About Jack Links is a family-owned and value-driven business dedicated to crafting protein-packed snacks that are loved by consumers worldwide. They have an array of brands which includes some of the fastest growing and innovating protein snack brands such as Jack Link's, BiFi and Peperami. The business is seeking a dynamic Head of Category Management to lead the UK & Ireland division. This key appointment will oversee the integral and expanding category management function. The successful candidate will drive the continued success of Jack Link’s in the savoury protein snacking category - specifically Peperami. They will excel in an international, vibrant, and action-oriented environment, adeptly managing multiple priorities and collaborating with colleagues to achieve shared goals. Purpose To be an expert in the category and a trusted advisor to the trade, bringing the voice of the retailer, shopper, and consumer to the heart of the business ensuring we build plans that grow the category, our brands, and our retailers. Key Responsibilities Lead the creation/re-fresh of our category vision and growth drivers and embedding the driver’s strategies and key actions both internally in marketing planning and externally with retailer’s strategy to drive category growth Build and deliver credible, insight led and actionable recommendations to support the growth of a ‘triple win’ - category, customer and Jack Link’s Develop our category relationships with strategic accounts across and take our customer relationships to the next level, being a trusted advisor for omni-channel growth Advise retailers through key decision-making periods, effectively influence retailers during key decision-making periods relating to range, space distribution and promotional planning Develop the priorities for sales and sales force (where applicable per market): perfect store, perfect shelf, optimized channel assortment and promotions guidelines Lead the development of consumer/shopper and category centric compelling sell-in stories in close collaboration with the marketing teams and then tailor this to core customers Regularly providing proactive retailer/brand/ competitor perspective on performance on periodic basis to the country business teams and the board Internally identifying gaps, challenges and opportunities for growth and working collaboratively with sales & marketing to input into business strategy Look for ways to streamline reporting to deliver clear, accessible ways to report on KPI’s Lead category team on approach to become thought leaders in the marketplace and the ‘chosen’ supplier of choice to work with for buyers Requirements Minimum 8yrs relevant experience in FMCG/Food, in retail or manufacturing companies Experience working and building category relationship with key retailers Experience of agency management and working knowledge of data tools (Nielsen/Circana, Kantar, Dunnhumby, GfK, etc) Energetic and enthusiastic with a ‘hands-on’ mentality Display a commercial mindset, with proven experience in category management Able to manage short term deliverables in parallel to developing long term plans Stakeholder management and influencing at different levels of seniority An analytical thinker with exceptional communication and influencing skills A storyteller, with a passion for converting data into actionable insight A relationship builder building rapport cross-functionally & externally