Grocery Category Development Manager (12 Month Secondment)

Coca-cola European Partners; City Of London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading beverage company is seeking a Grocery Category Development Manager in Uxbridge. You will develop and implement a category strategy for the Soft Drinks market, collaborating with grocery customers to drive growth. Ideal candidates will have analytical skills and experience in Category Management. This role offers a 12-month secondment with an emphasis on strategic thinking and influencing skills.

Qualifications

• Experience collaborating with grocery customers.
• In-depth knowledge of Nielsen and GfK data.
• Category Management experience is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Support development of a category strategy for Soft Drinks.
• Drive strategic planning with grocery customers.
• Deliver category analysis reports.

Skills

Collaboration with large grocery customers

Analytical skills

Influencing stakeholder groups

Communication skills

Tools

Nielsen

GfK

Job description

Overview

Grocery Category Development Manager

Location - Uxbridge

Contract - 12 Month Secondment

What you become part of:

In an increasingly competitive and challenging market place, at CCEP we see the role of the Category Development Manager as pivotal to delivering our business performance. The team's primary objective is to deliver an inspiring and insightful vision for the Soft Drinks category, today and in the future. In order to unlock growth we need our team to be strategic, long term focused, analytical and great influencers to work in partnership with our customers and key internal stakeholders. Reporting in to the Senior Category Manager you will be responsible for the development and implementation of a category strategy to unlock growth potential in a Grocery customer. CCEP Category Development is ranked #2 in the Advantage Group Survey by Home customers.

What to expect

Your primary responsibilities will include:

• Support in the development of a clear vision for the Soft Drinks category, creating a framework for growth with a clear and relevant category strategy for all Home environments and key customers
• Develop strategic plans with a Grocery customer that identify opportunities to drive performance

• Drive CCEP strategic thinking and value creation story by engaging with Buyers, Merchandisers and Category Directors
• Roll out range relays, macro space resets, future thinking around channel strategies and Customer Business Planning Days
• Establish and maintain a mutually beneficial customer contact strategy and help broaden our engagement with our Home customers
• Work in collaboration with key internal stakeholders (including National Accounts, R&MGM and Insights) to ensure alignment and execution against the category and brand strategies
• Ensure delivery of quality category analysis reports, delivering insight to our customers on a regular basis

Skills & Experience

• We are encouraging applications from candidates who have previous experience of collaborating with large grocery customers, are highly numerate, analytical
• In-depth knowledge of Nielsen, GfK and other data providers
• Drive for innovation & change: always seek and try to achieve the next level of Category Development
• Demonstrate passion, ownership and resilience for growing the category
• Ability to influence diverse stakeholder groups
• Strong listening and influencing skills at various levels within the organisation and with customers
• Resilience, determination, and drive are key
• Previous Category Management experience and strong knowledge of the Home channel is desirable

Excellent communication, presentation and influencing skills

The closing date for applications is 24/10/25. We reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of applications. To ensure you are considered for this role, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.