Job Description

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Job Title: Category Merchandising Director - Centre of Plate


Location: Ashford (Hybrid Working)


Reporting to the Sysco GB Merchandising Director, the Category Merchandising Director is responsible for driving the Merchandising strategy for the Centre of Plate category, leading across strategic sourcing, supplier management, quality assurance, pricing and category management. Developing and maintaining key external relationships across customers, suppliers and industry.


You'll lead a high performing team to meet Sysco's strategic objectives and KPI's, delivering success for our customers and suppliers through industry leading people, products and solutions.


Role Accountabilities

Contribute to Fresh proposition transformation through M&A integration and Organic growth. Circa $400m per annum Meat & Poultry value under trade. Sit on Merchandising Leadership team and lead broader Sysco initiatives outside of the COP business unit. Challenge existing ways of workings & end to end supply chains to deliver a seamless customer experience. Drive Category Growth for the Centre of Plate business unit across Sysco GB, covering meat, poultry, fish & Seafood, Meal solutions through diverse customer base from large Corporate to small independent foodservice businesses. Lead and promote the 6-step category management process to support sales and share of wallet growth. Lead a high performing team of up to circa 15 colleagues covering buying, category management, Product Development and administration. Collaborate with Supplier Partnerships to develop sustainable and profitable relationships. Develop an industry leading, but carefully curated range to improve depot efficiency & drive sales and value for our customers.

Knowledge, skills, experience and competencies


You'll hold extensive experience of category management, product management or merchandising within CPG, Retail or Foodservice industry. We're looking for someone who has the experience of managing sourcing or category strategies across multiple markets, with an understanding of regional legal and commercial differences, including the importance of sustainability, provenance and animal welfare. Proven experience of leading change initiatives and supporting colleagues within a dynamic and evolving environment along with the ability to lead cross-functional teams, build capability, and create a high-performance culture is essential. You'll have extensive negotiation and influencing experience within a buying, sourcing or similar role; using data and associated tools to support and successfully lead a team to drive category performance. A strong commercial acumen with a demonstrated track record of applying financial, commercial or procurement skills to a range of business-related objectives, such as delivering cost savings or enhancing the quality of services provided to businesses. You'll think strategically, able to demonstrate the capability to think long-term to build a future-proofed sourcing strategy factoring in the complex needs of multiple markets. This role requires strong analytical skills to interpret market trends, inflation/deflation, and supply chain risks, and translate them into proactive strategies. Effective communication and influencing skills to align with internal stakeholders (e.g., commercial, insights, supply chain) and external partners (e.g., suppliers, global OpCos) is essential.