UK Category Manager | method and Ecover

Job description
Lifestyle Brands (the LSB) is a growing house of like-minded brands under the SC Johnson umbrella including Method®, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day®, Babyganics® and Ecover®. Headquartered in San Francisco with additional operations in Chicago and throughout Europe, the LSB is home to 650 employees. Together we act as a force for bold, transformative growth with a focus on delivering positive impact for people and the planet. If you’re into pioneering the future and doing good while doing business, come join us.

The LSB is part of SC Johnson, a family-owned company and leading manufacturer of household cleaning, home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care products, as well as professional products. Originally founded in 1886 and headquartered in Wisconsin, U.S.A., SC Johnson and the Lifestyle Brands division are at work for a better world.

Location: Frimley, UK

Contract type: Permanent

People Leader: Head of Category Management UK

Function: Category Management

Internal Job Title: Senior Associate, Sales Analysis

Overview:

We are seeking a green-loving Category Manager to join our small but passionate UK category team. Our mission is to grow eco-cleaning by developing and landing strategies that deliver for the consumer, our retailers, and our brands. We are looking for a category manager that can effortlessly build rewarding relationships with a selection of our retailers, stretching and influencing their thinking through killer insight. Key responsibilities include influencing key retailer decision makers on range, merchandising, promotion; driving engagement in our brands and in the green category; and advising them how to grow the category.

Responsibilities:
• Develop and grow our relationship with a selection on a priority retail accounts, via their buying and category teams.
• Use data and insight to influence retailers selections on range, promo, merchandising and events, becoming their go-to contact for impartial, actionable advice:
• Create and land bespoke eco-cleaning category strategies with our retailers
• Spearhead range reviews which deliver wins for the consumer, retailer, and our brands
• Identify and champion future growth opportunities with a focus on recruiting new shoppers into eco-cleaning
• Work cross-functionally:
• with colleagues in marketing to build compelling trade narratives to support our business objectives
• Partner with the sales team to understand the commercial obstacles that we are facing and in turn share the category insights and trends we are observing in our retailers so that together you can build winning customer plans as a united customer team
• Be LSB’s eye’s and ears in our retailer sharing news with the business on new listings, delists, range changes and performance. Bang the drum and ring the bell to drive action in light of this information.

Your superpowers:
• You’re at home with data and are able to spot meaningful insights turning them into actionable recommendations and growth strategies
• Your communication credentials are one of your biggest strengths; you can strike up strong relationships with people from the get-go and experienced at presenting to buyers and larger audiences, such as at retailer sell-in days
• You can tell a story better than a nursery teacher! And you build compelling category selling stories
• You’ll have experience working with some of the UK Grocery retailers or e-Com retailers
• You're a self-starter who isn’t just waiting for instruction, you seek out opportunities and make them happen with passion
• You must have a relentless desire to push boundaries in making all efforts work harder for the brands, exploring new, different, and exciting opportunities along the way

About us:

We are the people behind method + Ecover. We’ve always done things differently – we’re fearless thinkers, mad scientists and daring designers who believe that making soap leads to brave ideas, bold inventions, and beautiful bubbles. We started small but we have big plans to make the world a cleaner, greener, more colourful place. We invite everyone to join us as we pioneer a future where doing business is doing good for all.

Let’s get one thing straight – you’re not coming here to just sell soap, or cleaning products. You’re joining us to move the hearts, souls and minds of others all over the world that see the world differently. We think about cleaning as an act of creative expression, a gesture of rebellion, and, yes, an escape from the normal. We take cleaning seriously – but not ourselves.

Alongside our friends Mrs Meyers and Babyganics, we are collectively known as Lifestyle Brands and are part of the SC Johnson family.

Application:

It’s a big, beautiful, colourful world out there and we should celebrate that. That’s why we’re working hard to be a fully diverse and inclusive place to work. Every day we strive to create an atmosphere where everyone feels valued, listened to, supported and where we can do our best work. Sure, there’s always more that can be done. But together with our team, partners, customers, and community, we can make everyone welcome.

We advertise all our roles on Evenbreak, the specialist job board for disabled candidates. If you have a disability or a long-term health condition and would like support in applying for any of our vacancies, please visit their Career Hive – careers support for disabled candidates delivered by careers professionals with lived experience of disability. Find out more at https://hive.evenbreak.co.uk.   

We are happy to adjust our hiring process to ensure we are accessible to everyone – please let us know what we can do to support you.

Inclusion & Diversity

We believe that being a team of diverse people with different ideas, views and cultures will help us and our business thrive. We are committed to ensuring everyone who works at the LSB feels that they have a real sense of belonging and that they can show up as who they are, be valued, listened to and supported to do their best possible work.

Sure, there’s always more that can be done. But together with our team, partners, customers and community, we can make everyone welcome.