Head of Category Management

You will lead the UK Category function, vision, strategy & team partnering cross functionally whilst driving shopper‑centric growth across both On & Off Trade channels.

This is a high impact position, you will play a critical role ensuring you & your team are the go‑to category experts for the business, producing key actionable insights and stories that power Bacardi’s growth.

You will ensure Bacardi earns its place as a trusted advisor with key customers by partnering with them to understand their objectives & defining where and how Bacardi can play a role in achieving them.

You will be a key member of the UK leadership team driving the strategy, focusing on Category Vision and ensuring we execute with excellence.

You combine analytical sharpness with strategic clarity moving from detail to big picture and comfortable stepping back to see the big picture and unlock growth for Bacardi and our customers.

Tenacious, driven & confident with a creative flair whilst working collaboratively to get the job done whilst leading large projects internally and with major customers.

Above all, you are passionate about enabling customers, shoppers & commercial teams to make better decisions through insight led storytelling.

• Do you dare to be different?
• Are you willing to question, challenge and innovate in pursuit of excellence?
• Can you work collaboratively and inspire others?
• Are you ready to make your mark?

Don Facundo Bacardi revolutionized the world of rums. As the cocktail industry continues to flourish every day, we strive to follow his legacy and delight the most demanding in the industry – our consumers! That’s where you come in!

• Responsible for defining, leading & executing the UK category vision, owning the category agenda end to end by channel, customer, occasion and support the strategic roadmap for the UK Business Unit.
• Drive joint growth with customers, building senior relationships with priority customers across all channels, you and your team acting as a trusted category advisors and embedding category thinking into joint business plans.
• Support customer marketing to ensure the shopper marketing plans are developed and executed to a high standard.
• Be an expert and the voice on Market, Category and Consumer trends across the Alcohol industry, providing regular reports to the business.
• Champion advanced insight & analytics, proactively using data from multiple sources to assess the category situation, translating into fact based strategic recommendations, identifying opportunities to drive long term business growth.
• Ensuring plans deliver the “triple win” for Bacardi, our customers and our consumers.
• Influence internal strategy partnering with commercial leads, customer and consumer marketing, RGM to anchor thinking in shopper & customer truth.
• Translate consumer/shopper insights into strategies across assortment, space, pricing, promotion, with clear prioritisation and commercial targets.
• Develop category principles for Range, Merchandising and Menu recommendations across Spirit categories that can be used to educate and generate growth both internally and externally.
• Build and coach a high performing team elevating capability role modelling an inclusive, insight led culture.
• Support your team in building compelling selling stories and thought leadership that elevates Bacardi’s influence on category decisions across the trade.
• Support & upskill commercial teams for them to confidently take a consultative category selling approach to their customers, whilst developing and providing the necessary tools to do this.

The skills and experience needed to create your legacy

• Significant Experience in FMCG category/marketing/commercial roles, proven leadership of category vision and retailer engagement.
• Significant relevant category management experience across the UK Grocery landscape for a leading FMCG business, with deep understanding of the commercial environment (ideally have operated in a commercial role).
• A detailed understanding the category landscape, what shoppers want and how to work in partnership with retailers to deliver for the shopper, the…