Senior Commercial Manager - Oils - Princes Group : Job Details

Job Purpose

• The role of the Senior Commercial Manager is to:
• Implement the strategy to deliver the profit and loss targets for the category through the identification and prioritisation of actions to maximise the financial performance
• Determine and implement the strategy for customer own brand contracts within the category, including contract negotiations, future range and SKU assortments
• Determine and agree the guiderails for contract negotiations for COB discussions and collaborate closely with the brand and revenue growth management teams to maximise the ongoing profitability delivered from branded sales
• Collaborate, create, publish and implement comprehensive category management strategies and lead cross functional teams in delivery.
• Provide actionable competitor insights, in conjunction with the Insights team
• Provide category input into the Sales and Operational Planning ("S&OP") process (demand reviews, supply review, portfolio review and excess stock management)
• Be a consultative partner, demonstrating knowledge across the categories and providing insight to support and help to shape wider business strategy.

Principal Responsibilities

• Responsible for delivering business KPIs in terms of volume, turnover and profitability
• Preparation of the category business plan, to include full P&L responsibility
• Preparation and ownership of the prioritised action plan to maximise the financial performance of the category
• Sign off of the negotiation guidelines for both brand and customer own brand commercial negotiations
• Lead planning for annual COB tenders. Support the sales team in agreeing the
• negotiation steps to deliver enhanced profitability for the category
• Represent the category both internally and externally as an expert whilst demonstrating a professional approach
• Prepare and execute customer presentations and category plans as appropriate
• Working closely with the innovation and procurement colleagues to explore opportunities for cost mitigation and value engineering in line with customer / brand guidelines
• Monitor, report on and counter competitor activities and plans within the relevant category
• Obtain the lowest possible total cost of ownership through negotiation, market intelligence and supplier knowledge.
• Conduct regular reviews with key stakeholders and provide regular reporting on initiatives
• Monitor customer profitability for the category and identify any significant variance to signed off profitability and work collaboratively with the relevant brand or sales team to address any challenges
• Liaise with appropriate internal departments to ensure the smooth and efficient operation of the category
• Identify and develop an appropriate product range for customer own brand contracts,
• working closely with the innovation and project management teams. This includes
• managing the pro-active exit of tail / delisted SKUs to optimise the portfolio
• Professionally resolve problems both internally and externally in a fair and ethical manner while protecting the long-term interests of the team and company.
• Support fully the efforts of other departments in achieving 100% stakeholder satisfaction.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Commercial experience within an FMCG environment
• Strong financial awareness and understanding of profit and loss accounts
• Demonstrate excellent commercial acumen
• Knowledge and understanding of the principles of product portfolio
• Experience of developing and executing category business plans
• SAP analytics and reporting
• Degree level qualification, ideally business related
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office
• Willingness to travel within the UK