April 2018

Senior Category Manager for a mid-sized food manufacturer

This position is now closed

If you like the sound of this role our specialist Nick Maughan can help you find your next career move.

Reporting to the Commercial Director you will own all Category activity within the business. You will be responsible for making recommendations that lead to more consumers buying more of the company's products; achieved through the provision of actionable and relevant Category Insights primarily within the “Top 4” grocers.

  • Salary; £50,000 - £60,000
  • Location; Based at the company head office in West Yorkshire

Key Roles & Responsibilities

  • Take the lead role in developing Category Insight within the business
  • Understand, in detail, the category within each Top 4 retailer, be the customer category expert, be fully conversant with their shopper behaviours
  • Understand the specific retailer “language” – how they segment and define shopper groups. Listen closely, ask probing questions and talk in their language
  • Develop and maintain contact with each of the Top 4 retailer’s Category and Merchandising teams – be their point of contact for Category understanding
  • Stay aware of trends in the wider marketplace, provide potential input into NPD direction

Objectives and Measures

  • Develop actionable, meaningful and relevant insights within the Top 4 retailers
  • Be determined to add to the customer’s and bottom line through insight-led improvements in category performance
  • Working with the Commercial Director, agree target plans, measures and timelines for product range, share of space and on-shelf merchandising location within each account
  • Maintain a close working relationship with retailer category and merchandising teams
  • Develop actionable category insight and solutions to assist with new customer wins

Skills and Experience

  • 5+ years’ commercial experience within FMCG/CPG industries of which at least 2 years must have been in a customer facing Category role.
  • Pre-requisite is an innate ability to mine for opportunities borne out of genuine shopper/consumer insight
  • Ability to distil complex information into actionable insight
  • Customer focussed, pro-active approach to both internal and external customer needs
  • Confident presenter of information at a senior level, strong communication skills
  • Good relationship builder, both internally and externally

If you have the skills and experience and are looking for a new challenge, we would be delighted to discuss this opportunity further.

Completed Project