The Head of Category Opportunity
We're hiring a Head of Category to own the end-to-end category strategy and performance across a complex, high-SKU portfolio.
You will set vision, build actionable plans, and lead a team to deliver sales growth, profit improvement, and best-in-class customer experience.
Reports to: Director of Commercial
Direct reports: Category Managers
Key Responsibilities
Category Strategy & P&L
* Define 3-year category vision and 12-18 month roadmaps aligned to company objectives.
* Own category P&L (revenue, gross margin, stock turns, working capital, GMROI).
* Build data-driven range frameworks (good/better/best), NPI pipelines, and exit plans.
People Leadership
* Lead, coach and develop a multi-disciplinary team; set objectives, conduct reviews, succession plan.
* Foster a high-performance culture with clear accountabilities and collaboration with Sales, Supply Chain, Marketing and Finance.
Range, Pricing & Promotions
* Curate competitive ranges across thousands of SKUs; manage lifecycle, rationalisation and long-tail.
* Set price architecture, trade terms and promotional strategy by channel; ensure compliance and margin integrity.
* Champion data-led decision making (market data, elasticity, basket analysis, attach/cross-sell).
Supplier & Sourcing
* Own supplier strategy: selection, onboarding, sustainability and risk management.
* Lead annual terms negotiations (rebates, overriders, MDF, service levels) and resolve performance issues.
Demand, Inventory & Availability
* Partner with Supply Chain on forecasting, MOQ/EOQ, safety stock, and E&O reduction.
* Improve availability, OTIF and stock turns while protecting customer service.
Customer & Channel
* Translate customer insight into actionable category plans for B2B, e-commerce and store channels.
* Work with Marketing on content standards, digital merchandising, search and conversion optimisation.
* Support key account propositions and tender responses with compelling category narratives.
Governance & Change
* Run monthly category reviews; track KPIs and drive corrective actions.
* Lead cross-functional initiatives (ERP/MDM, PIM, pricing tools) to scale category management capability.
Skills & Experience (Essential)
* Proven Head of Category / Senior Category Manager / Trading Lead experience in a hard goods environment.
* Comfortable managing large, multi-SKU portfolios and complex supplier bases.
* Demonstrable success delivering P&L improvement (revenue, margin, cash/stock).
* Strong people leadership: building, coaching and scaling teams; change leadership.
* Advanced commercial acumen: negotiations, price/margin management, promotions, and terms.
* Data-driven with proficiency in Excel/BI tools; able to translate insight into simple actions.
* Experience working cross-functionally with Supply Chain, Sales and Finance in a distribution setting.
Working Pattern & Travel
* Hybrid (typically 2-3 days/week in Warwick HQ; flexibility around peaks/travel).
* Occasional supplier and store visits; UK travel required
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