Category Manager

Due to an internal move, we have an opportunity for an experienced ‘Category Manager’ to join our dynamic team in Alconbury Hill. Reporting to the Head of Category and Insight, this role will be instrumental in supporting profitable sales and market share growth across a diverse range of customers buying from our gardening, pet and bird portfolio.

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Able to analyse/interpret a broad range of both ad hoc and continuous data sources (Nielsen, Kantar, GfK, dunnhumby) and most importantly, pull out key insights to provide tangible recommendations that add value to our business and meet retailer requirements
• Will proactively develop relationships with key internal and external stakeholders – become the go to for advice/guidance/support with category range reviews
• Going to champion the customer internally and work with internal teams to get the right range and activation in store to grow our share and presence in store
• A confident presenter who can create and deliver compelling stories to retailers to increase distribution of our core range and gain listings on new products
• Willing to get stuck into the detail and able to develop our reporting capabilities across key performance indicators like EPOS performance, distribution of key lines, rate of sale, competitor activity and price/promotional analysis

Key Skills

• Being open and creative to different ways of driving new business and growing existing business for the department and improving collaborative partnerships with key customers and internal stakeholders
• You will be encouraged to identify and make recommendations resulting in identifying opportunities to drive and enhance our range portfolio and increase rate of sale. This includes the responsibility for the competitor benchmarking and making recommendations on pricing and pack size
• Measure, record and report on monthly/weekly across a range of KPIs such as EPOS, rate of sale and distribution
• Experienced using space planning tools to create data driven planograms that maximise opportunities to drive volume, sales and profitability as well as balancing breadth and depth of range for the consumer
• Able to work across multiple projects/categories and deliver within agreed time frame
• Experienced in either using or interpreting a range of data sources (Nielsen, GfK, dunnhumby, EPOS) to make recommendations
• Provide analysis and support to both internal marketing teams and external retail customers across a broad spectrum of channels including DIY, Grocery, General Merchandise and Garden Centres

Person

• Knowledge and experience within the FMCG, General Merchandise or Retail sectors – we want someone who’s passionate about retail
• Knowledge and experience of category management or retail commercial management such as operations or buying
• Advanced Excel required with intermediate to advanced PowerPoint skills also beneficial
• Strong numerical and analytical skills to recognise performance indicators and present findings with action recommendations
• Ability to work under pressure, prioritise and work to deadlines
• Proven ability to analyse and interpret complex data to inform business decisions
• Embraces change, always looking for ways of improving business performance
• Works in partnership with other team members, seeking to understand and meet their needs
• Communicates and influences in a confident manner

If you have the drive and capability to match the above requirements, we would love to hear from you