Food Service Category & Brand Manager – MENA

Food Service Category & Brand Manager – MENA

About Arla Foods
At Arla, we’re far more than a leading dairy producer—we’re a global innovator bringing world-renowned brands like Puck®, Lurpak®, and Castello® to tables in over 100 countries. With 19,000 dedicated employees worldwide and 1,300 specialists in the Middle East and Africa, our people are the driving force behind our position as one of the largest and most respected dairy companies in the world.

The Opportunity
Are you passionate about food service innovation and ready to drive the next chapter of growth in the MENA region? We are looking for an experienced and dynamic Food Service Category & Brand Manager to help shape and execute Arla’s food service strategy. This is your chance to expand your career with a company that values creativity, strategic thinking, and collaboration at every level.

About the Role
Based at our regional office in Dubai, you will be a key player in steering our food service category forward. You’ll work in close partnership with global and regional brand marketing teams, commercial excellence experts, innovation and R&D leaders, culinary specialists, and senior executives. Your central mission will be to own and drive the development and growth of our category and brand portfolio, ensuring our products remain indispensable in today’s competitive food service landscape.

Key Responsibilities

• Deep Product & Channel Expertise:
  Develop a thorough understanding of our product range and its relevance to various channels. Leverage your insights to identify new opportunities and optimize product performance.
• Sales Team Support:
  Equip our sales teams with actionable insights, effective sales tools, and strategic support to help them engage customers and close deals successfully.
• Innovation Leadership:
  Own and manage the innovation pipeline—evaluating emerging trends, identifying market gaps, and spearheading new product initiatives that keep our offerings ahead of the curve.
• Strategic Analysis & Data-Driven Insights:
  Utilize robust data analytics and market research to inform strategic decisions, ensuring our approach is both innovative and backed by solid evidence.
• Brand Portfolio Management:
  Drive the evolution of our food service brand portfolio by developing compelling customer brand identities and reinforcing our brand equity and market positioning.
• Creative Process & Agency Collaboration:
  Oversee the creative development process, managing external agencies and internal creative teams to produce engaging content and marketing campaigns that resonate with our target audiences.
• Omni-Channel Experience Planning:
  Design and implement comprehensive omni-channel strategies that integrate digital, in-store, and experiential touchpoints, ensuring a seamless brand experience across all platforms.

What We’re Looking For

• A minimum of 3 years’ experience in a similar role within the food service or FMCG industry.
• Strong analytical, strategic, and creative thinking skills with a passion for driving innovation.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across diverse teams and cultural contexts.
• Fluency in Arabic is considered an advantage, enhancing your ability to connect with regional stakeholders.

Why Join Us?
At Arla Foods, every role is an opportunity to contribute to a legacy of excellence and innovation. If you have the drive to lead, the creativity to innovate, and the strategic vision to propel our food service category forward, we invite you to bring your unique skills to our team and help shape the future of dairy in the MENA region.

Step into a role where your expertise makes a direct impact—apply now and be part of our inspiring journey at Arla Foods!

We have a purpose for Good

At Arla, we strive to unlock the highest potential in each other while working together to create a sustainable future of dairy. We call it  Stronger People Stronger Planet and it is deeply anchored in our organisation and founded on our commitment to respecting human rights, increasing access to healthy dairy nutrition, inspiring good food habits, and improving the environment for future generations. In order to succeed we need to hire people with a sustainable mindset. Could this be you?

BEWARE! RECRUITMENT FRAUD
It has come to our attention that there are a number of fraudulent emails and fake recruitment campaigns on the internet from people purporting to work for Arla Foods. Learn more via this link.