Senior Category Manager

Senior Category Manager
Up to £80,000 plus great benefits (Work Level 5)
Scunthorpe/Manchester (hybrid working – you’ll spend two to three days a week working from the office, with Wednesdays always based in Scunthorpe)

Co-op Wholesale is growing, and we’re looking for talented people who want to help shape what comes next. As a Senior Category Manager in our Trading team, you’ll lead a team of Category Managers and Category Analysts. Together, you’ll look after a group of products and decide what to sell, how much to stock, and how to price them so our wholesale partners get the right quantities, at the right time. Working closely with our group buying teams and your category’s supplier base, you’ll develop a market-leading range of products that help our partners thrive.

Why this role matters

Exciting things are happening at Co-op Wholesale. We’re growing fast, strengthening our offer for retailers, key accounts, and corporate partners, and we need great people to be part of our journey.

To make this offer the best it can be, we need product ranges that really stand out and make the most of key market and seasonal opportunities. That means developing the right sourcing strategies, and always looking to stay one step ahead. That’s where you come in.

What you’ll do

• Own your product category strategy and drive performance across channels
• Lead, support, and develop your team, helping them to grow and thrive
• Monitor category performance and make sure we’re hitting our commercial targets
• Use data and market insights to identify trends, risks, and opportunities
• Collaborate with colleagues across our GCL (Group Commercial and Logistics) teams
• Build strong supplier relationships to spark ideas and drive mutual success

What you’ll bring

We’re committed to making our roles as accessible as possible, so we only ask for the minimum criteria. To thrive here, you’ll need to bring:

• Experience developing and owning commercial strategies across product categories, including pricing, promotional planning, and range architecture
• A strong track record of shaping and delivering effective trading strategies across wholesale channels
• Great sales, negotiation, supplier management, and relationship-building skills
• The ability to analyse data, trends, and insights to spot opportunities to improve trading performance
• Good leadership skills, with the ability to inspire teams to deliver commercial plans
• Good communication and collaboration skills

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes up to 50 minutes. If you're a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.