Category Assistant

Co-op Group; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

A well-known retail cooperative in Manchester is seeking a Category Assistant to provide administrative support. This role involves ensuring product ranges and promotions meet customer needs, communicating with partners, and managing pricing accuracy. Candidates should have strong system proficiency, excellent attention to detail, and great communication skills. This position offers a hybrid working model and a comprehensive benefits package including an annual bonus and training opportunities.

Benefits

Annual bonus based on performance

28 days holiday, rising to 32 with service

Pension with up to 10% employer contributions

Subsidised onsite gym access

Coaching and training for career development

Wagestream app for early pay access

Qualifications

• Strong system proficiency and confident working with data.
• Excellent attention to detail and an analytical mindset.
• Organised and proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced, retail-focused environment.
• Great communication skills to influence partners effectively.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day administrative and operational support.
• Communicate proactively with internal and external partners.
• Prepare reports, documents, and data for trading decisions.
• Help communicate product ranging and load promotions accurately.
• Resolve retail price issues within SLA.
• Accurately manage system inputs for promotions and pricing.
• Track critical timelines and flag risks.

Skills

Strong system proficiency

Excellent attention to detail

Organised and proactive approach

Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment

Great communication skills

Job description

Category Assistant

Up to £33,700 plus great benefits (Work Level 6B)

Manchester City Centre, in this role you'll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home and coming into the office at least two to three times a week (find out more about our hybrid working policy at https://jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy).

We're looking for a Category Assistant to join our Propositions team at Co-op. This is a fantastic opportunity to play a key role in making sure our customers get the right products, at the right price, when they need them. You'll support the team behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly, helping us deliver ranges and promotions that meet customer expectations and make shopping with Co-op even better.

Why this job matters

This role is central to creating a positive experience for our customers. From supporting product ranges and promotions to resolving pricing queries quickly and accurately, your work will help ensure customers have choice, value, and confidence in what we offer. It's a role where your attention to detail and proactive approach will make a real difference to how customers experience our stores every day.

What you'll do

• Provide day‑to‑day administrative and operational support across the team
• Communicate proactively with internal and external partners to keep everyone aligned
• Prepare reports, documents, and data to support trading decisions
• Help communicate product ranging and load promotions accurately into systems
• Resolve retail price issues within SLA and support promotional reviews
• Accurately manage system inputs for promotions, pricing, and range events
• Track critical timelines, flag risks, and embed new processes and compliance standards including GSCOP

This role would suit people who have

• Strong system proficiency and are confident working with data
• Excellent attention to detail and an analytical mindset
• An organised and proactive approach to problem‑solving and task management
• The ability to thrive in a fast‑paced, retail‑focused environment
• Great communication skills and the ability to influence partners effectively

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)
• Coaching and training to support your career development
• Wagestream app – giving you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn

Building a diverse environment

We're actively building diverse teams and we welcome applications from everyone. If you have a disability, we can make reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process according to your needs. We're also part of the Disability Confident scheme, meaning we'll always offer an interview to disabled candidates who apply through the scheme if they meet the minimum criteria for a job.

We'll ask whether you'd like to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme when you apply.

If we invite you to take part in the recruitment process for any of our jobs, we'll ask you if you need any reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate.

You can find out more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process

You can find out more about the Disability Confident scheme at Disability Confident Scheme - Co-op Colleagues and more about our commitments to diversity and inclusion at Diversity and 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.