Category & Customer Strategy Manager

Business Area: Nestlé UK&I - Coffee
Coffee Category & Customer Strategy Manager

Location: Gatwick (Hybrid working –  2 days a week in the office) 

Attractive Salary + car allowance

Some of our other fantastic benefits

• Potential, discretionary bonus


• Generous pension scheme


• 12 flexible days on top of 25-day holiday entitlement


• 2 paid volunteering days


• A focus on personal development and growth

Although this is a full-time permanent opportunity, please speak to us about what flexibility means to you. We are always open to discussing individual flexible working needs, so please don’t let this stop you from applying.

Position Summary 
Our UK&I Coffee team is recruiting for a Category & Customer Strategy Manager to join the Commercial Development Team (CDT).

At Coffee, we believe there is a cup of coffee for everyone, and our ambition is to lead the way for coffee lovers in the UK, with our brands continuing to grow household penetration and relevance across occasions.

This is an exciting commercial role which will leverage the successful candidate’s passion to lead the commercial category, channel and customer strategies across our Coffee / Beverages Ready-to-Drink (RTD) portfolio.

We are looking for a colleague who operates a ‘triple win mindset’ in order to create winning propositions which have our Shoppers, Customers and Nestlé at the centre of their reasoning.

Your Impact

As part of the Coffee CDT team, you will lead the Ready-to-Drink (RTD) category growth agenda by combining strategic category leadership with customer-facing category management, creating clear PPA, PICOS, NPD and channel plans that accelerate sustainable growth for Nestlé and its customers.

Working closely with Marketing and your CDT colleagues, you will:

• Create and own a clear 3yr Ready-to-Drink (RTD) category and channel strategy, aligned to category growth opportunities, shopper occasions, customer strategies and commercial priorities.


• Lead customer engagement around RTD growth opportunities, acting as a trusted category expert and influencing ranging, merchandising and point of purchase execution.


• Own the Idea to Launch (I2L), Integrated Commercial Planning (ICP) and Commercial Planning (CP) inputs for RTD, ensuring the plan is commercially robust, insight-led and executable across nominated customers and channels.


• Connect shopper, consumer, customer and competitor insight to create compelling RTD selling stories and actionable growth recommendations.


• Lead cross-functional alignment across Sales, Marketing, Shopper, SRM, Finance, Supply and Insights to deliver the RTD plan end to end.


• Track performance, evaluate promotional and activation effectiveness and continuously optimise the RTD growth plan.

Your Ingredients for Success

To be successful, you will bring broad commercial experience across Customer Management and Category, providing a strong strategic mindset and understanding of the UK Grocery, Convenience, Wholesale, eCommerce and emerging channels.

Essential:

• An appreciation and understanding of RTD shoppers, missions and consumption occasions


• Experience working on a multi-account or customer-facing agenda


• Up-to-date awareness of competitors and RTD category dynamics


• Understanding of customer strategies and how to shape category plans accordingly


• Commercial experience including revenue, profit, promo activity, pricing and distribution


• Strategic Revenue Management exposure, including Price Pack Architecture and profitable growth choices


• Strategic thinking, storytelling and stakeholder management


• Entrepreneurial and excited by building a new growth space


• Has the courage to challenge deciders, stakeholders and team members in the right way

Desirable:

• Previous experience within the Coffee category


• Advanced data and insight tools

What you need to know 

Advert posting date: 18/08/2026
Advert closing date: 01/09/2026

We will be considering candidates as they apply and we will occasionally close job advertisements early in the event we receive sufficient applicants, so please don’t delay in submitting your application.

At Nestlé, our values are rooted in respect and we believe that embracing diversity and fostering an inclusive environment allows everyone to reach their full potential and drives innovative thinking. We strongly encourage applications from individuals of all gender identities, ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities, parents, carers and members of the LGBT+ community. Please let us know if we can provide accommodations to ensure your full participation in the application process.

To find out more about Nestle’s commitment to DEI: Nestlé's Commitment to a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace

To find out more about your recruitment journey with Nestle: Recruitment Journey | Nestlé UK & Ireland