Job Description
Category Development Manager
Alexander Steele is delighted to partner with a world-leading, global food business to find a Category Development Manager to join their ever-growing team.
The role of the Category Management team is to help the business and their retail customers to grow sales of products through the provision of industry-leading shopper, retailer and market insights that enable robust decision making on product ranges, merchandising, business planning and promotions.
The online category manager is responsible for all customers will ensure development of strong trade buyer relationships & delivery of competitor leading insight at all levels, providing category leadership and developing and implementing plans that deliver category growth.
What will be your key deliverables?
* Develop a customer contact strategy to be agreed with the Category Controller, encompassing contacts to network with, frequency & objectives of the contact.
* Inspiring with best-in-class insights and channel understanding, create partnerships providing thought leadership to help UK retailers drive category.
* Create a customer category growth plan that identifies new ways to unlock consumption and purchase for products.
* Objectively track and evaluate Category performance in the focus customer(s), identifying risks or opportunities and proactively communicating suggested course correction.
* Work on the online strategy & annual account plans inputting and aligning our online strategy & plans with customer category strategies & opportunities.
* Develop the blueprint for the winning online portfolio within our categories & work towards continuously improving the productivity of our range.
* Work with NRM on defining the existing pack strategy for ecommerce.
* Identify innovation opportunities within brands for future channel success.
* Proactively work with customers to improve the visibility & ease and enjoyment of shop of our categories & the portfolio to improve performance and bring more shoppers and basket spend.
* Track critical metrics around Content & Image compliance and propose corrective action, where vital.
* Optimally interpret all available industry, category, customer and shopper data turning it into practical insights that are communicated regularly.
* Provide performance reporting & corrective action for key customers and share with online BU.
* Ensure continuous improvement via sharing of standard process across the online BU and wider category team.
* For clarity reporting should cover external metrics as opposed to internal facing NS, TGC etc and agency liaison around provision of insights, as opposed to agency management.
Essential experience:
* Experience & understanding of Category Management and Shopper Marketing Principles and execution.
* Robust understanding of the UK Retail Trade across all Channels and proven experience in developing and carrying out merchandising and category recommendations in multiple customers or channels.
* Genuine desire to physically engage with customer contacts on a regular basis is crucial for this trade sector. Good influencing and relationship building skill with customers & partners.
* Proven experience with leading, developing and deploying Annual Category Growth Plans that deliver effective business results.
* Extensive knowledge of Space Planning and Insights tools and data sets spanning but not limited to JDA, Nielsen, Kantar, Coop Data, Him!, etc.
For further information on this opportunity, please get in touch with Lewis Miller on lewis.miller@alexandersteele.com