Category Controller

Category Controller - FMCG

About the Role

We’re looking for an experienced Category Controller to lead a high-performing category team, build and maintain strong supplier relationships, develop effective category strategies and drive competitive advantage within the marketplace.

This is a senior commercial role where you’ll provide leadership across the category function, ensuring the team delivers against financial, operational and strategic objectives. Using your strong leadership and commercial skills, you’ll identify opportunities to continuously improve performance, maximise efficiency and deliver sustainable business growth.

Category Controller Key Responsibilities

• Deliver an excellent customer proposition through customer-centric ranges, competitive pricing, value, quality assurance and effective use of customer insight and NPS data.
• Take ownership of category P&L performance, budgets and financial targets, developing and executing effective sales and commercial strategies.
• Lead, coach and develop a team of Category Managers and Category Assistants, creating a supportive, collaborative and high-performing team culture.
• Develop and maintain strong supplier relationships, leveraging commercial opportunities to improve performance, profitability and competitiveness.
• Lead negotiations with suppliers to secure competitive costs, improved margins and favourable commercial agreements.
• Ensure operational excellence across the category function, including supply chain performance, stock management, wastage control, compliance and food safety.
• Work closely with Finance and other key stakeholders to ensure the business has accurate commercial insight to support decision-making and maximise margin and profitability.
• Analyse market, customer and category data to identify trends, opportunities and areas for improvement.
• Develop and implement category strategies that support wider business objectives and deliver sustainable growth.
• Influence senior stakeholders across a complex, multi-functional environment, balancing competing priorities and driving alignment across the business.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and deliver meaningful step-change across the Trading function.

Category Controller The Ideal Candidate

• Proven experience leading a Trading or Category team, with significant functional accountability and the ability to influence senior stakeholders within a complex, multi-functional environment.
• Significant experience in a senior commercial, buying, category or trading role, ideally within food retail, wholesale or the FMCG sector.
• A strong commercial track record, with experience delivering against P&L, sales, margin and profitability targets.
• Proven ability to negotiate high-impact supplier deals, particularly around costing, margin and commercial terms.
• Strong analytical and data interpretation skills, with the ability to turn insight into commercially focused decisions.
• Demonstrable experience managing, coaching and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong understanding of category management, merchandising, profitability, pricing and supply chain principles.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• A strategic thinker with the ability to develop and deliver category and trading strategies that create measurable business improvement.
• Experience of taking ownership for significant business change and delivering step-change within a Trading environment.
• Highly commercial, results-driven and able to operate effectively in a fast-paced and constantly evolving marketplace.

Category Controller Benefits

Competitive salary up to £90k (DOE), Company pension, 22 days annual leave, plus the option to purchase additional days, Life Assurance. Private Medical Insurance and Onsite parking

Equal Opportunities

We understand that no applicant will tick every box, so we encourage you to apply if you meet most of the above criteria and believe you could be a strong fit for the role.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace and welcome applications from individuals with different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. We believe that diverse teams bring different ideas, experiences and approaches that help drive business success.

If this opportunity is of interest and you’d like to find out more, please get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you.