Category Development Manager

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.

What will this role achieve?

The role of the pladis Category Management 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. Our success has been recognised with a Top 3 ranking in the Impulse Advantage Survey!

Reporting into the Snr Category Manager, this category development manager is accountable for providing category leadership and developing and implementing plans that deliver category growth specifically for Savoury & Seasonal for Tesco , developing a working relationship with Buying teams with a view to becoming the go-to category partner of choice for the optimisation of range, distribution, space, location, promotions and availability of these categories, which will ultimately also help grow pladis’ business in these areas.
This is an ideal stepping stone to promotion into a full Top 5 category manager role!
 

What will be your key deliverables?

• CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS: Build an ongoing relationship with the Buyers, as well as the category planning manager and so broaden engagement and make themselves the go-to person for category advice & range reviews/seasonal plans, through developing a detailed understanding of key contacts, their strategy, goals and calendar and using this understanding to proactively find opportunities of benefit to the Category. Build 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/ Category Manager, and in line with the overall application of the vision of category growth for the focus categories & customer, build a Category Growth plan for Biscuits that identifies new ways to unlock consumption and purchase for Tesco Savoury & Seasonal categories. Optimally implement the plan with the appropriate retailer teams; bringing it to life in a simple and compelling way that encourages the focus customer(s) to see the growth potential of the categories in which we operate, makes it clear what they need to do to unlock the value and reinforces pladis as the #1 category advisor 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.
• INSIGHTS TO ACTIONS, 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: Adopt 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: Be the go-to person who sets up and ensures delivery of seasonal tracking for Seasonal Biscuits, reporting & customer engagement throughout the seasonal periods and that post-season customer wash-ups are of the highest possible quality in terms of insights & recommendations

Bring your experience.

Essential

• Proven experience & understanding of category management
• Understanding of the UK retail market
• Desire to engage with customer contacts
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Strong numeric and literacy skills
• Excellent problem solving, data analysis and interpretation skills.

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Desirable

• Tesco experience

What will the interview process be?

• 1st stage interview – 45 minutes competency-based interview based on our company values and your experiences.
• 2nd stage interview – 60 minutes – a technical interview to understand your skill set/case study or presentation interview.

pladis does also use both Psychometric and Aptitude tests to support our processes so you may be asked to complete these as part of your process.
Some processes may differ, but we will keep you updated!

What does pladis offer you?

• Annual Incentive Plan (AIP) – this is the business’s annual bonus scheme.
• Opportunity to self-enrol into Health Cash Plan
• Private medical Insurance
• Stakeholder Pension Scheme
• Life Assurance Cover ~ upon enrolment to Stakeholder Pension Scheme 
• 25 days + bank holidays 
• Holiday Enhancement Scheme
• 1 Volunteering Day per year
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Discounted gym membership – Carlisle and Chiswick only
• Discount and Cashback Scheme – make your everyday spending work hard for you on major high street brands, supermarkets and services
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme
• Financial Wellbeing Support
• Access to great training and development opportunities

Our Values

Purpose led – We’re energised and guided by our purpose to bring happiness with every bite

Agile – We’re ever evolving, we never stand still, always improving for our customers and our consumers.

Positive – We’re highly motivated optimistic, courageous, and we inspire each other to be better

Resilient - We’re persistent in the face of setbacks, quick to adapt, learn and move forward

Collaborative – We gain strength from operating as one pladis, winning and succeeding together.

Best mix of ingredients

pladis is an equal opportunities employer, like every great recipe we’re a thoughtful mix. A happy and inclusive place to work that’s as diverse as our consumers and the communities we support, live and work in, all around the world. Where every voice is heard, and difference is celebrated. Where fresh perspectives and new ideas help us grow and thrive.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform key job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

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.