Senior Category Manager

The Opportunity:

New Town Partnership is delighted to be working with a leading retail organisation to recruit a Senior Category Manager based in their Central Scotland Head Office.

This role is of strategic importance and will report directly to the Senior Management team offering the right individual a significant career opportunity with a highly-regarded consumer brand. 

Role Responsibilities:

As Senior Category Manager you will manage food, non-food and seasonal products.  You will be expected to bring a strong commercial skill set and high level of business acumen to everything you do. Team management experience will be essential. Below is a broad description of the role:

• Understand and develop strategy to drive profitability and sales performance within your category. Utilise/interpret relevant data.
   
• Develop pack, pricing and trading plans that will leverage customer insight to balance sales, margins and waste. 
   
• Prioritise commercial stock purchases to ensure investment into the right stock, right place, right time. 
   
• Know the implications of different growth strategies on Sales and Margin – be confident in guiding the business into making strategic choices.
   
• Develop sales strategy and manage that execution through relevant teams (Category/Supply Chain).       
   
• Identify opportunities within Categories/Brand/Stores and forecast through an understanding of customer trends.

The success of this role requires working with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders including marketing, finance and supply chain. Ability to interact well with individuals at all levels of the business will be essential.

Candidate Requirements:

To be successful in your application you will have to demonstrate prior experience within the FMCG or retail sector. Our client is happy to consider sector exposure out with food as long as you can demonstrate the necessary commercial exposure.

Please do not apply without the following experience and knowledge:

A minimum of 5 years’ practical experience working within FMCG/retail category development with a strong focus on commercial strategy.

• A track record within UK retail operations and the category management.
   
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills including shopper/market insight techniques. 
   
• Ability to understand key messages and present complex data.
   
• Evidence of strong delivery against strategic aims.
   
• Excellent interpersonal/team-leadership skills.

You will be rewarded with a highly competitive salary as well as a dynamic working environment within a household name.

New Town Partnership is the exclusively retained advisor to the company for this search. All direct and third party applicants will be forward to New Town Partnership. For a confidential conversation please contact Jane Gilchrist on 0131 210 0020 or apply online. All applications will be considered and acknowledged.