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Head of Category
Job Posted: an hour ago
Salary: £ 80,000 - 100,000 / Annum
Job Type: Permanent
Location: Coventry, West Midlands
Expire in: a month
Job Description
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 requiredBBBH32772Before You Apply
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