Job Description

Crick, Northamptonshire | Full Time | Permanent | Hybrid
We're excited to be recruiting for a Category Manager to join our Commercial team at INSPIRED Pet Nutrition. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced FMCG category professional who is passionate about using insight to drive growth, influence customers, and shape category strategy within a fast-paced, values-led business.
You'll be responsible for leading category strategy and delivery across key customers, acting as a trusted advisor to retailers while translating shopper, market and category insight into clear, compelling growth plans for both our customers and IPN.
About us
INSPIRED Pet Nutrition is an innovative, well-established, and award-winning pet food manufacturer employing over 1,200 colleagues across the UK and Europe. Our family of brands includes Harringtons, Wagg, Barking Heads & Meowing Heads, AATU, Blink, Butcher's, Classic, Pro-Nutrition, and Ultra Premium Direct, along with a number of partner brands that trust us to produce food on their behalf.
Our kitchens in Thirsk, Kinmel, and Crick produce a wide range of dry, wet, and baked foods enjoyed by dogs and cats all over the world. Our ambition is simple: to become a global leader in pet nutrition.
Our Purpose: To create happiness
We're on a mission to set a new standard of workplace happiness within the pet nutrition industry--one that looks like no other and feels like no other. Our culture is built on INSPIRED's unique behaviours and colleague experience, creating an environment that excites, empowers, and puts people and pets at the heart of everything we do.
Responsibilities

• Lead category reviews to create fact-based plans that maximise category growth, retailer sales, value, and IPN's position within the category.
• Build and deploy retailer engagement plans, delivering clear category strategies over an 18-24 month timeframe.
• Develop and articulate a compelling category vision and strategy by retailer, defining the role of IPN brands and portfolio in driving growth.
• Analyse and interpret category, market and shopper data, turning insight into actionable recommendations and growth plans.
• Translate brand plans and wider business strategy into retailer-facing execution plans, supporting successful online and in-store activation.
• Input into NPD by identifying opportunities and developing shopper-led selling stories.
• Act as the strategic category lead for your allocated customers and appointed channel or brand, providing thought leadership and expertise.
• Act as the voice of the retailer internally, coaching and upskilling commercial and marketing teams using external best practice, data and insight techniques.

About you

• Graduate calibre, ideally with a degree in Business, Marketing or a related discipline.
• Minimum 3 years' experience working within an FMCG environment.
• Strong working knowledge of category data tools such as Nielsen, IRI, Kantar, Dunnhumby and/or retailer EPOS systems.
• Highly skilled in turning complex data into clear, persuasive insights and compelling stories.
• Strong communicator with the ability to influence internal and external stakeholders.
• Highly analytical, numerate, and commercially minded.
• Solid understanding of FMCG retail environments and category management principles, including shopper insight and in-store execution.
• Able to build trusted, collaborative relationships with retail partners and internal teams.

At INSPIRED, we want to inspire colleagues to join, stay, develop, and achieve, creating an inclusive and sustainable business fit for growth. One of the enablers of achieving this is offering competitive pay and benefits to all colleagues.
Our Total Reward Benefits include:

• Hybrid and flexible working
• Annual bonus related to personal and company performance (10%)
• Enhanced pension, life assurance, and enhanced maternity, paternity, sick pay, and holiday buy options
• People and Pets First benefits, including paw-reavement, paw-ternity leave, and bring your dog to work
• Healthcare cashback plan and Hertility at-home fertility testing
• Heavily discounted pet food and lifestyle benefits (Netflix, Spotify, or breakdown cover)
• Retail and gym discounts, electric car scheme, free onsite parking and electric car charging
• Onsite canteen, free hot drinks, and modern facilities

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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
INSPIRED Pet Nutrition is committed to building an inclusive workplace that reflects the diversity of the colleagues and communities we serve. We believe everyone should feel valued, respected and able to be themselves at work. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. We make hiring decisions based on talent, potential and the experience you bring.
We are also committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and in the workplace, ensuring equitable access and opportunity for all. If you need any adjustments or support to take part in our recruitment process, please let us know by emailing recruitment@ipn.co.uk.
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Skills Required