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For more than 115 years, Ferrara has created sugar confections that enable moments of sweetness, celebration, and connection for candy lovers of all generations. Today, the company is the #1 sugar confectioner in the United States. Ferrara boasts a passionate team of nearly 9,000 employees creating and delivering hundreds of products sold under 20 popular brands like Brach’s®, NERDS®, SweeTARTS®, Laffy Taffy®, and Trolli® to more than 66 million U.S. households annually and popular Dori snacking products under brands such as Dori, Gomets, Pettiz, and Yogurte 100 in Brazil. Additionally, Jelly Belly, known world-wide for its confections, was acquired in November of 2023.

Shopper Insights Manager

Job Location: ​Chicago​

Want to make an impact?

As Shopper Insights Manager, you will be the voice of the shopper and dive deep into market research, shopper behavior and competitive landscapes to infuse actionable shopper-driven insights into the Ferrara business. Your knowledge and expertise are critical to making sure our strategies are grounded in the shopper, backed by data, encompass a thorough understanding of the category and retail landscape, and are action-oriented to drive results.

Ways you will make a difference

  • Elevate the impact of the Shopper Insights function on the business by challenging the status quo and delivering clear, insights-driven alternatives and recommendations in an inspiring way.
  • Act as a champion of shopper empathy and inspire and instill shopper curiosity throughout the organization by providing teams with an intuitive understanding of the shopper through education and immersion experiences. 
  • Ensure research projects are designed to ask the right questions, address key business issues, match research approach to business needs, and gain stakeholder alignment on scope.
  • Be able to fully manage DIY surveys including questionnaire writing, survey programming, have strong experience with custom survey platforms, be able to analyze large amounts of data, and develop actionable insights from that data.  
  • Confidently present key findings and recommendations throughout multiple levels of the organization in a cohesive, storytelling, action/results-driven format that is visual and compelling. 
  • Stay at the forefront of internal and external factors to provide a wholistic business understanding of not only today’s market, but where our shoppers, customers and the marketplace are headed in the future.
  • Produce high-quality, visually appealing, customer-ready presentations.
  • Have strong experience with key syndicated data sources (e.g., Circana/IRI, Mintel, Numerator, NPD, etc.) to complement custom research.
     

Skills that will make you successful

  • Strong project and time management skills, with proven ability to manage multiple projects and shifting research priorities.
  • Ability to work both independently, as well as with cross-functional teams, in a fast-paced organization.
  • Exceptional communication skills.
  • Ability to travel up to 15%
  • Curiosity and the desire to continually dig beyond the surface for deeper-level insights that drive the business and offer a competitive advantage are crucial.
  • Consistently takes high degree of personal initiative and leadership in a highly matrixed environment to deliver projects successfully.
     

Experiences that will support your success

  • Bachelors degree required, graduate degree preferred.
  • Minimum of 5-8 years of relevant research and insights experience, preferably in shopper or consumer-driven roles.
  • Prior knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies is required, as well as having an interest in exploring emerging research approaches. 
  • Proven ability to design and deploy research from the ground up. Experience programming and analyzing surveys within DIY survey platforms a plus.
     

Ferrara’s success in industry-leading innovation has been driven by deep consumer insights, strong retailer co-creation and partnerships, and a dedication to diversity of thought, experience, and people. A privately held company, Ferrara has its global headquarters in Chicago and an operational network of more than 27 locations in North America, Brazil, and China that includes manufacturing, distribution, sales, and R&D facilities. Ferrara is a privately held Ferrero related company. Learn more at www.ferrara.com or www.linkedin.com/company/ferrara-.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees, employment decisions and opportunities at Ferrara will be based on merit, qualifications, and abilities, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital or civil union status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, military or veteran status, disability, handicap, genetic information, pregnancy (childbirth or related medical condition), or on any other basis prohibited by law. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including selection, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.

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