Sr Manager- Category Marketing at Whirlpool Corporation in Gurugram

Job description

Requisition ID: 73639 About Whirlpool India Whirlpool of India Limited, headquartered in Gurugram, is a leading home appliances company dedicated to enhancing life at home and inspiring generations through its trusted brands. The company operates three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Faridabad, Pune & Puducherry, each reflecting Whirlpool’s commitment to providing best-in-class consumer solutions. Further driving innovation, the company has a Technology & Engineering Center, where India's world-class talent architects the next generation of home innovation. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, Whirlpool of India reported approximately INR 8110 Cr in annual revenue and employed 2193 people. More information is available at www.india.whirlpool.in The team you will be a part of: The Category Management team develops and implements marketing strategies to identify effective distribution channels. Researches and analyzes the marketplace to identify new channel, partnership and co-branding opportunities. Develops and monitors channel opportunities, licensing agreements, joint ventures and partnerships to maximize revenues. Designs, develops and implements marketing programs with third-party partners. This role in summary: As the Senior Category Manager - Marketing, you will have end-to-end strategic, financial, and operational ownership of your assigned product category. You will blend consumer insights, product strategy, and data-driven marketing to launch new products, optimize the existing portfolio, and drive market share. This role requires an agile leader who can seamlessly navigate between long-term product roadmapping, rigorous P&L management, consumer research, and ground-level trade enablement. You will be fully accountable for driving market share, optimizing product mix, and ensuring flawless go-to-market execution. Your responsibilities will include: 1. Annual & Long-Term Strategic Planning ● Annual Business Planning: Draft and execute the annual category plan, taking absolute ownership of core metrics including market share expansion, volume growth, and margin delivery. ● 3-Year Product Roadmap: Define and maintain a robust 3-year product pipeline and portfolio roadmap, backed comprehensively by consumer learnings and competitive insights. ● Data-Driven Growth: Continuously analyze primary and secondary market research data alongside market share trends to identify untapped growth opportunities. 2. Financial Management & Project Accountability ● Project Financials: Own the financial decision-making process for category projects, evaluating and passing them based on stringent ROI and payback period benchmarks. ● The Project Triangle: Direct and manage product development and marketing initiatives to ensure all projects strictly satisfy the Cost-Quality-Time triangle. 3. Consumer Insights, Positioning & Communication ● Direct Consumer Engagement: Regularly meet and interface with consumer on-ground to extract deep insights on how to improve existing product offerings and identify pipeline innovations. ● Value Proposition & Brand Control: Define and validate the right consumer proposition for the category. Retain end-to-end control over all marketing, brand, and product communication to ensure messaging consistency and brand compliance. ● Competitive Pricing & Fit: Monitor and analyze competitive landscapes continuously to ensure Whirlpool’s offerings are perfectly positioned regarding product-price fit across all segments. 4. Demand Optimization & GTM Execution ● Demand Forecasting: Partner closely with supply chain and commercial planning teams to ensure highly accurate demand forecasting, balancing optimum market availability against inventory costs. ● Robust GTM Strategy: Architect and lead end-to-end, high-impact Go-To-Market (GTM) plans for all new product launches to maximize day-one velocity. 5. Trade Marketing, Promos & Frontline Enablement ● Commercial Schemes: Design, deploy, and evaluate highly targeted co