FMCG Category Manager
Location: West London
Salary: £50,000 + car allowance (dependent on experience)
Reference: GP292
Our client is a leading manufacturer in London who offer excellent career progression and job satisfaction. They are currently looking for two Category Managers for Sweet Spreads department and for the Chilled Desserts & Yoghurts Department.
Category Manager Job role
The Category Management Team is viewed as key to the delivery of ambitious growth plans and to developing future growth plans.
This role is critical in allowing the company to demonstrate their knowledge and leadership across their ambient & chilled categories and to drive the development of progressive & successful partnerships with the retailers.
Category Manager Main tasks and responsibilities:
- To enhance, progress and leverage Category relationships with major Grocery customers
- To work ever more closely & collaboratively as a Category Adviser (or Challenger)
- Deliver credible, insight led & actionable recommendations to support the growth of the category, customer & business within
- To advise retailers through key decision making periods, effectively influencing range, space and distribution decisions
- To ensure that a comprehensive category approach is taken in consideration of both brand and retailer brand
- To work in collaboration with Marketing to:
o Provide the external perspective the business on the consumer, shopper, retailer and competitor landscape for the categories, developing relevant knowledge
- Identify key questions & challenges for the category or business
- Identifying gaps & opportunities
- Support the development of consumer/shopper & category centric NPD & initiatives
- Develop compelling sell in stories
- To be the voice of the shopper both internally & externally
- Work with the Head of Category & Senior Category Manager to develop and embed category visions, drivers and strategies both internally & externally
Category Manager Candidate Profile:
The successful candidate will have the energy and ambition to make a significant contribution to the future success of the 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.
Category Manager Background:
- FMCG background, preferably in UK market
- A proven category manager with minimum 3 years’ experience
Category Manager Skills:
· Knowledgeable in category management principles
· Commercially aware
· Exceptional communication and influencing skills
· Ability to make insight simple, actionable & compelling
· Excellent analytical thinking, attention to detail and interpretation of data
· Ability to work under pressure whilst being highly organised and efficient
· Able to manage short term deliverables in parallel to developing long term strategic thinking
· Able build positive internal & external collaborative working relationships
· Working knowledge of Circana/Nielsen, Kantar & Dunnhumby
· Advanced MS Office
Category Manager Personality:
· A ‘can do’ attitude, happy to ‘roll up’ their sleeves
· Dynamic and creative with analytical integrity
- Forward thinking and proactive
- Has a natural curiosity to look beyond the brief & beyond the data, asking why?
- Happy to have an opinion, to challenge and to be challenged
Category Manager Location: The role is office based, full time in West London (Hammersmith)
Category Manager Company Package:
- Market Leader in their products and sector
- C £30,000
- Health care single cover
- Permanent Health Insurance
- Company pension contribution
- 25 days holiday + Bank holidays
- Company sick pay
- 4 x Death in Service
If you would like to apply for this role, please send an up to date copy of your CV to kate.evans@graduateplanet.co.uk as soon as possible quoting reference GP292