Category Manager

You’ll join the UK & Ireland Category Management team reporting to the Senior Category Manager. You will be accountable for driving the Human Expression (Stationery) category insights to help optimise the performance of both the total category and BIC’sportfolio of products within this category, across the Retail and E-commerce channels.

You will be primarily responsible for understanding, tracking, analysing and sharing insights about the performance of our brands and competitors in the market, our consumers and shoppers in order to contribute to broader Category strategy (by our retailcustomers) and BIC Brand strategy (internally).

**What You’ll do**
- Accountable for Human Expression (Stationery) category, with responsibility for in-depth category and shopper understanding and insights at a micro and macro level
- Lead the category relationship with key customers; Drive the customer category planning, range review and execution cycles
- Analyse category/segment performance using customer, consumer, shopper and macro environment data and sources for internal and external reporting
- Drive ad hoc market research, monitor competitive activity and analyse data, in order to identify and better serve shoppers’ needs
- Identify appropriate case studies / research studies from other countries to share with and potentially implement in the UK & Ireland subs
- Develop and implement tools for sales and marketing support i.e. reports / analysis of data as required by key stakeholders
- Manage internal and external data sources, including sourcing, formatting and updating various databases / cubes / software systems with latest information (including but not limited to IRI, GFK, SIP, Quantium, Nielsen, Kantar and COGNOS)
- Be the voice of the shopper and customer in internal meetings with Sales and Marketing teams to aid the development of channel and brand strategies and improve our product activation.
- Proactively deliver compelling insights, arguments and recommendations to key stakeholders (both internal and external) that help to grow both the broader category but also BIC’s share, sales and profit within the category.
- Manage local agency relationships, driving them to provide value-added account service, accurate data and insightful presentations
- Prepare, implement & monitor CatMan budget for any key projects you may be managing (liaison with rest of team to ensure tracking & forecasting is accurate). Including regular tracking of spend in both UK and Ireland and set-up of new suppliers in systemand request for PO creation when required
- Ad hoc trips to Ireland and Europe may be required to fulfil the job responsibilities.

**Qualifications**
- Higher Education (in Business or Maths disciplines preferred but not required)
- Minimum 3 years relevant experience (e.g. at manufacturer or data supply agency)
- High-level fluency of English required - good command of language necessary for writing compelling presentations and communicating with key retailers and internal stakeholders
- Understanding of the UK, Ireland, Nordics, Germany, Austria and Switzerland retail and E-commerce environment is preferred

**Hybrid working policy available.