About the role:
Our Support Services are always on hand to offer advice and guidance to colleagues across our business. Our Central Operations team are a part of this and now, we're seeking a Category Manager to join us on a fixed term contract for up to six months to establish clear category strategies for our trading areas.
As our Category Manager, you will be responsible for shaping and delivering clear category strategies across Food and Health & Beauty. You will use in-depth customer and market insights to understand the role each category plays in our core shopping missions, tailored by store format. Your key responsibilities include establishing category strategies that align with customer needs and market trends, developing a strategy for Co-op own brands to maximise the performance of micro spaces within your categories, and managing the day-to-day execution of category strategies.
This will involve gathering and analysing customer insights, managing store range and planograms, overseeing pricing and competitor price checks, and ensuring margin optimisation and waste reduction. Additionally, you will manage supplier performance and ensure that the Society’s promotional offer is executed effectively within your categories. Collaboration with the Category team, Food & Pharmacy store operations, and other areas of the business will be key to driving continuous improvement.
For more detailed information, please refer to the full job description which is available as a download on this page. INDMP
About You
To succeed in this role, you should have previous experience in category management with a good understanding of retail operations and supply chain processes. You will need to demonstrate the ability to build and maintain relationships both internally and externally, with a strong commercial mindset that helps differentiate against local competitors. Your experience in improving business performance and maintaining budgetary control will be crucial.
A proactive attitude, with the ability to identify problems and provide solutions, is essential. You will also need strong analytical and problem-solving skills, excellent communication and negotiation abilities, and the ability to make informed decisions with a focus on client satisfaction. A full driving licence and access to a vehicle for business use is required.
If you are a strategic thinker who is passionate about driving category performance while maintaining a strong focus on client satisfaction, this is a fantastic opportunity to make a real impact across Lincolnshire Co-op’s retail operations.
Benefits:
In addition to working for a successful co-operative business, we offer our colleagues fantastic benefits, including:
1. 30 days annual leave (including bank holidays) (pro-rata)
2. Pension scheme (with up to 12% employer contributions)
3. Generous colleague discount rates across our family of businesses
4. Annual discretionary colleague bonus to reward you for your hard work
5. Free tea and coffee provisions for all colleagues during rest breaks at work