Assistant Category Manager

RS Components; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading engineering solutions provider in Manchester is looking for an Assistant Category Manager to help execute the commercial strategy and support product management. Ideal candidates will have strong Excel and administrative skills, a growth mindset, and be able to work collaboratively. This hybrid role offers a chance to develop a career within Category Management.

Benefits

Training and development opportunities

Diverse and inclusive culture

Wellbeing investment

Qualifications

• Strong administrative skills and proficiency in MS Office applications.
• Confident Excel user, comfortable with reporting and data manipulation.
• Good analytical skillset with strong attention to detail.
• Good communication skills to engage with all levels of the business.
• Collaborative team player with a positive, results-oriented attitude.
• Ability to prioritize work and manage time effectively.
• Willingness to learn and develop.

Responsibilities

• Support category strategy and business plans.
• Provide digital reporting and market insight.
• Manage product lifecycle from introduction to discontinuation.
• Maintain accurate product and pricing data.
• Help track supplier value extraction.
• Assist in delivering category KPIs.

Skills

Strong administrative skills

Proficiency in MS Office

Confident Excel user

Analytical skills

Good communication skills

Collaborative team player

Positive can-do attitude

Time management

Growth mindset

Job description

Overview

Assistant Category Manager — Manchester (Hybrid working)

Are you looking to develop a career within Category Management? RS is a fantastic place to begin, and if you have experience with Excel reporting and work well with data and love teamwork and people, then this could be the opportunity you are looking for…. We’ll be providing training and development, so if you do not have all of the following, it’s not essential. A great attitude to work, the right behaviours and growth mindset are however all essential.

What you will be doing

• The Assistant Category Manager role is a key development role within the RS Product & Supplier Management organization and as part of a category team you will work in close collaboration with the extended end to end functions to execute the commercial strategy by helping to grow and manage our product & supplier base.
• Supporting the development of the category’s defined product portfolio throughout its lifecycle, you will use data to drive ranging decisions, execute high-quality product launches, optimize performance throughout the ranges mature stages and effectively protect sales during end-of-life stages.
• Responsibilities will include:
• Supporting the development and execution of the category strategy and business plans.
• Supporting the category by providing digital reporting and market insight to help direct technology and supplier strategies as well as identify range opportunities
• Range and product lifecycle management, from new product introductions through to discontinuations.
• Product and price file maintenance, including cost management
• Maintaining accurate and up to date data (e.g. supplier contact information, meeting notes, contractual terms, market share...)
• Supporting the team with the tracking of supplier value extraction, e.g. marketing funding, rebates and payment terms.
• Supporting the delivery of category KPIs, which include metrics like:
• • Revenue
  • Margin
  • Return on Investment
  • Customer acquisition
  • Number of products sold
  • New product introduction revenue
  • Supplier investment (SIR) & cashflow performance
  • Inventory availability, value and health (OSPA, Availability, Stock Turns)
  • Private label (RS Pro) share of category
  • Influencing NES and NPS scores

What we are looking for from you

• Strong administrative skills, and proficiency in MS Office applications
• Confident Excel user, comfortable with reporting and data manipulation (e.g., Lookups, Pivot Tables etc.)
• Good analytical skillset and strong attention to detail, with an eye for picking up on anomalies.
• Good communication skills, and ability to engage with all levels of the business.
• A collaborative team player
• Positive can-do attitude takes ownership and very results oriented.
• An ability to prioritise work and manage time effectively.
• A growth mindset, and a willingness to learn and develop.

About RS Group

We are RS Group.

At RS we’ve been solving engineering problems for over 80 years: big ones, small ones, easy and difficult ones. We turn the ‘what ifs’ into the ‘why nots’, the impossible into the possible. Our purpose? Making amazing happen for a better world.

We offer service and product solutions. We send out a parcel every 2 seconds, to over 135 countries. We provide over 800,000 in-stock and over 3 million unstocked products to more than 1.2 million customers.

We want people like you, as you are curious about things, you like doing things differently and also in a human way with empathy. Because that’s exactly how we partner with people – our customers, suppliers, colleagues, and communities – to solve problems.

We’ll also invest in your development and wellbeing – because building a more diverse and inclusive culture, being ethical, responsible, and committed to our Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) action plan is at the heart of everything we do.

Come and join us and over 9000 employees worldwide – and we’ll help you to think big, do more and unleash your brilliance, so you do amazing things too.

Are you ready to explore the possibilities?