Senior Category Manager

Minimum 3 days a week in office based in North England (by Manchester Airport)

Introduction:

My client continues to grow and develop the UK market across both Retail and Foodservice and aligned with their current strategic thinking we have been retained exclusively to recruit a UK Market Development position which will perform a central role in the strategic development and tactical implementation of the UK business; helping to create and monitor the Business Plan alongside the UK Managing Director, making sure it appropriately reflects Group Corporate strategy. This is therefore not a pure category management role given greater breadth of involvement across the business and as such will have the opportunity to make an even more significant impact on it.

My client is an iconic and premier frozen seafood business, well established and regarded in the UK amongst both foodservice and grocery retail multiples alike.

The Company:

The UK subsidiary of Royal Greenland, the major international seafood business (revenues c. £550m), offers a blend of own label and banded product and is recognised as a key player in the UK market.  The UK business has a strong collegiate culture with a team that is good fun with the added interest of international liaison where the culture is also supportive and open. The UK MD engenders a supportive culture where autonomy is the norm.

Role Profile:

The role will focus on:

• Helping to create and monitor the UK Business plan with the UK MD and making sure that it is line with Group Corporate strategy.

• Annual review with UK MD & UK Sales people / team as part of Budget planning; on-going monitoring and follow-up on actual business vs Budget (KPI’s)

• Working with UK MD & UK Sales people / team to define and agree on strategic planning

• To be the first contact for the Group’s factories (overseas) on strategic plans for implementation in the UK

• To organise and interpret market data, suitable for strategic plans

• To implement a full category plan; to project manage all agreed plans within the UK office

• Conduct market analysis and analysis findings through to actions

• To generate customer presentations which involve strategic planning

• To manage the ‘critical path’ for NPD items which are part of the strategic plan

• To liaise with Group Brand team members on NPD and marketing strategies

• To organise consumer testing plans where required

• To secure joint business projects together with key customers

• To participate in annual negotiations (e.g. assortment, space, price strategy etc.)

• To actively seek new sales opportunities

• Liaise with PR agencies whenever appropriate

Candidate Profile:

The successful candidate will likely be an experienced and well-rounded commercial food industry professional ideally with experience of both Foodservice and Retail customers albeit Retail knowledge is likely to be more important than Foodservice, knowledge of which can be enhanced in the role. As this is a hybrid role it will be beneficial for the successful person to have a breadth of skills from category and product management through to project management and perhaps even some sales skills. In return they can expect significant autonomy and responsibility to make a difference. As such you will ideally be able to demonstrate the following:

• Analytical and methodical, comfortable with numbers

• Excellent communication and relationship building skills

• Business Acumen

• Very good understanding of the driving forces in UK Retail FMCG and Foodservice, and an understanding of how theory is transformed into practice

• Good Excel knowledge

• Likely to have at least 3 years’ working with FMCG retailing and Foodservice plus having experience of working with customer plans

• Knowledge of negotiation and sales functions at management level

• A willingness to travel within the UK (mainly customer visits), Europe and occasionally further afield (<5% overseas travel to visit HQ and manufacturing sites)

• A genuine interest in food

• A willingness to develop and evolve

• Independent, honest and courageous

• A team Player

Application:

To express your interest please write as soon as possible with cover letter detailing your suitability to Daryl Stickland of CNA International, our retained recruitment partner  including CV and details of both current and desired remuneration package as well as notice period or availability to commence the role.

All direct and third party applications will be forwarded to our retained advisors and no commercial consideration will be made for such unsolicited approaches.