Category & Shopper Lead Shopper Science Lab – OTC

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:

• Bachelor’s 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

2026-10-14

Equal Opportunities

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. It’s 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.

Adjustment or Accommodations Request

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. We’ll provide all reasonable adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process and treat all information you provide us in confidence.

Note to candidates

The Haleon recruitment team will contact you using a Haleon email account (@haleon.com). If you are not sure whether the email you received is from Haleon, please get in touch.