Head of Category Management, UK in London

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.

About You

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.

Responsibilities

• 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 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.

Skills

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 customer and Bacardi.
• Strong leadership, coaching & capability building experience with the ability to inspire and lead effectively.
• Strong analytical skills, and very comfortable interpreting data.
• Experienced in managing and influencing key stakeholders, comfortable at senior customer and executive level.
• A flair for presenting and “telling the story”.
• Highly motivated to succeed and can take ownership of the role.

Personal Qualities

• People Agility: You bring a deep ability to understand and relate to people and navigate through tough situations to harness and multiply collective performance.
• Mental Agility: You can think strategically whilst being execution focused and bring creativity to the challenges you’re presented with.
• Change Agility: You have a deep natural curiosity, desire to experiment and ability to effectively deal with the heat of change. You have a growth and learning mindset: ready to test, stumble, learn and apply from experience.
• Leadership Agility: You have a strong capacity to create a culture of ‘Belonging’, where people feel appreciated for who they are, what they do, and who they can become.
• Self‑Awareness: You have high levels of self‑awareness, are reflective and know yourself well, understanding both your own strengths and weaknesses and your impact on others.
• Results Agility: You demonstrate consistent delivery of results in first-time situations by inspiring teams, exhibiting a presence that builds confidence in yourself and others.

Disclaimer: Bacardi seeks talent from all backgrounds to bring diversity of thought, agility and capability to our organization across the globe. We promote a working environment where all employees are treated and rewarded fairly. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination that adversely affects individuals or groups on the basis of national origin, race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, and any other legally protected aspect of a person's identity.

Compensation, Paid Time Off & Retirement

• Competitive Pay Package
• Competitive Holiday/Paid Time Off, plus additional days offered (i.e., volunteer day, allowing you to give back to the community)
• Retirement/Pension Plan
• Medical, Critical Illness, and Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programs
• Best-in-class, family-friendly, and inclusive leave policies

Additional Benefits

• Flexible work arrangements (depending on role/office/site location)
• Access to E-learning Platforms and Career Development programs
• Travel Discounts (i.e., hotel and car rental)
• And much more!

The benefits/perks may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Bacardi, your work location, and are subject to change. Some benefits may be subject to an employee contribution. Some benefits may be fully or partially subsidized. Incentive plans are linked to the nature of your employment and can vary based on region, market, function or brand.