Category Manager

Advocate Group; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

The Advocate Group have partnered with an established, privately owned FMCG business to recruit a Category Manager who will play a key role in strengthening retailer partnerships and identifying opportunities to drive category and customer performance.

You'll use market, shopper and retailer data to uncover growth opportunities, risks and emerging category trends, translating your findings into clear recommendations for both the business and its retail partners.

Qualifications

• Proven Category Management experience within FMCG.
• Excellent communication, presentation and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience working with retailer and/or shopper data.
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills.
• Experience using platforms such as Circana, Nielsen, retailer data portals and space planning tools.

Responsibilities

• Develop insight-led category strategies and recommendations that unlock commercial growth.
• Analyse market, shopper, retailer and competitor data to identify opportunities and risks.
• Build compelling category stories and present recommendations confidently to retail customers.
• Partner closely with commercial teams and retailers to influence ranging, space and category decisions.
• Turn complex data into practical actions that improve category performance.
• Monitor competitive activity and changing shopper behaviour to inform future strategy.
• Support the development of long-term customer partnerships through credible category expertise.

Skills

Category Management

Analytical thinking

Stakeholder management

Excel

PowerPoint

Retail data experience

Tools

Circana

Nielsen

Retail data portals

Space planning tools

Job description

Are you a commercially focused Category Manager who enjoys turning shopper and market insight into strategies that deliver growth?

The Advocate Group have partnered with an established, privately owned FMCG business to recruit a Category Manager who will play a key role in strengthening retailer partnerships and identifying opportunities to drive category and customer performance.

The Role

You'll use market, shopper and retailer data to uncover growth opportunities, risks and emerging category trends, translating your findings into clear recommendations for both the business and its retail partners.

Key Category Manager responsibilities include:

• Develop insight-led category strategies and recommendations that unlock commercial growth.
• Analyse market, shopper, retailer and competitor data to identify opportunities and risks.
• Build compelling category stories and present recommendations confidently to retail customers.
• Partner closely with commercial teams and retailers to influence ranging, space and category decisions.
• Turn complex data into practical actions that improve category performance.
• Monitor competitive activity and changing shopper behaviour to inform future strategy.
• Support the development of long-term customer partnerships through credible category expertise.

About You

We're looking for an experienced FMCG Category Manager with a strong analytical and commercial mindset. You'll be naturally curious, comfortable working at pace and able to turn data into a compelling story that influences decision-making.

You'll ideally have:

• Proven Category Management experience within FMCG. (You could be an existing Category Manager or an experienced Category Exec ready to make the step up)
• Excellent communication, presentation and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience working with retailer and/or shopper data.
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills.
• Experience using platforms such as Circana, Nielsen, retailer data portals and space planning tools.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a growing FMCG business where category insight has a genuine influence on commercial strategy and retailer relationships.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age. By applying for this role, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy, which can be found on our website. Please note that The Advocate Group is acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy.