Head of Category - Accessories & Specialist Pet (12 Months FTC)

Pets at Home Limited; Cheadle; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Pets at Home Limited in the United Kingdom seeks a Head of Category to lead the Accessories category across stores and online. You will own the category P&L, shape strategic direction, and drive growth through innovation, NPD and own-brand development, working with cross-functional teams to deliver compelling propositions for customers and their pets.

This role requires leadership of a senior buying and design team, strong supplier negotiation skills, and a track record of delivering commercial

Qualifications

• Experience leading large-scale retail buying categories.
• Proven ownership of significant P&L and commercial performance.
• Ability to translate consumer trends into compelling product ranges.
• Experience with product innovation and own-brand development.
• Strong supplier negotiation and relationship management.
• Proven people leadership and capability to coach teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management and change influence.
• Experience across Retail, Marketing, eCommerce and Supply functions.

Responsibilities

• Developing and delivering the category strategy across Accessories.
• Owning sales, profit and margin performance, identifying opportunities for growth and optimisation.
• Driving innovation, NPD and own-brand development to keep our ranges fresh and market-leading.
• Deliver a trade plan that entices our customers and delivers sustainably.
• Leading supplier relationships and commercial negotiations to deliver business targets.
• Partnering with cross-functional teams to maximise category performance across stores and digital channels.
• Using customer, market and competitor insights to shape future category direction.
• Inspiring, coaching and developing a high-performing Buying and Design team.
• Championing transformation initiatives that improve agility, efficiency and customer outcomes.

Skills

Large-scale retail buying

P&L ownership

Trend identification

Product innovation & own-brand

Supplier negotiations

People leadership

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

This is a rare opportunity to lead one of our most exciting categories, with responsibility for our proposition across stores and online. You'll drive category growth, champion innovation and shape the future of our product ranges, ensuring we continue to offer customers something new, relevant and exciting every time they shop with us., As Head of Category, you'll own the category P&L and lead the strategic direction of our accessories business, delivering sales, profit and market-leading product innovation. Working closely with our Asia Sourcing Office in Hong Kong, Merchandise Planning, Suppliers, Marketing, Visual Merchandising and eCommerce teams, you'll bring trends to life and create compelling propositions that delight our customers and their pets. You'll lead a talented team of Senior Buyers, Buyers, Buying Assistants, Product Designers and Category Planning, creating a high-performing culture focused on commercial success, innovation and continuous improvement. The role offers hybrid working (three office days per week) from our Support Office in Handforth, Cheshire.

What You'll Be Doing

• Developing and delivering the category strategy across Accessories
• Owning sales, profit and margin performance, identifying opportunities for growth and optimisation
• Driving innovation, NPD and own-brand development to keep our ranges fresh and market-leading
• Deliver a trade plan that entices our customers and delivers sustainably
• Leading supplier relationships and commercial negotiations to deliver business targets
• Partnering with cross-functional teams to maximise category performance across stores and digital channels
• Using customer, market and competitor insights to shape future category direction
• Inspiring, coaching and developing a high-performing Buying and Design team
• Championing transformation initiatives that improve agility, efficiency and customer outcomes You'll be an experienced Head of Buying/Category with a proven track record of delivering commercial results within a non-food retail environment, particularly within categories where innovation and own-brand development are key.

You'll also bring:

• Significant experience leading large-scale retail buying categories
• Strong commercial acumen with ownership of substantial P&L responsibility
• A passion for identifying and translating consumer trends into successful product ranges
• Experience of product innovation, sourcing and own-brand development ideally including working with a sourcing office
• Strong supplier negotiation and relationship management skills
• Proven people leadership experience with the ability to coach, inspire and develop teams
• Excellent stakeholder management skills and the confidence to influence at senior levels and manage change across the business
• Experience working across Retail, Marketing, eCommerce and Supply functions

Experience within pet, lifestyle, home, accessories or other relevant retail sectors would be advantageous, as would exposure to Far East sourcing and digital trading environments.

This is a fantastic opportunity to make a significant impact in a high-profile category within the UK's leading pet care business. You'll join a passionate team, work with talented colleagues across the Group, and play a key role in shaping products loved by millions of pets and pet parents. Ready to lead innovation, inspire teams and drive category growth? We'd love to hear from you. Pets just see people. They aren't biased and they don't discriminate. We take our inspiration from pets, and we value and respect difference in all its forms. Our aim is to reflect the diversity of the communities we operate in, and every colleague can help us achieve this. We encourage our people to be themselves so even if your skills and experience don't perfectly align, if you think you can make a unique contribution through your values and behaviours, we want to hear from you!