Hybrid working with travel to Head Office in Eastbourne two days a week and nationwide travel across our branch network
Full Time – 37.5 hours per week Monday to Friday
Competitive Salary Plus Pension And Benefits
We are a fourth-generation family business and we lead the UK marketplace for supplying decorating materials to decorators – both trade and retail. With several healthy and growing ecommerce businesses and operating from over 250 Decorator Centres nationwide in The Brewers Group, we have a bold vision to grow further; both online and through a growing store network.
We are unique in that we supply every single brand of paint in the market but we’re not just about paint of course and we anticipate significant growth in categories beyond. We aim to do business through establishing lasting partnerships with our customers and suppliers.
Like any organisation it’s our people that make us who we are. We are truly a family business when it comes to our people; our mantra is to ‘help one another succeed’; we want to see all our colleagues flourish in their roles and reach their full potential and support our customers in developing their own businesses. This desire to help our people succeed is at the very heart of this role.
It doesn’t end there though; the communities in which we operate matter to us. Colleagues are actively involved with local charity projects and each year we send a team to Kenya to help at the hospital we sponsor there.
What is the role we are looking for?
We are looking to recruit a highly motivated Category Manager to take ownership of and manage our Specialist and Protective Coatings product ranges, such as fire retardant, floor and roof paints, metal protection/anti-corrosion and anti-slip, marine coatings. Working closely with our own technical product specialists and with our colleagues at Promain, who are the UK’s largest industrial paints and coatings distributor and recently became part of The Brewers Group, which gives us and this role more scale in the market.
In this role you will be developing and implementing new strategies to maximise opportunities to grow sales and market share, increase margins and stock turn, playing a vital part in helping to shape the future of category management & buying and support the business as we grow. You will also spend some time in our branches and with the Promain team to understand our business and customers, as well as visit and engage with our experienced sales teams.
In this role you will be responsible for defining and implementing the strategic direction of our protective coatings category by developing category plans through understanding customer demand and commercial operations that meet agreed targets.
A critical role within our business, you will be able to communicate effectively at all levels around the Company as well as with external suppliers. Using your category management or buying experience and expertise to quickly establish your knowledge and credibility in this role, you will be confident in influencing and gaining clear understanding and commitment from others.
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:
* Previous category management or buying experience with multi-site B2B merchants or B2C retailers
* Category Management experience in specialist coatings categories within paint or categories of a ‘technical’ nature (construction & building materials, tools, ironmongery, plumbing, electrical), ideally where specification is an important factor
* The ability to develop, expand and review customer proposition, product, range and price architecture to develop category and brand strategies, including own brand, pricing & promotional strategies and drive differentiation & innovation
* Understanding customer needs, getting regular feedback through formal forums and informal visits to suppliers, branches, Promain and sales teams
* Manage and constantly review the vendor base, building relationships with new and existing suppliers, negotiating trading terms and prices
* Working with Marketing and Visual Merchandising teams to develop promotional plans and design in-branch presentations and layouts
* Flexibility to work from our Head Office in Eastbourne Monday & Tuesday (work from home on the remainder) with the ability to travel within the UK to visit stores and meet with suppliers during the rest of the week
What do we give in return?
We ask a lot of our people, but we reward well and we think we have an amazing culture; at its heart our culture is one of looking out for each other and helping one another succeed.
* Competitive financial package
* Profit related pay
* 34 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays)
* Pension plan with company contributions plus a non-contributory life assurance scheme
* Company car
* Private medical insurance for you and your partner as well as an optional funded health cash plan
* Generous staff discounts
* Various other benefits that you would expect from a Company like us and a few you might not (including the chance to use our holiday homes in Cornwall or the Lake District).
To apply for this exciting opportunity, please click the ‘Apply Now’ button on this page to complete the application form.
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