Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you. As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits. To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact Click “Apply” to get started. The Category team The pladis Category Team is a focused and dedicated team with a clear ambition to be seen as the 1 category authority by our customers. The role of the pladis Category Development team is to help our retail customers and so pladis to grow sales of snacking products through the provision of industry-leading shopper, retailer and market insights. These enable robust decision making on product ranges, merchandising, business planning and promotions. We work directly with customers externally, as well as providing mentorship internally to ensure alignment of our business goals with the category needs of our customers What will this role achieve? Reporting into the Category Controller, this Senior Category Development Manager is accountable for providing category leadership and developing and executing plans that deliver category growth. The successful candidate will develop a working relationship with the Buyers of key retailers with a view to becoming the go-to category partner of choice, optimising Biscuits range, distribution, space, location, promotions and availability. What will be your key deliverables? Customer Relationships : Create an ongoing relationship with our retailers, broadening our engagement and becoming the go-to person for category advice & range reviews. D evelop a detailed understanding of key contacts, their strategy, goals and calendar and use this understanding to proactively identify opportunities of benefit to the Category. Create and agree a customer contact strategy that ensures regular provision of insights, leadership of range reviews & merchandising. Category Growth Plans : In conjunction with the Category Controller, and based around our own category vision(s) for growth, build a Category Growth Plan that adapts this to the specific customer(s) own strategy and identifies new ways to unlock consumption and purchase for the relevant category. Effectively implement the plan with the appropriate retailers; bringing it to life in a simple and compelling way that encourages the focus customer(s) to believe in the growth potential of the categories in which we operate, making it clear what they need to do to unlock the value and reinforce pladis as the 1 category partner to achieve growth. Category Fundamentals: Develop and implement differentiated strategies and tactics for focus categories & customer(s) that improve range, distribution, location, availability, promotions and space (Macro, primary and secondary) for the Category; making the Biscuits category easier and more enjoyable to shop. Objectively evaluate Category performance in the focus customer(s), identifying risks or opportunities and proactively communicating suggested course correction. Ensure that range reviews & ranging window opportunities are maximised by highlighting opportunities & risks, agree & track progress v agreed metrics. Analysis and Reporting: Optimally interpret all available industry, category, customer and shopper data turning it into useful insights that are communicated regularly to focus customer(s) and, where appropriate, any specific findings for the pladis organisation e.g HFSS regulations, Category health checks, promotional analysis and category fundamentals. Continuous Improvement: Embrace the spirit of continuous improvement and share the best ways of working on an ongoing basis via relevant team forums. Look to improve our quality of insight & customer service. Brand Champion : For the designated area of responsibility, adapting narratives from marketing and Category Strategy to tailor to specific customer(s). Working with Marketing and Commercial excellence to execute brand and channel playbooks and plans with Customer(s). Key measures: Quality of Customer Category Growth Plan & receptiveness and adoption of the plan from customer perspective, reflected in range review leadership Agreed specific Category Plan metrics AGS Score for category and for “Delivering Insights” Bring your experience! Commercial and/or Revenue Management or Category experience gained in a FMCG manufacturing organisation, consultancy or agency Proven understanding of category management principles and execution, including a broad numerical & analytical background Min 2 years category management experience Understanding and experience of the UK FMCG market Ability to turn complex data sets into clear and useful insights and communicate recommendations in a clear and positive manner Strong communication, presentation & influencing skills with a proven record of delivery Good relationship building skills with partners Some knowledge of; space planning, insights tools and data sets spanning but not limited to JDA, Nielsen, Kantar, Dunnhumby Ability to use Microsoft Office products pladis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law. We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List. If you are a recruitment agency and wish to submit candidate to be considered for this vacancy, you must have agreed to, and signed, our terms of business. We will not accept CVs from any other sources other than those currently on our PSL. We will not pay a fee for any candidate that has not been represented by a provider on our PSL.