CATEGORY MANAGER: WCELLAR
Listing reference: woolw_001130
Listing status: Online
Apply by: 7 April 2025
Position summary
Industry: FMCG & Supply Management
Job category: FMCG, Retail, Wholesale and Supply Chain
Location: Western Cape
Contract: Permanent
Remuneration: MARKET RELATED
EE position: No
Introduction
Responsible for leading the co-ordination of the end-to-end category strategy by inspiring the team in the co-creation and execution of the long-term strategy to ensure the delivery of sustainable profit growth and operational excellence.
Job description
- Interprets and translates strategy into commercially viable operating plans to ensure delivery of operational excellence
- Lead the co-creation of the strategy by gathering input from the teams
- Interprets market reports to identify opportunities and viability
- Establish long-term objectives across commercial, customer and supplier strategy
- Integrates and aligns category assessments with the WCellar strategy to create and deliver 3-year operating plans
- Understands market share and supplier inputs to create leading industry operating plans
- Co-ordinate category assessment program across the Matrix Team
- Drive and enable profitable growth of the Category
- Conducts analysis and tracking of management accounts
- Accountable for the oversight and management of KPIs to ensure maximum sales, profitability and market share accretion at a product group level
- Deploy tactical strategies to manage monthly performance against KPI's at product group level
- Monitors financial performance of the business/ department and identifies implications for business performance
- Lead, mentor and support the matrix team to deliver on strategic outcomes
- Effective management and co-ordination team engagements
- Manage and co-ordinate rhythm and pace of category by inspiring a culture within the teams to create and sustain momentum
- Ability to effectively communicate and make decisions taking into consideration multiple, diverse viewpoints
- Identify possible issues and mitigate by having difficult conversations in order to ensure the delivery of business standards and values
- Manages mutually beneficial stakeholder relationships and ensures stakeholders execute and deliver on strategy
- Supports the team in negotiating contracts and agreements with suppliers to secure favorable terms and conditions.
- Facilitates a cross functional supplier base including other stakeholders to plot path to objectives
- Manage various stakeholders towards the execution and delivery of business projects and initiatives
- Ensures gathering and consolidation of pertinent information from various stakeholders within reasonable timeframes
- Creates well defined and articulated supplier strategy with clear objectives and transformation plans
- Identifies suppliers that are aligned to the business' values and can fulfill current gaps
Minimum requirements
- Formal Qualification needed/ Relevant diploma/degree
- Buying experience required
- Demonstrated ability in Category Management, preferably in the FMCG industry, with 8 years of experience
- Experience in liquor (across categories: Wine, spirits, beers & RTD's) & adjacent categories is advantageous.
- 3-5 years' experience managing a team/leading people is required
- Additional knowledge/ experience needed to fulfill role; work conditions (such as shift work, international travel required)
- Strong ability to interpret data into actionable recommendations to drive top-line and bottom-line growth.
- Ability to articulate complex concepts in clear, simple & logical terms & build compelling presentations & professional communications
- Stakeholder Management: Understand complex business context; Ability to influence internal / external partners at all levels, with various backgrounds and expertise
- Strong resilience and an ability to work in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment
- Exceptional problem-solving ability and strong solution orientation
- Highly entrepreneurial and passionate about the Liquor category
- Advanced MS suite proficiency (Excel & PPT) and data visualization tools (e.g., Qliksense or QlikView, etc.)
