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.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities:

• 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.

About you:

The successful candidate will be results-based with a demonstrated track record of applying financial, commercial or procurement skills to a range of business-related objectives, such as delivering cost savings or enhancing the quality of services provided to businesses. A high level of commercial ability is crucial for the role, combined with relevant commercial sourcing and / or category experience across a choice of categories and having experience of driving sales and margin. Ideally, you will have experience with customers and internal insight and data analytics to make fact-based decisions and create effective customer offerings. Be comfortable using consumer insights, competitive assessment, pricing, promotional planning, and financial analysis. You must be proficient in the use of Microsoft Office including Excel, (VLOOKUP, Formula, Pivot Tables) and PowerPoint and have experience of using Tableau. It is desirable for candidates to hold a professional Qualification in Marketing, Category Management, Merchandising or CIPS.

What you will receive:

• A competitive salary
• Company car allowance of £7,000
• Pension scheme
• Life Assurance
• Single private medical healthcare cover
• Generous holiday allowance of 25 days + bank holidays, with option to purchase additional holidays
• Huge discounts on all sorts of lovely food and award-wining products through our staff shop
• Discounts on Cinema tickets, shopping and earn cashback on purchases through Sysco benefits portal
• Recognition awards and Incentives
• Real career opportunities - being part of Sysco, the world’s leading foodservice business, opens a world of possibility