Category Manager

Role: Category Manager – Chilled & Ambient FMCG

Location: London

Andros is a family owned business, putting people above anything else

Bonne Maman is the market leader in jam, #3 in spreads and growing in chilled

Summarise the job in 2 sentences

This is an exciting opportunity for a strategic thinker with a proven track record in driving category growth, to join an ambitious team and develop their career as a Category Manager.

Describe the client

Andros is a family-owned business based in South-West France with a turnover exceeding 3 billion Euros and 46 manufacturing sites globally.

They're a leading European fruit transformation and chilled dairy producer, manufacturing the internationally famous brand Bonne Maman, as well as many private label products.

Andros is a people focused business and put this above anything else. With ambition being one of their 5 core values, they invest in people who invest in them. Entrepreneurial mindsets are encouraged, and decisions are based on trust and a team player mindset. Communication is uncomplicated to keep the business agile and ahead of its competitors.

Bonne Maman is the leading brand within the jam category, has grown to number three in spreads and is now a strong competitor within chilled desserts and yoghurts. Their commercial operations are based in Hammersmith and they have a factory in Somerset.

Describe the key responsibilities

The Andros category management team is viewed as key to the delivery of ambitious growth plans and to developing future growth plans. 

They are now recruiting for 2 roles across sweet spreads and chilled desserts. These roles are critical in allowing Andros to demonstrate their knowledge and leadership across the categories and to drive the development of progressive and successful partnerships with the retailers.

The key responsibilities in this role will be to:

• Enhance, progress and leverage their category relationships with major grocery customers to work closely and collaboratively as a category advisor (or challenger)
• Deliver credible, insight led and actionable recommendations to support the growth of the category, customer and Andros
• Advise retailers through key decision making periods, effectively influencing range, space and distribution decisions
• Work collaboratively with marketing to provide a shopper, retailer and competitor perspective to identify key questions and challenges for the category or business
• Identifying gaps and opportunities for growth and developing compelling sell-in stories
• Support the development of consumer/shopper and category centric NPD and initiatives
• To be the voice of the shopper both internally and externally
• Work with the Category team to develop and embed category visions, drivers and strategies both internally and externally

Describe the successful candidate

The successful candidate will have the energy and ambition to make a significant contribution to the future success of the Andros business. They will thrive in fast paced, action orientated environments and relish new challenges, managing multiple priorities and working collaboratively with their colleagues to deliver a shared goal. 

 The candidate will:

• Be from an FMCG background, preferably in the UK grocery market (food a bonus)
• Display a commercial mindset, with proven experience in national account management, category management or marketing
• Have exceptional communication and influencing skills
• Be an analytical thinker, comfortable with large data sets
• Possess the ability to make insight simple, actionable and compelling
• Demonstrate they can work under pressure whilst being highly organised and efficient
• Be able to manage short term deliverables in parallel to developing long term strategic plans
• Have excellent relationship building skills, both internally and externally and be comfortable presenting data
• Hold working knowledge of Circana/Nielsen, Kantar and Dunnhumby
• Be curious, eager to learn, have a 'can do' and forward thinking attitude
• Must be able to travel to Hammersmith 5 days a week

What is on offer for the candidate

• Competitive Salary
• 25 days holiday and Bank Holidays
• Personal private health care
• 6% employer pension contribution
• 4 x salary life assurance
• Employee Assistance Programme