Category Assistant

**About us**:
We are The Very Group and we’re here to help families get more out of life. We know that our customers work hard for their families and have a lot to balance in their busy lives. That’s why we combine amazing brands and products with flexible payment options on Very.co.uk to help them say yes to the things they love. We’re just as passionate about helping our people get more out of life too; building careers with real growth, a sense of purpose, belonging and wellbeing.

**About the team.**:
As a Category Assistant in Small Domestic Appliances & Floorcare team you will have a good level of responsibility and its a great opportunity if you are looking for development. You will be responsible for owning a supplier or product type.

Relationship building is essential as strong relationships will be required within the immediate team, across the business and with external suppliers.

Work closely with the immediate team (Senior Category Manager, Junior Category Managers, Forecasting & Stock Manager and Category Admin Assistant) to ensure fully aligned across brands and working towards the category's strategy

Work cross functionally having strong engagement and influence with Trading, Marketing, Supply Chain, Pricing and Commercial

Regular communication with brands such as Shark, Ninja, Vax, Dyson and Tower around performance, upcoming opportunities, product launches and deal negotiation

**About the role.**:
We have an exciting 12 month fixed term Category Assistant opportunity. After what has been a fantastic year of trading, we have a strategy plan of continued success.

You will also get the opportunity to work with some our our biggest partner brands such as Shark, Ninja, Vax, Dyson and Tower, as well as working with various product types. The role comes with a great development opportunity and you will get the chance to own a supplier or product type.

This role will be suitable for someone who has previous category experience. Our Category Assistant roles allow you to further develop your skills, as you are responsible for dual specialisms of buying and merchandising. It's a great opportunity to sharpen up your trading skills and hone your commercial knowledge along the way too

You will support the Category in delivering category objectives and meeting the daily demands of the category.

**Key Responsibilities**:

- Manage relationships with key Small Domestic Appliance brands. Building strong relationships to maximise commercial opportunities.
- Review performance of category, understand drivers of performance and be able to articulate this well.
- Understand KPIs and their drivers and take action to support delivery of budgets and quarterly plan.
- Managing weekly forecasts & intake plans to maximise availability of the range throughout the season.
- Own the end-to-end product set up process.
- Use of pricing tools daily to ensure we're competitive vs the market, make pricing decisions and input supplier funding.
- Maintain an awareness of the market, keeping track of competitor activity and actively looking for ways to drive overall category trading performance.
- Work closely with the category FSM (forecast and stock manager) to ensure the forecast reflects promotional plans to maximise availability and stock efficiency.

**About you**:

- Strong experience with MS Excel.
- Experience within a head office role is desirable.
- Creative, passionate and innovative.
- Positive, driven and brings energy to the role.
- Ability to work under pressure and in a fast-paced environment.
- Champions what is right for the business, team and customer.

**Some of our benefits**:

- Flexible, hybrid working model
- Inclusive culture and environment, check out our Glassdoor reviews
- £250 flexible benefits allowance to suit your needs
- 27 days holiday + bank holidays
- Udemy learning access
- Bonus potential (performance and business-related)
- Up to 25% discount on Very.co.uk
- Matched pension up to 6%
- More benefits can be found on our career site

**How to apply**

**What happens next?**

You can expect a two-stage interview process for this position:
**First Stage -** a 30 minute initial call with the hiring team to find out more about you and for you to learn about life at The Very Group.

**Second Stage -**A 1 hour final stage face to face interview with the Hiring Team.

As an inclusive employer please do let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments.

If you'd like to know more about our interviews, you can find out here.

**Equal opportunities**

We’re an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.