Category Manager

Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS); Liverpool City Region; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading procurement and supply institution in Liverpool is seeking an experienced Category Manager to develop and execute strategies to drive growth in the ambient food sector. The role involves analyzing market trends, collaborating with key retailer stakeholders, and utilizing data to deliver structured insights. Ideal candidates will possess strong analytical and communication skills, with experience in major retailers. A hybrid working model is offered with attractive benefits.

Benefits

26 Days Annual Leave

14.5% Pension

Flexible Working

Private Medical Insurance

Learning & Development Opportunities

Qualifications

• Experienced category manager with experience in major multiples.
• Proven track record in building customer relationships.
• Strong ability to analyze data and generate insights.

Responsibilities

• Develop category strategies aligned with retailer objectives.
• Analyze market and shopper trends for growth opportunities.
• Collaborate with internal teams and retailers for shared insights.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Commercial awareness

Relationship building

Tools

Excel

Circana

Kantar

Mintel

Job description

Overview

• Vacancy Name: Category Manager
• Employment Type: Permanent
• Country: United Kingdom
• Location: Liverpool
• Business Area: Commercial
• Workplace Type: Hybrid
• About Princes: The Princes Group has over 7,000 employees with offices and production sites in the UK, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, France and Mauritius. Princes manufactures 350 different food and drink products responsibly sourced and enjoyed by consumers every day. None of this would be possible without striving to be an employer of choice, where our colleagues are proud to represent our business.

Role Description

• Develop and execute category strategies that align with retailer objectives to drive growth in the ambient food sector.
• Become the retailers partner of choice by providing category expertise and insights to identify potential opportunities for growth.
• Utilise all available data sources to generate insights that drive the category and meet customer needs.

Principal Responsibilities

Turning Data into Insights

• Monthly analysis of both the market and shopper trends to identify potential growth strategies.
• Utilise multiple data sources to provide the best insights and deliver to the retailer in an engaging way and aligned to their internal priorities and goals.
• Identify retailer risks and align on mitigation steps.

Strategic thinking

• Drive longer-term thinking for the Ambient foods category with the retailer, putting the shopper at the heart of what the category of the future should look like.
• Understand retailers strategy and ensure all recommendations link through to their key pillars of growth

Collaboration

• Develop relationships with key retailer stakeholders to increase influence and establish strategic credibility.
• Collaborate with internal teams to share updates on retailer performance and challenges, and jointly identify opportunities to optimise both branded and own brand ranges.

Role Requirements

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Experienced category manager with a preference to having worked with major multiples before.
• Proven experience of driving customer relationships to create win win opportunties
• Srong analytical skills with advanced expertise in using Excel
• Ability to utilise key data sources such as Circana, Kantar, Mintel and turn data into insights to deliver to customers in a structured way.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to adapt style to the audience
• Strong organisational skills, with strong attention to detail
• Good commercial awareness and a knowledge of FMCG / market conditions.

Benefits

• 26 Days Annual Leave (including an additional day for your birthday)
• 14.5% Pension - 5% employee opt in / 9.5% employer
• Hybrid & Flexible Working - 4 days in office / 1 day WFH
• Flexible Holiday Option - option to buy up to 5 additional days
• Enhanced Family Friendly Policy
• Life Assurance Cover
• Private Medical Insurance
• Critical Illness Cover
• Learning & Development Opportunities