VP, Consumer & Shopper Understanding - North America

About Ferrero:

Ferrero began its journey in the small town of Alba in Piedmont, Italy, in 1946. Today, it is one of the world’s largest sweet-packaged food companies, with many iconic brands sold in countries all over the world. Find out more about Ferrero at ferrero.com.

About the Role:

We’re seeking a strategic and visionary insights leader to head the Consumer and Shopper Understanding (CSU) function in North America. This role is responsible for driving a deep understanding of our consumers and shoppers to guide business decisions and fuel growth across our portfolio of brands.

You will lead a team of 20+ insights professionals and partner closely with Brand Marketing, Category Management, Sales, and Senior Management to infuse data and insights into every business decision – from communication to retail execution to innovation and long-term brand and portfolio strategy. This role requires working with a wide range of research techniques and datasets, a strong commercial acumen, and the ability to deliver insights and impactful recommendations with a high degree of clarity and confidence. You will also be responsible for managing the CSU budget and for the ongoing performance, professional growth and development of the team.

This leadership role reports to the Global CSU leader based in Luxembourg and to the Marketing Services leader in North America. The role is based in Parsippany, New Jersey where most of the CSU team is located. Smaller teams are also based in Chicago and Toronto.

This is a hybrid position - 3 days on-site and 2 days remote. This position is based in our Parsippany, NJ NA corporate headquarters.

Main Responsibilities:

• Lead Integrated Consumer & Shopper Insights Practice: Continue to define and evolve the CSU vision for North America, ensuring consumer and shopper understanding is at the core of driving business strategy and brand growth.
• Champion Integrated, Data-Driven Decision Making: Leverage advanced analytics, syndicated data sets (e.g., Nielsen, Circana) and custom research to generate actionable insights that deliver a holistic view of behaviors, motivators, and barriers across the path to purchase.
• Inspire Innovation & Brand Growth: Translate insights into clear opportunities that inform product innovation, brand positioning, and go-to-market strategies. Identify emerging trends, category white spaces, and cultural shifts to guide future growth platforms.
• Build Organizational Capability: Lead, mentor and develop a high-performing insights team, drive best practices in research design, storytelling, and insights activation, and foster a culture of curiosity, experimentation & continuous learning.
• Financial Stewardship: Oversight and management of the CSU research budget, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and fiscal accountability.
• Collaborate with Senior Leadership: Serve as a strategic thought partner to senior leadership and influence decisions at the highest levels by synthesizing complex insights into compelling narratives that shape strategy and investment priorities.

About You:

• 15+ years of experience in CPG strategy, consumer and shopper insights, or analytics 
• Proven expertise leveraging a wide range of data sources -- including syndicated data (e.g., POS, household & receipt panels, retailer and loyalty card data), custom qualitative and quantitative research methods, and media/digital KPIs -- to drive strategic decisions
• Broad experience across multiple insight disciplines, such as communications/media research, innovation research, shopper insights, marketing mix and advanced modeling, segmentation, business performance tracking, and brand or portfolio strategy
• Strong leadership and influencing skills with a demonstrated ability to build trust, align stakeholders, and drive action across functions
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, underpinned by strong commercial acumen
• Recognized as a strategic advisor, with a track record of effectively engaging and presenting to senior executives, including C-Suite audiences
• Outstanding storytelling and communication skills with the ability to make complex insights clear and actionable
• Innovative thinker with a collaborative mindset and passion for driving continuous improvement
• Experience leading and developing diverse and senior level teams; adept at working in an international environment and within a matrix structure
• Ability to build team capability while inspiring, empowering, and motivating others along the journey
• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, statistics, or a related field required. Master’s degree is considered a plus.

Compensation Data

The base salary range for this position is $225,000 - $290,000 annually.  Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors permitted by law. This range represents the anticipated salary for this position at this time. 

In addition to base salary, we offer a comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and other benefits. 

Our Benefits & Perks:

Careers with caring built in - discover our benefits here.

DE&I at Ferrero:

Ferrero is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture in which all employees feel welcomed and appreciated and have the same opportunities. We believe all our people are equally talented in their own way. In nurturing the curiosity and natural abilities of our employees, we provide them, generation after generation, the means to succeed personally and professionally, enabling them to craft their journey at Ferrero. The diversity of our talents is what makes our work environment multicultural, innovative, and highly rewarding.
Find out more here.

Ferrero N.A. provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.