Associate Category & Product Manager - Netherlands
Kids2 · Amsterdam
At Kids2, we’re really good at what we do. And when we’re great at our jobs, we help parents be great at their jobs.
Parenting is demanding, and that’s where we come in. We want to reimagine how brands can make it easier for early stage parents – not by just selling them products, but by providing holistic solutions that transcend borders, categories and aisles.
No matter our title or department, at Kids2, our job is to create more tiny wins for parents, so they can create bright futures for their little ones. That’s a big task!
We’re serious about what we do, AND we love to have fun. Our team is hardworking, entrepreneurial, and passionate about helping families create millions, if not billions of tiny wins.
SUMMARY
We are seeking a Category & Product Manager to support the growth and development of Kids2’s product portfolio in Europe, with particular focus on strategic growth categories within the Home segment.
This role will serve as a key on-the-ground resource for the European business, connecting European consumer needs, market trends, retailer feedback, and competitive activity with Kids2’s global product development and category management teams.
Working closely with the Sr. Category & Product Manager – Europe, this position will support category strategy, portfolio management, product development, and go-to-market execution. The role will help translate European market insights into actionable product opportunities while ensuring the existing portfolio remains productive, competitive, and relevant to European consumers and retail partners.
The ideal candidate combines strong analytical and commercial skills with curiosity about consumer behavior, product trends, design, and retail. This person should be comfortable moving between market analysis, product development, sales support, and execution.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Support the Sr. Category & Product Manager in developing and executing the European category strategy, with particular emphasis on strategic growth categories within Home.
- Serve as an important eyes-and-ears resource in Europe, continuously monitoring consumer behavior, emerging trends, competitive products, design trends, price points, retail activity, and category developments.
- Conduct ongoing competitive and market analysis to identify category trends, whitespace opportunities, assortment gaps, and potential product innovation opportunities specific to European consumers.
- Translate European consumer, retailer, and market insights into actionable recommendations for the global Category, Product Development, Design, and Innovation teams.
- Support the development of product briefs by gathering consumer insights, competitive benchmarks, pricing information, feature requirements, and European market considerations.
- Partner with the Sr. Category & Product Manager to help manage the European product roadmap, including new product opportunities, product refreshes, regional adaptations, and portfolio priorities.
- Monitor the health of the existing European portfolio using sales, margin, distribution, inventory, consumer feedback, and SKU productivity data.
- Develop recommendations for SKU rationalization, product lifecycle management, assortment changes, product refreshes, and add/drop decisions.
- Work closely with European Sales and Marketing teams to support retailer presentations, assortment reviews, line reviews, trade shows, and customer-specific opportunities.
- Help develop compelling sell-in materials, competitive comparisons, category stories, product positioning, and retailer presentations that clearly communicate the value of Kids2 products.
- Partner with Marketing to support European go-to-market plans, ensuring global product positioning and marketing assets are relevant and effective for European consumers and retailers.
- Gather structured feedback from key retailers, distributors, sales teams, and marketplace partners and communicate insights back to the global organization.
- Support pricing and assortment analysis, including competitive price benchmarking, good/better/best architecture, channel positioning, and price/value recommendations.
- Track new product launches and in-market product performance, identifying early successes, challenges, consumer feedback, and opportunities for corrective action.
- Support cross-functional product development activities with Design, Engineering, Packaging, Operations, Demand Planning, Sales, and Marketing to ensure European requirements are understood and incorporated into projects.
- Maintain strong working knowledge of the European retail landscape across specialty, mass, omni-channel, marketplaces, and D2C.
- Participate in relevant European trade shows, retailer meetings, store visits, competitive shopping, and consumer research to maintain a current understanding of the marketplace.
- Prepare recurring category reviews and market updates highlighting trends, competitive activity, portfolio performance, innovation opportunities, and recommended actions.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
- 2+ years of experience in category management, product management, brand management, merchandising, marketing, or related consumer products roles.
- Experience within consumer products, juvenile products, home products, consumer durables, or lifestyle brands preferred.
- Strong understanding of European consumers, retail environments, and market dynamics.
- Demonstrated ability to identify consumer and marketplace trends and translate those insights into commercial or product recommendations.
- Experience supporting product development and/or commercialization of consumer products.
- Familiarity with both online and brick-and-mortar retail in Europe.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret sales, category, competitive, consumer, and financial information.
- Commercial mindset with an understanding of revenue, margin, pricing, assortment, and SKU productivity.
- Strong appreciation for product design, consumer experience, branding, and price/value.
- Experience working within a global organization and across multiple functions and geographies preferred.
- Highly collaborative with the ability to influence teams without direct authority.
- Must be fluent in English. Additional European language capability is a plus.
EDUCATION & SKILLS
- Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, finance, product management, or related field, or equivalent experience.
- Strong consumer and commercial orientation.
- Naturally curious with a passion for understanding consumers, products, competitors, and emerging trends.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Able to execute effectively in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong prioritization skills amid shifting priorities.
- Strong written, oral, and presentation communication skills.
- Comfortable presenting recommendations and insights to cross-functional teams and senior leaders.
CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS
- Proficient in PowerPoint, Excel, and Word.
- Strong Excel and analytical capabilities.
- Familiarity with category, retailer, marketplace, and consumer data tools such as Circana, Profitero, Scintilla, retailer POS data, or similar platforms preferred.
COMPUTER/TECHNICAL SKILLS
- Must be proficient in MAC operating systems, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe In-Design, Adobe Photoshop and
- Adobe Acrobat. Working knowledge use of Microsoft Office Sutie–Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. Must have excellent hand mock-up skills.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
- While performing the duties of this job, the team member is regularly required to talk or listen.
- The team member frequently is required to sit; have flexible use of hands; reach with hands and arms; and stoop, kneel, or crouch.
- The team member is occasionally required to stand and walk.
- The team member must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move heavier product samples.
- Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
- General office environment with regular European and occasional international travel, approximately 15%.
We offer competitive pay, flexible hours, and generous benefits. Plus, to keep things fun (because we are all kids at heart), we offer a host of team member activities and philanthropic efforts throughout the year and company-wide awards and recognition for a job well done!
Check out our website at www.kids2.com and our social media pages on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram for more information and open positions in the career section.
Drug Free Workplace M/F/D/V