Category & Shopper Lead Shopper Science Lab – OTC
Job Summary
Welcome to Haleon. Were a purpose-driven world-class consumer company putting everyday health in the hands of just three years since our launch weve grown evolved and are now entering an exciting new chapter one filled with bold ambitions and enormous opportunity.
Our trusted portfolio of brands including Sensodyne Panadol Advil Voltaren Theraflu Otrivin and Centrum lead in resilient and growing categories. What sets us apart is our unique blend of deep human understanding and trusted science.
Now its time to fully realise the full potential of our business and our people. We do this through our Win as One strategy. It puts our purpose to deliver better everyday health with humanity at the heart of everything we do. It unites us inspires us and challenges us to be better every day driven by our agile performance-focused culture.
Title: Category & Shopper Lead Shopper Science Lab OTC
Reports to: Category and Shopper Director & Head of UK SSL
The Category & Shopper Lead - OTC plays a critical role in driving sustainable category growth across Europe by embedding the Voice of the Customer into category strategies commercial planning and execution.
At the core of this role is the application of the SSL to understand shopper consumer and healthcare professional behaviour and translate these insights into actionable category and customer solutions.
You will lead customer engagement and co-creation through the SSL bringing category strategies to life in immersive environments influencing decision-making and delivering measurable commercial impact.
Working at a European level you will act as a bridge between global strategy and local execution ensuring category strategies are relevant scalable and embedded across markets.
This is a hybrid role; based in London Bankside & the Shopper Science Lab will based in London Tides (Bankside) from July 2026.
There will also be occasional travel to local markets.
Key Responsibilities
1. Support Category Growth & Customer/Channel Centricity
- Champion the Voice of the Customer within the OTC category ensuring customer and shopper insights are embedded into category strategies initiatives and growth plans.
- Support the integration of shopper customer and retailer insights into category plans and customer initiatives.
- Partner with Europe and market teams to translate category and brand growth plans into retailer/channel-relevant recommendations.
- Support the localisation and implementation of category strategies across European markets.
- Contribute to the development of core category growth tools and materials.
- Support Perfect Shelf and execution excellence programmes through application of Shopper Science Lab capabilities.
2. Deliver Customer and Shopper Science Lab Programmes
- Deliver customer engagement and retailer collaboration sessions within the Shopper Science Lab.
- Support the design and execution of immersive SSL experiences that bring category strategies and insights to life.
- Work with market teams to adapt SSL outputs and recommendations to local customer needs.
- Share best practices and case studies across markets to drive consistency and learning.
- Support capability-building activities that increase understanding and adoption of SSL tools and approaches.
3. Shape Commercial Excellence and Category Strategy
- Input category-specific priorities and strategies into broader Commercial Excellence blueprints frameworks and guidance.
- Ensure category growth plans are effectively reflected within omnichannel commercial planning approaches and execution standards.
- Collaborate with ComEx teams to embed category priorities into commercial capability programmes tools metrics and best practices.
4. Enable Market Execution and Capability Building
- Support markets in adapting category strategies and commercial planning approaches to local customer needs and opportunities.
- Drive consistency and alignment across markets while enabling the flexibility required for local execution.
- Build capability and understanding of category-led commercial planning across the organisation.
Why you
Basic Qualifications:
We are looking for professionals with these required skills to achieve our goals:
- Bachelors degree.
- 8-10 years of commercial experience within FMCG
- Experience in category management shopper insights commercial excellence sales
- Proven ability to translate insight into commercial action and growth plans
- Experience working in matrixed multi market environment
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills including engagement with senior regional and global stakeholders.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in OTC Consumer Healthcare and/or Pharmacy channels.
- Experience in omnichannel commercial planning and/or Revenue Growth Management.
- Experience developing commercial frameworks toolkits and capability programmes at regional or global level.
- Implementing change initiatives and leading change.
- Sustaining energy and well-being building resilience in teams.
- Translating strategy into action - a compelling narrative motivating others setting objectives and delegation.
- Building strong relationships and collaboration managing trusted stakeholder relationships internally and externally.
Job Posting End Date
Haleon are committed to mobilising our purpose in a way that represents the diverse consumers and communities who rely on our brands every day. It guides us in creating an inclusive culture where different backgrounds and views are valued and respected all in support of understanding and best serving the needs of our consumers and unleashing the full potential of our people. Its important to us that Haleon is a place where all our employees feel they truly belong.
During the application process we may ask you to share some personal information which is entirely voluntary. This information ensures we meet certain regulatory and reporting obligations and supports the development refinement and execution of our inclusion and belonging programmes that are open to all Haleon employees.
The personal information you provide will be kept confidential used only for legitimate business purposes and will never be used in making any employment decisions including hiring decisions.
If you require a reasonable adjustment or accommodation or other assistance to apply for a job at Haleon at any stage of the application process please let your recruiter know by providing them with a description of specific adjustments you are requesting. Well provide all reasonable adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process and treat all information you provide us in confidence.
The Haleon recruitment team will contact you using a Haleon email account (@). If you are not sure whether the email you received is from Haleon please get in touch.
About Company
About us We are a science-led global healthcare company with a special purpose: to help people do more, feel better, live longer. We have 3 global businesses that research, develop and manufacture innovative pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines and consumer healthcare products.