Category Manager

DCS Group (UK) Ltd; Banbury; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life cover

Pension scheme

Medical Cash Plan

Cycle to Work scheme

Wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

DCS Group (UK) Ltd in Banbury invites applications for an experienced Category Manager to drive category growth within our Sales & Distribution team. You will leverage category, shopper and customer insight to shape recommendations and influence commercial decisions.

Reporting to the Senior Category Manager, you’ll analyse performance, optimise ranges and space, and turn data into clear, actionable stories for customers and internal teams.

Qualifications

• Experience in FMCG category management is essential.
• Knowledge in Health, Beauty or Household categories is advantageous.
• Strong analytical and data interpretation skills are required.
• Experience with data sources such as Kantar, Nielsen, IRI, Circana or Sales Out data is preferred.
• Strong storytelling and presentation abilities to convey insights.

Responsibilities

• Build strong relationships with retail and wholesale customers as a trusted category partner.
• Deliver regular category and customer performance reviews.
• Analyze customer, market and shopper data to identify growth opportunities.
• Support range and space optimisation across customer accounts.
• Identify risks and opportunities across distribution, rate of sale and category performance.
• Make clear recommendations around promotions and new product development.
• Develop and communicate category strategies and customer-focused visions.
• Turn complex data and insight into compelling commercial recommendations.
• Collaborate with Sales and Commercial teams to deliver strong outcomes.

Skills

FMCG Category Mgmt

Data analysis

Stakeholder influence

Customer engagement

Presentation skills

Retail/Wholesale

Proactive mindset

Communication skills

Job description

Permanent | Competitive Salary + Excellent Benefits

About DCS Group

At DCS Group, we’re proud to be one of the UK’s leading distributors, manufacturers, and exporters of Health, Beauty, and Household products. With over 30 years of consecutive growth, we combine scale with an entrepreneurial mindset to deliver outstanding service and value.

Working with some of the world’s most recognised brands, including P&G, General Mills, Crayola, Unilever, and Kimberly-Clark, we also manufacture and grow our own product range, Enliven. Our products are supplied across wholesale, discount, away from home, pharmacy, ecommerce, and convenience channels.

Based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, our 26-acre site is at the heart of our operations. We export internationally and continue to invest in the future, including the development of our Customer Innovation Centre. With divisions spanning Sales and Distribution, Export, Co-Packing and Manufacturing, and additional manufacturing operations in Redditch, this is an exciting time to join DCS and be part of our next phase of growth.

The Role

We’re looking for an experienced Category Manager to join our Sales & Distribution team and play a key role in driving category growth for both DCS and our customers.

Reporting to the Senior Category Manager, you’ll use category, shopper and customer insight to identify opportunities, shape recommendations and influence commercial decision-making.

Working closely with customers and internal teams, you’ll analyse category performance, optimise ranges and space, identify risks and opportunities, and turn complex data into clear, compelling commercial stories.

This is a great opportunity for someone with solid Category Management experience who is ready to take the next step in their career within a fast-paced FMCG environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Build strong relationships with retail and wholesale customers, becoming a trusted category partner
• Deliver regular category and customer performance reviews
• Analyse customer, market and shopper data to identify growth opportunities
• Support range and space optimisation across customer accounts
• Identify risks and opportunities across distribution, rate of sale and category performance
• Make clear recommendations around promotions and new product development
• Develop and communicate category strategies and customer-focused category visions
• Turn complex data and insight into compelling commercial recommendations
• Support the wider business in making effective use of category and shopper dataWork collaboratively with Sales, Commercial and other internal teams to deliver strong customer and business outcomes

About You

We’re looking for someone who is commercially minded, analytical and confident influencing both customers and internal stakeholders.

You’ll be comfortable working with data, but equally confident turning insight into clear recommendations that customers and commercial teams can act on.

Skills and Experience

• Experience within FMCG Category Management
• Experience within Health, Beauty or Household categories would be advantageous
• Strong analytical and data interpretation skills
• Experience using data sources such as Kantar, Nielsen, IRI, Circana or Sales Out data
• Strong presentation and storytelling skills
• Experience working directly with customers
• Ability to turn insight into clear, practical commercial recommendations
• Strong relationship-building, communication and influencing skills
• Proactive, organised and results-focused
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment

Why Join DCS Group?

As a family-owned business, we value our people and believe in creating a supportive, high-performing environment where everyone can thrive. Our Banbury site offers a great workplace experience with strong facilities and a collaborative, team-led culture.

• Core benefits include life cover, pension scheme, Medical Cash Plan, Cycle to Work scheme, wellbeing initiatives, subsidised café with free breakfast, staff shop, social events, hybrid working and learning and development opportunities.

Join DCS Group and use your insight to help shape category growth for our customers and our business.