General Manager, Commercial

The Catalyst Group; Karachi Division; On-site; PKR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

The Catalyst Group, hiring on behalf of its client, a leading modern retail and grocery business in Pakistan, seeks a General Manager - Commercial reporting directly to the CEO.

The role will lead the company’s commercial function across buying, category management, pricing, assortment, supplier partnerships, and commercial planning to drive sustainable topline growth, customer value, and margin expansion.

Qualifications

• 10-15+ years of commercial leadership experience in grocery retail, FMCG, or modern trade.
• Strong expertise in buying, category management, pricing, and supplier negotiations.
• Proven track record of delivering sales growth, customer satisfaction, and margin improvement.

Responsibilities

• Translate business targets into annual commercial and category plans.
• Build category growth roadmaps with clear sales, profitability, and customer outcomes.
• Drive category growth across core grocery and fresh categories.
• Identify opportunities for differentiation, mix improvement, and commercial efficiency.
• Lead buying and category management across all categories.
• Own assortment architecture, range productivity, and mix optimization.
• Drive data-led category reviews and commercial performance management.
• Lead supplier negotiations and annual commercial agreements.
• Manage a commercial team comprising Category Managers and Master Data resources.
• Own the commercial calendar, promotional planning, and trading rhythm.
• Improve promotion effectiveness through performance tracking and customer insights.
• Ensure commercial decisions improve customer satisfaction, assortment relevance, and value perception.
• Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance to improve execution and customer experience.

Skills

Commercial leadership

Buying expertise

Category management

Pricing strategy

Supplier negotiations

Data-driven decisions

Job description

Reporting To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

About the Opportunity

The Catalyst Group is hiring on behalf of its client, a leading modern retail and grocery business in Pakistan, for a General Manager - Commercial role reporting directly to the CEO.

The role will lead the company’s commercial function across buying, category management, pricing, assortment, supplier partnerships, and commercial planning to drive sustainable topline growth, customer value, and margin expansion.

The ideal candidate is a commercially sharp, customer-obsessed retail leader who can balance profitability with strong value perception and customer satisfaction.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy

• Translate business targets into annual commercial and category plans.
• Build category growth roadmaps with clear sales, profitability, and customer outcomes.
• Drive category growth across core grocery and fresh categories.
• Identify opportunities for differentiation, mix improvement, and commercial efficiency.

Buying & Category Management

• Lead buying and category management across all categories.
• Own assortment architecture, range productivity, and mix optimization.
• Drive data-led category reviews and commercial performance management.
• Lead supplier negotiations and annual commercial agreements.
• Manage a commercial team comprising Category Managers and Master Data resources.

Pricing & Margin Management

• Own buying and selling price decisions across categories.
• Balance competitiveness, value perception, and profitability through disciplined pricing governance.
• Improve front margin, back margin, and overall category profitability.
• Determine where supplier gains should be retained versus passed on to customers based on category strategy and business priorities.
• Ensure the business maintains strong value pricing without positioning itself as a discount retailer.

Supplier Partnerships

• Build strategic relationships with key suppliers, principals, and distributors.
• Improve rebates, promotional funding, and joint business planning outcomes.
• Drive supplier accountability while maintaining a strong customer-first commercial mindset.

Commercial Planning & Customer Focus

• Own the commercial calendar, promotional planning, and trading rhythm.
• Improve promotion effectiveness through performance tracking and customer insights.
• Ensure commercial decisions improve customer satisfaction, assortment relevance, and value perception.
• Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance to improve execution and customer experience.

Candidate Profile

• 10-15+ years of commercial leadership experience within grocery retail, FMCG, or modern trade.
• Strong expertise in buying, category management, pricing, and supplier negotiations.
• Proven track record of delivering sales growth, customer satisfaction, and margin improvement.
• Strong commercial acumen with a customer-first mindset.
• Hands-on operator with strong analytical and execution capabilities.
• Effective leadership, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Preferred age profile: under 40 years.