Category Manager - FMCG Food & Drink

Are you an ambitious FMCG professional looking to build your career in Category Management?Allexo Search is partnering with a leading branded FMCG business to recruit a Category Manager into its growing Category function. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with strong analytical skills, commercial curiosity and the confidence to work directly with retail customers.You don't necessarily need to already be an established Category Manager. Our client is looking for potential: someone who can turn data into clear commercial recommendations, build strong customer relationships and bring the energy and initiative to make things happen.With exposure to strategically important Discount and Convenience customers, you'll be given genuine ownership from the outset, alongside the opportunity to develop towards larger Grocery accounts as your career progresses.

The Role

Working as part of the wider Category team, you'll help develop and deliver customer-specific category plans designed to drive category growth, improve performance and identify new commercial opportunities.You'll work closely with Sales, Marketing and other commercial teams while building relationships directly with customers.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Taking ownership of category relationships across a portfolio of strategically important Discount and Convenience customers
• Leading and supporting customer range reviews, turning shopper, category and commercial data into clear recommendations
• Developing customer-specific category plans aligned with both retailer and business objectives
• Analysing promotional performance and identifying opportunities to improve effectiveness
• Reviewing range, distribution, space and sales performance to identify opportunities for growth
• Translating complex data into simple, compelling and commercially relevant customer stories
• Creating and delivering category and market insight presentations to customers
• Supporting annual customer and commercial planning
• Working cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing and wider commercial teams on NPD, launches and customer initiatives
• Helping shape the longer-term growth strategy across the Discount and Convenience channels

About You

We're looking for someone who combines analytical capability with personality, energy and commercial impact. You could already be working within Category Development or Category Management, but we're equally interested in people from Insights or other analytical FMCG roles who want to build their career within Category.

You’ll ideally bring:

• Experience within FMCG, with a strong understanding of the UK retail environment
• Strong analytical skills and confidence working with multiple sources of data
• The ability to turn analysis into clear, actionable commercial recommendations
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Confidence building relationships with both internal stakeholders and external customers
• A proactive, energetic approach - someone who takes ownership rather than waits for direction
• Strong influencing skills and the confidence to challenge constructively
• Experience of Discount or Convenience customers would be advantageous, but isn't essential
• Experience with data sources such as NielsenIQ, Circana, Kantar or retailer data would also be beneficial
• Most importantly, you'll need the appetite to learn, develop and make an impact.

Why Apply?

This isn't a role where you'll simply sit behind the data. You'll have the opportunity to own customer relationships, influence commercial decisions and see your recommendations put into action, while joining a business that can offer a clear route into larger and more senior Category roles. For someone early in their Category career - or an analytical FMCG professional looking to make the move into customer-facing Category Management - it offers an excellent platform for progression.

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