Job Description
Job Purpose:
The role of the Category Manager is to drive the development of the category within key retail customers and support the company strategy to ensure secure profitable sales growth.
Support the function objective to be viewed as best in the market for our category insights, planning and implementation of category objectives. Pinpointing growth opportunities within our categories and build persuasive selling stories to influence retailer decisions whilst benefiting our business and creating a defendable barrier to our business from other suppliers.
The individual will manage day to day category responsibilities across prepared fruit and juice drinks within our key customers. Success will be measured through customer recognition reflected in the customer scorecard, completion of category objectives, supporting the achievement of budget targets, NPD targets and delivering customer/category share growth.
Job Accountabilities
Insights/Market Affinity:
Demonstrate clear market affinity – knowledge of consumer, customer and competitor insights. Build a picture of key insights emerging from large amounts of diverse data.
Pursue new avenues to increase knowledge/level of insight the business holds.
Manage the distribution of monthly category insights, ensuring business and customer awareness of competitor activity and performance in the market. Reacting where relevant, providing recommendations and communicating to the customer through the relevant channel.
Establish relationships with different customer functions (i.e CIU, Range and Display Managers) to develop and/or share insights, incorporating insights and recommendations into the category and business planning process.
Category Plans:
Is aware of customer specific wider business plans and actively uses the language and incorporates vision in to everyday working/category presentations.
Support the creation of customer category plans with the direct buying/development teams. Pinpointing future direction that targets individual retailer shopper needs, enabling the retailer to differentiate themselves in the market and develop category leadership.
Recommending category actions which reflect consumer/shopper thinking and category insights to influence decisions across range, NPD, promotions, merchandising and communication.
Presenting visions/plans internally and externally
Sales and Marketing Business Plans:
Support the Commercial Manager in the creation of a sales activity and marketing plan that reflects agreed category actions from the category planning process.
Bring bespoke category actions/marketing initiatives alive through required/agreed actions.
Measure success of action implementation and review for future implementation with alternative recommendations.
Support sales and market growth forecasting.
Development Plans:
Work as part of a commercial triangle (Commercial Manager, Development Manager) to support our development agenda – providing pre brief insights, supporting product safari’s, initiating and implementing consumer/shopper/concept research and providing presentation support.
Strategic direction
Competitor information gathered from a variety of sources, reporting business strengths, weaknesses, capabilities and projecting potential threats/opportunities to Orchard House/Paradise
Business strategic direction – support the business as required in 3yr long term business and category planning
Key Performance Indicators
Customer recognition – rating on customer scorecards
Budget/NPD targets met
Customer category share growth
Completion of objectives /job specifications (as above)
Person Specification
Strong communication and presentation skills (verbal & written)
Ability to build a picture of key insights emerging from large amounts of diverse data
Understanding of FMCG market dynamics
Planning, organising and project management skills
Relationship building and communication
Creativity/Flair
Inquisitive
Proactive
Enthusiastic
Completer/Finisher
Team worker
Self starter/managed
Food appreciation
Experience
Junior Category Manager/Market Analyst/Category Manager experience (2-4 years minimum experience)
Food industry customer interface experience- working with M&S/Sainsbury’s/Tesco
Data management and analysis – Nielsen, Kantar, Dunnhumby, Aimia
Good computer systems knowledge (powerpoint & excel essential)
Driving Licence
Qualifications
Degree Educated (Food related/Business/Marketing Management degree preferred)