Channel & Category Manager

Nestlé; Crawley; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading health and nutrition company seeks a Category & Channel Lead to develop and execute category strategies across the UK grocery channel. This pivotal role will involve driving shopper activations and collaborating with various teams to align growth plans. Ideal candidates will have significant experience in FMCG, strong analytical, customer-facing, and relationship management skills. Join us in a diverse and inclusive culture with flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

Attractive salary

Car allowance

Potential bonus

Other fantastic benefits

Qualifications

• Wealth of experience in Category and Commercial.
• Ability to interpret data and translate into insights.
• Experience of influencing by presenting expertise.

Responsibilities

• Develop category growth stories for key customers.
• Support Sales team to deliver new business.
• Define and own the channel strategy.
• Partner with Shopper Marketing for activations.
• Build relationships with Marketing, Digital, Sales, and Insights teams.

Skills

Experience in FMCG

Analytical skills

Customer-facing experience

Relationship management skills

Strategic thinking

Job description

Position Snapshot

Business Area: Nestlé Health Science

Category & Channel Lead

Location: Gatwick / Field based
Attractive Salary + car allowance + potential bonus + other fantastic benefits

Championing diversity and inclusion is so important to us; when we embrace different perspectives and give everyone the chance to be the best they can be, we can think in new, creative ways that grow and enhance our business.

At Nestlé, we are proud to support and provide equality of opportunity that supports employees to effectively blend their work life and commitments through hybrid and flexible working arrangements, so speak to us to understand what this could look like for you .

Position Summary

We have an exciting opportunity for a Category & Channel Lead to join our Nestlé Health Science team to lead the development and execution of category and channel strategies across the UK grocery channel, including mults, regional groups, and independents. This role is pivotal in shaping and delivering growth plans, driving shopper-centric activations, and ensuring alignment across Sales, Marketing, and Digital teams. The Category & Channel Lead will act as the voice of the category within key customer engagements and internal planning forums.

A little bit about us

At Nestlé Health Science, we’re advancing nutritional therapy to change the approach of managing your health. Behind our pioneering company are people who are driving breakthroughs and innovating for impact. Our people are changing the way doctors think about meeting the nutritional needs of patients, and the way patients and consumers manage their own health. They know the faces, hear the stories and celebrate the successes of people who had their lived transformed thanks to Nestlé Health Science solutions. Apply for our Category & Channel Lead opportunity and be part of a journey that changes the course of health and your career.

A day in the life of a Category & Channel Lead ...

Reporting to the Category Development & Product Training Director, your key responsibilities will include:

• Develop category growth stories for key customers, rooted in the category strategy, shopper insights and commercial priorities. Define the shelf ambition and assortment strategy for key customers, leveraging market data and internal intelligence
• Support the Sales team to deliver new business by implementing a category-led approach to prospecting new customers in all channels, building relationships and credibility with key contacts and creating opportunities for our brands rooted in the category strategy
• Define and own the channel strategy across the mults, e-commerce, and field customers within the integrated commercial planning process. Identify and close range gaps, optimise space allocation, and drive execution excellence
• Partner with Shopper Marketing to deliver impactful in-store and online activations. Lead the shopper strategy for grocery, ensuring initiatives are embedded with customer and shopper relevance from the outset. Support innovation launches with best-in-class merchandising and activation plans
• Build strong relationships with Marketing, Digital, Sales, and Insights teams to ensure cohesive execution. Act as a key contact for customer-facing teams, supporting category reviews and range recommendations. Support Innovation & Brand Managers in the I2L process

What will make you successful

The successful candidate will bring a wealth of experience in Category and Commercial within FMCG and ideally will have worked across different grocery mults, regional groups, independents or eCommerce accounts. You will have excellent analytical skills and the ability to interpret data and translate this into insights and actionable recommendations. You will also have:

• Experience of influencing by presenting with expertise on the category
• Customer facing experience and solid relationship management skills

• The ability to coach and lead a wide range of stakeholders both internally and externally
• Strategic thinking
• Strengths in quantitative rigour (Analytical Skills)

What you need to know

We will be considering and interviewing candidates as they apply and we will occasionally close job advertisements early in the event we receive sufficient applicants, so please don’t delay in submitting your application.

Job advert posting date 21/11/2025
Job advert closing date 05/12/2025

At Nestlé, our values are rooted in respect. When we embrace diversity and give everyone the chance to be the best they can be, we can think in new, creative ways that grow and enhance our business. People of all gender identities, ethnically diverse individuals, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBT+ community are strongly encouraged to apply. If there is anything we can do to accommodate you to participate fully in the application process, please let us know. We take pride in championing inclusion and diversity, our people make up a number of Colleague Networks who represent different experiences and communities who hold us accountable in creating a sense of belonging for all, and our values create the conditions for us to respect the unique contribution you bring. Find out more about our Colleague Networks here: Diversity, equity and inclusion | Nestlé (nestle.co.uk)

We are committed to equal opportunity for all and we may collect relevant data for monitoring purposes during our candidate registration process.Be yourself, everyone else is taken!