Senior Category Manager - Meat & Poultry

at  Brakes

JOB DESCRIPTION

Brakes are recruiting for a Senior Category Manager - Meat & Poultry to join the Merchandising team on a full-time, permanent basis, reporting into the Head of Merchandising.
As the Senior Category Manager – Meat & Poultry, it is your responsibility to develop and deliver a category plan that supports range development and delivers in-year margin budget (e.g. range management including NPD; promotions; cross sell; customer marketing activity and pricing). Deliver and evaluate brilliant category insight of total performance. Ownership of category presence in all customer and sales communications, including online to raise the profile of the category internally and externally. This role would suit a candidate with rounded commercial experience within a Head Office Retail, Foodservice or a blue-chip food manufacturer environment.
We are offering a hybrid contract with 1-2 days a week in our Ashford, Kent office, so you will ideally be located in the Southeast/London. Flexibility will be needed for team and supplier meetings across the UK, so a full, clean driving licence is required.

• Using customer, market and supplier insight for category performance analysis. Focus the wider category team to create a strategy to meet in year sales and cash margin targets.
• Review and analyse category performance each month, adapting the category strategy and marketing plan to maximise opportunities and presenting to the wider team.
• Own and activate all in year deliverables, including range plan, NPD with gap analysis and activation / growth levers.
• Project manage Sysco 6 Stage Category Management programme.
• Run promotions and implement intelligent pricing recommendations to protect existing business and grow new opportunities.
• Support delivery of strategic priorities such as Brakes Essentials, Sysco premium and partnership with Sysco Subsidiary companies e.g. Fresh Direct & Kff.
• Develop strategic relationships with partner suppliers, to drive growth and support margin investment opportunities across range, promotions and marketing plans.
• Manage the yearly marketing plan for the category, including supplier activation.
• Supporting corporate sustainability policy, ensuring that all opportunities for recognition with accreditation bodies are realised e.g. Red Tractor and supporting business initiatives such as transition to higher welfare chicken.
• Present to and train the sales teams on category knowledge and key strategic messages.
• Ownership of category data, ensuring internal and external facing content is accurate. E.g. E-List, new product launches, discontinuations, marketing descriptions and website.