for the organization while overseeing the customer relationship, business performance, and people leadership for a team of ~10 account managers and analysts. This role is based in Cincinnati; relocation assistance is available.
What You’ll Lead
Customer & Category Leadership
- Serve as the business owner and senior customer lead for Kroger, operating at a director‑level scope with a direct counterpart of Kroger Directors.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for Kroger on assigned grocery categories.
- Lead joint business planning, setting multi‑year growth plans and annual targets.
- Act as a category steward, influencing shelf, assortment, pack/size, pricing, and promotion for the total category, not just General Mills brands.
- Build and sell in high‑low promotional programs that deliver volume, revenue, margin, and retailer scorecard goals.
Commercial Ownership
- Own delivery of volume, revenue, margin, and net sales (RNS) targets.
- Build and manage complex promotional calendars across Kroger banners and divisions.
- Guide volume forecasting and trade spend planning, using historical performance, customer POS, and syndicated data.
- Manage trade budgets and continuously re‑deploy investment based on ROI.
Team & Cross‑Functional Leadership
- Directly lead a team spanning selling, trade planning, and analytics (entry level through highly experienced).
- Indirectly lead a broad cross‑functional team including Supply Chain, Digital/Omni, Customer Marketing, Category Management, and Brand Marketing.
- Set clear priorities, ways of working, and metrics to deliver flawless in‑store and online execution.
People Leadership & Culture
- Recruit, develop, and coach team members; provide ongoing feedback and career development.
- Build a high‑performance, high‑accountability culture grounded in clear expectations and follow‑through.
- Model inclusive leadership and create an environment where diverse perspectives are encouraged and valued.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree.
- 8 years of progressive, customer‑facing CPG experience (sales, account/customer or category management, shopper/consumer insights, trade funding, or analytics) with direct ownership of a major grocery retailer and experience calling on large grocery customers; Kroger experience strongly preferred.
- Prior category leadership/advisor experience influencing a retailer’s total category strategy.
- Demonstrated expertise in high‑low promotional planning and managing complex promotion plans.
- Proven people leadership experience (recruiting, developing, and motivating a team).
- Success working in a matrixed, cross‑functional environment with Finance, Marketing, Legal, Supply Chain, and Sales.
- Strong analytical skills and ability to turn syndicated and customer data into clear, compelling recommendations.
- Advanced strategic, financial, and negotiation skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct experience calling on Kroger or working in a Kroger market, with a strong understanding of how Kroger goes to market and executes promotions.
- Proven track record managing a large P&L and trade budget with clear ROI results.
- Interest in future relocation to other markets or field‑based business centers as your career grows.
We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best — bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one other and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what’s next.