Category Manager

RS Components; Corby; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A global supplier organization in Corby is seeking a Category Manager to oversee product strategies that drive growth across EMEA. This pivotal role involves managing key suppliers, maintaining product portfolios, and ensuring competitive advantages through effective negotiation and collaboration. The ideal candidate will have strong skills in product lifecycle management and a proven ability to enhance supplier performance. Join the team and be part of a respected organization making a positive global impact.

Benefits

Pension/retirement options

Medical plans

Discounted gym membership

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of product lifecycle management and experience maintaining supplier and product portfolios.
• Proven ability to manage key and strategic suppliers, including performance monitoring and relationship building.
• Skilled in negotiating contracts and commercial terms to deliver improved outcomes.
• Ability to define and deliver a market-leading product offer.
• Excellent collaboration skills to build strong internal and external partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Deliver a best-in-class product offer for customers.
• Maintain the supplier and product portfolio including the end-to-end product lifecycle.
• Manage a portfolio of key and strategic suppliers and be accountable for supplier management and performance.

Skills

Product lifecycle management

Supplier performance monitoring

Contract negotiation

Collaboration

Commercial acumen

Job description

Location

Corby with hybrid working

Contract Type

Permanent

The Opportunity

The Category Manager role is a pivotal position within the EMEA Product & Supplier Management organisation. You will be accountable for developing and executing category strategies that deliver targeted profitable growth, customer acquisition, and strong ROI. Working closely with group, regional, and local stakeholders, you’ll turn strategic plans into actionable results that drive success across EMEA.

Category specialisms: Tools & Maintenance, Power Tools, Hand Tools

What You Will Be Doing

• You will be instrumental in delivering a best-in-class product offer for our customers by defining the market leading brands, latest products and ground-breaking technologies that will help drive growth across EMEA.
• Responsible for the maintenance of the supplier and product portfolio including the end-to-end product lifecycle.
• Manage a portfolio of key and strategic suppliers, and be accountable for supplier management and performance, negotiating contracts and improved commercial terms whilst building the collaborative relationships (internally as well as externally) that help drive growth.

What You’ll Bring

• Strong understanding of product lifecycle management and experience maintaining supplier and product portfolios.
• Proven ability to manage key and strategic suppliers, including performance monitoring and relationship building.
• Skilled in negotiating contracts and commercial terms to deliver improved outcomes.
• Ability to define and deliver a market-leading product offer, including identifying leading brands, latest products, and innovative technologies.
• Excellent collaboration skills to build strong internal and external partnerships that drive growth across EMEA.
• Commercial acumen with a focus on driving supplier performance and achieving business objectives.

We Are RS

We’ve been solving industry problems for over 80 years. 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 to over 1.2 million customers globally, shipping a parcel every 2 seconds to over 130 countries. With over 800,000 stocked and 3 million unstocked products, we’re a trusted partner to the world’s leading industries.

We’re looking for curious, driven, and empathetic professionals to join our journey. People who think differently, act with purpose, and want to make a real impact.

Rewards

Our Reward Strategy Philosophy is designed to offer market competitive base salaries and provide all of our people the opportunity to participate in a short-term incentive, enabling them to share in the success of the Company.

Our total reward package is more than just the cash; our recognition and benefit offering provide the opportunity for us to recognise, reward and enable the wellbeing of our people at all stages of their journey with RS. Our rewards and benefits vary by country, but include:

• Financial - pension/retirement; life assurance; salary finance (payroll deduction loan scheme)
• Wellbeing - medical plans; health screening; critical illness; disability insurance; holiday / paid time off; employee assistance programme; discounted gym/health club membership
• Lifestyle - transportation assistance schemes (e.g., cycle to work, travel loans, car leasing); onsite catering/lunch vouchers; retail discounts
• Spotlight – our global recognition programme provides a platform to highlight and recognise people role modelling our values

Ready to Make Amazing Happen?

Join c. 9,000 colleagues and help us shape the future of our industry. Whoever you are, wherever you are — it all starts here.

Apply now and make RS a part of your journey.