Senior Category Manager

Kinisla; Naas; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Health Care

Matched pension scheme

Benefits platform

Job summary

Kinisla is seeking a Senior Category Manager to support its growth ambitions within the Grocery Retail trade in Ireland. This role involves managing key customers, building profitable relationships, and driving strategic insights and category vision.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in Category Management, excellent analytical skills, and ability to collaborate effectively. Additional responsibilities include developing actionable insights and managing customer strategies to optimize category performance.

Qualifications

• Solid experience of working in Category Management and managing Strategic Customers.
• Ability to flex and navigate a large network within Kinisla.
• Highly analytical and comfortable with data.

Responsibilities

• Manage relationships with priority & strategic customers.
• Develop and execute Category Visions & Strategy.
• Identify actionable insights for brand planning.

Skills

Dynamic team player

Strong relationship-building

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Experience in Category Management

Proficient in Excel

Experience with Category software

Tools

Kantar

Dunnhumby

EYC

Talysis

Iri

Shopper Intelligence

Job description

About The Role

To support our growth ambitions, a new Senior Category Manager role has been created within the Category Team in IOI. The purpose of this role is to drive thought leadership and unlock opportunities for growth within the categories we operate in, both externally in the Irish Grocery Retail trade, internally in cross‑functional teams and with key stakeholders in the business. The role will involve day‑to‑day management of our Key Strategic Customers. You will build, grow and maintain profitable and long‑lasting relationships from a Category perspective for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Championing the Consumer and Shopper, leveraging strategic thinking and demonstrating actionable insights are at the heart of the role. This will include development & execution of leading Category Visions & Strategy with a disproportionate winning share for Kinisla.

What will I be doing?

• Manage relationships with priority & strategic customers
• Review and validate key customer commercial activities for the customer’s category and deliver category recommendations for optimal distribution, range, space & merch layouts by channel aligned with customer strategies
• Development & execution of leading Category Visions & Strategy
• Identifying actionable insights to fuel our annual brand planning process across a portfolio of brands in Ireland
• Proactively bring the ‘outside‑in’, harness insights and disseminate them for action and business impact
• Support the development of our Category Capability Framework

What do I need to be successful?

• Our ideal candidate will also be a dynamic team player that can build relationships and positively challenge to unearth and identify actionable insights that will drive value into our Business and our Customers’ Categories
• Being able to flex and navigate a large network within Kinisla, alongside the ability to work autonomously
• Solid experience of working in Category Management and managing Strategic Customers across the Grocery Retail Trade
• Previous experience in Category Management
• Highly analytical, comfortable quickly surfacing insights and sharing them in engaging ways with various audiences
• Brilliant communication skills and able to build relationships internally and externally with the trade
• Skilled at working collaboratively and managing data agencies
• Expert working with Category software and portals e.g. Kantar, Dunnhumby, EYC, Talysis, Iri and Shopper Intelligence (all or most preferable)
• Proficient in Excel and comfortable working with large amounts of data

What will I get in return?

At Kinisla, we believe in giving talented, curious people the opportunity to make a difference. We work as a team, searching for the best ways to inspire food and nourish life. We are a community of innovators, working across disciplines to solve global food challenges with a fresh approach. We want you to achieve whatever you put your mind to.

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave (excluding bank holidays)
• Health Care
• Matched pension scheme
• Benefits platform offering discounts and cashback on major retailers

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are committed to and value Diversity and Inclusion in all recruitment processes within Kinisla and do not discriminate based on gender, race, class, economic status, ethnic background, sexual orientation, age, political beliefs, veteran status, marital status or any other protected characteristic.

Please note: We do not accept CVs or candidate profiles from recruitment agencies where Kinisla terms of business have not been signed. Additionally, we will not consider or agree to payment of any recruiter fee under these circumstances. This also applies to CVs or candidate profiles sent directly to any Kinisla Hiring Managers.