SENIOR CATEGORY MANAGER – DAIRY

Senior Category Manager – Dairy

Up to £60,000 + benefits

Home based – UK

Company
Dale Farm Limited is the largest dairy business in Northern Ireland, and the 5^th largest in the UK with their current turnover standing at £400m. They have presence in every dairy category and supply leading brands such as Dale Farm, Dromona, Lakeland and Spelga as well as providing innovative own label solutions for key customers. The company has 14 sites across the UK and Ireland, producing and distributing a wide range of dairy products nationally, as well as exporting to more than 45 countries worldwide. Customers include all top four grocery multiples and other major retailers; they have also developed an ever expanding foodservice business, supplying the catering trade with both branded and own label solutions.

The group’s technical centre at Ballymena is the hub of new product development within Dale Farm. Since the technical centre opened in 2003, Dale Farm has invested over £4.5million in product and process innovation.  The company has also recently completed a £40m investment programme in its processing plants and acquired Ash Manor Cheese in Wrexham. With a number of exciting new projects planned for 2017, they are looking to grow their commercial team with the recruitment of a Sales Director.

Role
Reporting into the Group Marketing Director, some of your responsibilities will be:

• Partner with Retail and Food Service Customers to support medium to long term category development, by proactively sharing latest insights, trends and category growth opportunities, and demonstrating Dale Farm’s commitment to Customer Development by converting category gaps into product solutions with pace and delivery.
• Develop and implement Category Strategy with Retail Partners and Dale Farm to drive growth across Private Label and Branded business, built on insights-based Category Growth Drivers, uncovered via macro and retail specific trends and category analytics.
• Represent the Shopper within Dale Farm and Customers, via development of best-in-class execution tools for Retail and Food Service, regular category insights sharing and performance updates, including reviews of Shopper Marketing activation and NPD roll-out results.

Requirements

To be considered for this exciting opportunity you must be at either Category Manager or Senior Category Manager level. Food experience is not necessary, however you must have held a role at the required level within an FMCG environment. You must have strong knowledge of the UK retailer landscape with experience managing top 5 retailers, and have the ability to hold a strategic view and influence at a senior level.

All direct and third party applications will be forwarded to our retained recruitment partners at Clear Edge Search & Selection Ltd.