Commercial Category Manager- 12 month FTC

Arla House, Leeds, LS10 1AB

Monday to Friday, 37.5 hours per week

Hybrid working pattern

Do you want to manage a cheese portfolio worth over £500M retail sales value? Fancy being responsible for The UK biggest Diary companies cream portfolio? Want to build a strong relationship with Diageo and grow the Baileys brand in cream?

Benefits

Competitive salary (salary discussed at application stage)

26 days holiday & Bank Holidays 

Pension contribution matched up to 6%

Hybrid and flexible working

4 x annual salary life assurance

Free to use onsite Gym

Access to discounted products in our Staff Shop

People agenda commitment to training and development

Flexible Benefits- buy up to 5 days annual leave, reward gateway scheme- discounts with various retailers via my benefit platform.

Most importantly - Cheese hamper at Christmas!

Working in a flexible, inclusion focussed culture

What will the role look like?

As the Commercial Category Lead, you will be responsible for two growing categories of private label cheese and cooking. You will manage the product portfolio mix and identify growth opportunities in Arla Food’s Private Level offering, with a view to adding value to the category to ensure the most efficient volume.

You will help win & retain business with our major customers and lead delivery and implementation of key Private Label Innovation, managing the Private Label marketing budget. You will also manage the licensed Baileys cream portfolio along with the marketing budgets associated with this brand.

Key responsibilities include;

• Develop Private Label Cheese strategy and in-year plan that delivers against the Long Term Commercial & Category Strategy. Develop and maintain a clear understanding of retailer priorities, strategies & communications platforms to help fuel strategy evolution. Own the P&L.
• Define and own the cooking Category strategy incorporating OL, foodservice and licensed brand. Lead a cross functional Cooking Category meeting, allowing collaboration across functions and making decisions to support the ambition. Own the P&L.
• Responsible for the Private label cheese & Cooking pipelines that meet local market requirements working closely with the local commercial colleagues & licensing brand partners to achieve these.
• Work collaboratively with key stakeholders – Sales, Product Management, Supply Chain, Finance – in order to effectively manage projects that deliver for both Arla and our customers
• Drive sustainability in the category – drive the sustainable packaging road map to support UK requirements.
• Work closely with sales teams to build retailer relationships demonstrating our value add through category expertise
• Lead price and promotions direction across the category reviewing and recommending direction.
• Performance – leading the MPR for the category, being close to performance supporting in. Track and analyse consumer, shopper, market, competitor, financial and macro data to apply learnings and insights that help fuel growth and effectively manage the category portfolio.
• Manage the MAC process for Cheese & Cooking to improve efficiencies. Working with supply chain, marketing, commercial team & finance to  deliver the initiatives
• Track and analyse consumer, shopper, market, competitor, financial and macro data to apply learnings and insights that help fuel growth and effectively manage the category portfolio.
• Mange the Bailey’s licenced brand on our cream portfolio including the relationship with Diageo, the P&L, the innovation pipeline & the marketing execution

What You’ll Need to Be Successful in This Role:

• Significant Marketing and/or Retail Management experience: FMCG experience is desirable, but not essential).
• High levels of commercial acumen
• Proven track record of cultivating strong relationships and driving change through influence
• Self-Starter- a proactive, independent leader with the ability to set your own direction and prioritize resources effectively
• Expertise in leveraging data and analytics to inform strategy and decision-making
• Skilled in project management and Performance Management Tracking
• Experience working within a matrix organisation, managing a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders
• Proven ability to take ownership and lead a cross-functional team.

Personal and business competencies

Annual category and brand planning

Activating the marketing mix

Innovation development and project management

Performance Management Tracking

Consumer & Shopper Insight

Strong commercial mindset

Ability to turn internal plans into commercial advantage

Things We’d Love To Tell You About Arla

• We are a farmer- owned cooperative. That means we are committed to partnering with farmers so they are guaranteed a fair price for their milk.
• We experimented with poo powered trucks (google it- you won’t regret it), and built the world’s first ever 100% carbon neutral dairy. All as part of our ongoing commitment to combatting climate change.
• We are the producer of Lurpak, one of the world’s most iconic butter brands
• We are a Danish business, operating across the UK, Europe, Asia, The Middle East, North America, South America and other regions across the globe.

Next steps

Please apply directly using the link or reach out to Olivia Pine, Talent Acquisition Partner, with any questions. The closing date for this position is the 21st November 2024.

We have a purpose for Good

At Arla, we strive to unlock the highest potential in each other while working together to create a sustainable future of dairy. We call it Stronger People Stronger Planet and it is deeply anchored in our organisation and founded on our commitment to respecting human rights, increasing access to healthy dairy nutrition, inspiring good food habits, and improving the environment for future generations. In order to succeed we need to hire people with a sustainable mindset. Could this be you?

Please note we are not partnered with any recruitment agencies for this role. We kindly ask that recruitment agencies do not submit CVs on behalf of candidates for this role, as these CVs will not be considered under the agency ownership and if Arla does progress with any such candidate, this will not amount to acceptance of the agency’s terms. We encourage interested individuals to apply directly through our official channels.