Senior Category Manager

Senior Category Manager - North London

£65,000-£72,000 salary | Private Medical | Pension | Life Assurance | 30 days' total holiday including bank holidays | Onsite parking

Are you an experienced Senior Category Manager, Buyer or Commercial Trading professional ready to take ownership of a high-value category and make a significant impact on sales, margin and profitability?

This is an exciting opportunity to join a large, successful, family-owned multinational business and play a senior role in shaping category strategy, supplier partnerships and commercial performance across the retail and wholesale market.

The opportunity

As Senior Category Manager, you'll have significant commercial ownership, leading the development and delivery of category plans that maximise sales, margin, retail POR and cash profit.

You'll work closely with senior stakeholders and key suppliers, using market insight, commercial expertise and strong negotiation skills to shape range, pricing, promotions and supplier investment.

This is a role for someone who enjoys having influence, accountability and the opportunity to make commercially significant decisions.

You'll be responsible for:

Developing and delivering strategic category plans
Owning ranging, pricing and promotional strategies
Maximising sales, margin, retail POR and cash profit
Building high-value supplier relationships and Joint Business Plans
Negotiating impactful supplier deals, costing and margin opportunities
Securing supplier investment for marketing, media and promotional initiatives
Analysing market, category and promotional performance to identify growth opportunities
Managing range development, identifying gaps and strengthening the customer proposition
Developing the optimum balance of branded and own-brand products
Planning seasonal promotions and key commercial initiatives
Maximising product availability across your categories
Influencing senior internal and external stakeholders
Mentoring and developing Category Assistants
Driving continuous improvement and delivering sustainable commercial growth

What you'll bring

We're looking for an experienced commercial leader with a strong background in FMCG wholesale, ideally within a senior buying, trading or category management environment.

You'll bring:

Significant senior commercial, buying or trading experience
Proven experience developing and delivering category strategies
A strong track record of negotiating high-impact deals on cost and margin
Excellent commercial judgement and analytical capability
Strong influencing and stakeholder management skills
Confidence, tenacity and assertiveness when pursuing commercial outcomes
Experience analysing market, category and performance data
Excellent problem-solving skills
A genuine commitment to continuous improvement
BWS category experience would be advantageous

Why join?

This is an opportunity to step into a high-profile senior commercial role with genuine influence and accountability.

You'll have the freedom to shape category strategy, negotiate with key suppliers and make decisions that directly influence sales, profitability, range and customer value.

You'll join an established and growing international organisation with a strong family-owned heritage, diverse business interests and operations across the UK and internationally.

With significant exposure to senior stakeholders, suppliers and commercial decision-making, this role offers an excellent platform for someone looking to take their category career to the next level.

The package

£65,000-£72,000 salary

Plus:

30 days' total holiday including bank holidays
Private Medical
Pension
Life Assurance
Onsite parkingLocation: North London / Park Royal

You don't need to tick every box. If you have the majority of the relevant experience and are ready to take on a senior role with genuine commercial ownership, we'd love to hear from you.

Ready to make your next career move? Apply today.

WR Logistics are a leading recruitment partner for the logistics and supply chain industry, recruiting across the UK, Europe, and the USA for permanent opportunities.

WR Logistics is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed