Assistant Category Manager

Co-op; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 23,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

28 days holiday rising to 32 with 1+?2

Pension with up to 10% employercon

Onsite gym access

30% discount on Co-op products

Stream pay access

Virtual healthcare

24/7 colleague support

Training and development

Cycle-to-work

Job summary

Co-op is seeking an Assistant Category Manager to join its Procurement team in Manchester. The role focuses on marketing category strategy, supplier management and delivering best value for money. This is a 12-month fixed-term contract with hybrid work between home and the office.

You will analyse spend, support process improvements and drive category governance to ensure savings and compliant supplier relations. The position offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

Qualifications

• Good interpersonal and communication skills to build relationships with internal and external partners.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to analyse data using intermediate Excel skills.
• Experience in process improvement to enhance procurement workflows.
• Drive and tenacity to work in a fast-paced environment with changing deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Analyse spend and supplier data to identify trends and deliver value.
• Support the team in developing new, efficient processes and end-to-end spend management.
• Help drive visibility, control, and compliance across the category.
• Monitor savings against targets and flag risks or opportunities to the category manager.
• Own and develop market intelligence reporting and market analysis for category strategy.
• Execute sourcing strategies including tendering, analysis, selection, and negotiation with suppliers.
• Support procurement projects for the category team.
• Ensure contractual obligations with Co-op and suppliers align with governance policies.
• Facilitate supplier meetings and prepare performance improvement plans for underperforming suppliers.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Intermediate Excel

Process improvement

Negotiation

Drive and tenacity

Job description

Assistant Category Manager - Marketing
Up to £38,000 plus benefits (Work level 6A)
12-month fixed-term contract
Manchester city centre - in this role you’ll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home and the office (find out more about our hybrid working policy at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy).

We’re looking for an Assistant Category Manager to join our Procurement team and help drive our strategy across our marketing category. If you can bring us the skills we need, you’ll have the opportunity to make a huge impact, making sure we’re getting the best value for money and reinvesting savings into our communities.

Why this role matters

As an Assistant Category Manager, you’ll be responsible for managing categories such as instore consumables and subscriptions, with an emphasis on contract and supplier management. You’ll work closely with colleagues across the business to support the development of innovative category plans. Our growing procurement team has a £1.3 billion annual spend. It’s a big job. But an even bigger opportunity to grow your profile in this important area of the business.

What you’ll do

• Analyse spend and supplier data to identify trends and deliver value, service improvements and commercial benefit
• Support the team in developing new and effect processes and managing spend from an end-to-end perspective
• Help drive visibility, control, and compliance across the category
• Monitor savings against targets, flagging any risks or opportunities to the category manager
• Own and develop market intelligence reporting and market analysis that will feed into the category strategy
• Execute sourcing strategies, including tendering, analysis, selection, and negotiation with suppliers
• Support the category team with procurement projects
• Make sure all contractual obligations relating to the Co-op and suppliers are set up correctly in line with the supplier framework governance and risk management policies
• Facilitate supplier meetings and prepare performance improvements plans for underperforming suppliers

What you’ll bring

We’re committed to making our roles as accessible as possible, so we only ask for the minimum criteria. To thrive here, you’ll need to bring:

• Good interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships with internal and external partners
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to analyse and interpret data using intermediate excel skills
• Experience in process improvement
• Drive and tenacity to work in a fast-paced environment and manage changing deadlines
• A passion for negotiation and sound commercial thinking ability

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• 30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands
• Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
• Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice
• 24/7 colleague support service
• Training and support for your development and career progression
• Cycle-to-work scheme

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion

Please note that we may close applications for this role early.

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes up to 50 minutes. If you're a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.