AFH Category Development Lead

PepsiCo Deutschland GmbH; Reading; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading snack and beverage company in Reading seeks a Category Manager to drive transformational growth across the UK business. Responsibilities include creating category strategies, maintaining customer narratives, and running essential research. Candidates should have deep experience in Out of Home category management and strong leadership abilities. The role offers a competitive salary and various benefits.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Bonus

Car allowance

Flexible working

Discounted gym memberships

Enhanced parental leave

Electric car schemes

Qualifications

• Deep experience across Out of Home channel / DX Category Management.
• Experience wiring into senior contacts and cross-functional collaboration.
• Demonstrating business leadership with curiosity and passion for excellence.

Responsibilities

• Creating the Category Strategy plan for the channel and owning its delivery.
• Developing and maintaining Category Vision and customer narratives.
• Running consumer and KDM research to enrich category stories.

Skills

Category Management

Cross-functional Collaboration

Business Leadership

Job description

Overview

At PepsiCo UK, we’re proud to make some of the nation’s favourite snacks and drinks—like Walkers, Quaker, Doritos, Pipers, and Monster Munch. With sites across the UK, including our Quaker mill in Cupar and Doritos factory in Coventry, we’re also home to one of the world’s largest crisp factories in Leicester. At the end of 2025 we will move our UK office to a vibrant new Reading town centre location, just minutes from Reading train station.

Join us in a pivotal role where you\'ll drive a transformational Away From Home growth agenda across our Snacks and Grains UK business, contributing to doubling the UK AFH business over the next 2-5 years.

Accountability for the development and gaining buy-in to the Away from Home channel and driving strategy, identifying where and how to play in perfect store and category management.

Responsibilities

• Creating the Category Strategy plan for the channel and owning the delivery of the plan. Building best in class customer relationships with Lighthouse customers, supporting the WCCE model, from discovery to execution of category initiatives (including discovery days).
• Developing and maintaining Category Vision and elevated customer narratives for total channel and adapted to Lighthouse customers.
• Developing category narratives for strategic customer conversations (Lighthouse T2Ts).
• Ensuring the right strategic partnerships with data houses to ensure we have the relevant data required to deliver above stories and budget required to deliver.
• Running consumer and KDM research to enrich category stories.
• Translating the category/trade narrative into always on eB2B trade comms.
• Develop PICOS by outlet and for priority sectors.
• Managing a direct report, supporting across: a) Building out narratives to influence independents and RTM partners at scale; b) Providing Field team with tools for success including influencing advanced analytics agenda with sDNA team; c) Reporting and analytics requirements for GCC.

Qualifications

• Deep experience across within Out of Home channel / DX Category Management.
• Experience wiring into senior contacts / cross functional E2E collaboration.
• Demonstrating business leadership - Leading with curiosity and passion for excellence

Why Join Us?

We offer a competitive salary, bonus, car allowance, flexible working, and a wide range of benefits—from critical illness cover and discounted gym memberships to enhanced parental leave and electric car schemes. Our commitment to wellbeing and career growth makes us a Top Employer for 14 years running.

A Space to be You

We celebrate individuality and are committed to building a n inclusive workplace. Our Employee Resource Groups help embed inclusion into our culture, ensuring everyone feels valued and heard.

Equal Opportunities

We’re an equal opportunity employer, committed to the Equality Act 2010. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and will provide any necessary adjustments to support you through the recruitment process.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated nearly $92 billion in net revenue in 2024, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the centre of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.