Category Controller - Beauty, Healthcare and Personal Care

Full Time, Permanent

Hybrid – Home/Office based

To apply for this role please submit your latest CV and cover letter to joinus@brandshapers.ie



As a member of the commercial leadership team you will work with the Commercial Director to drive our vision of being Ireland’s leading brand house driving a culture of excellence throughout the business, ensuring that we build strong relationships with our customers and clients and delivery exceptional results, while embracing innovation in everything we do.
You will be a thought leader in the business and the champion of brand, category, and shopper excellence.
You will utilise your relentless drive and vision to inspire both your team and stakeholders throughout the business, to maximise the performance of our brands with our customers and consumers.
You will have full P&L responsibility for our Beauty, Personal Care, Healthcare and VMS portfolios working with our brand partners in the creation and implementation Consumer, Shopper, and Joint Commercial plans that to reach our growth objectives.
You will be the senior client lead for some of Irelands leading brands in their respective categories, cultivating a culture of trust and collaboration to solidify long term partnerships that benefit both parties.
You will coach and develop a team of brand managers to maximise both their potential and that of our brands.


KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY


Leadership

  • You will lead the client management function for the health, beauty and personal care categories with full P&L responsibility for the clients and brands under your remit.
  • You will act as a key senior contact for our brand partners within your designated categories, building long term relationships with all key contacts in line with the company’s culture of collaboration and service excellence.
  • You will utilise your broad knowledge base to provide your team and clients with strategic guidance on P&L management, brand strategy, category management and the optimal utilisation of marketing & sales budgets.
  • Lead, motivate and support all members of the teams to ensure the smooth and effective running of the team.

Planning & Client Management

  • You will take a long-term view of the macro environment and brand lifecycle. Managing your portfolio to drive long term, profitable returns for clients and company.
  • You will be responsible for the business planning cycle for your categories; supporting your team with developing, implementing & re-evaluating commercial plans that optimise the potential of our brands
  • You will assess all brand plans before implementation, ensuring we are constantly driving additional growth and achieving all key business and client objectives.
  • You will oversee the client management process; ensuring client service level agreements been meet at the highest standard.
  • You will proactively identify potential growth opportunities and conduct category analyses to support and influence client NPD and marketing plans.

Execution

  • You will act as a thought leader, maintaining strong knowledge of the media and competitive landscape to challenge and inspire your team to deliver industry leading brand activation plans.
  • You will keep the shopper and consumer at the heart of your thinking, ensuring all brand executions are developed with this in mind.
  • You will monitor success of brand plans post execution and work cross-functionally to adjust execution plans where required and address new market challenge as they arise.
  • You will manage the selection of partner agencies e.g media and point of sale to ensure performance parameters are maintained via quality, service levels & cost.
  • You will oversee all agency proposals & develop recommendations for client approval.

Customer

  • Working closely with our Channel Controllers, you will ensure all operational requirements and support resources are in place to deliver the annual plans for your categories.
  • Attend customer meetings with the national account team as required to support key planning and development initiatives for your categories.

Business Development

  • Provide insight on latest market trends and identify growth opportunities for the business and our brands.
  • Ensure our brands are everywhere our shoppers are, identifying new opportunities to extend our reach and maximise availability.
  • Support the Commercial Director with identifying and targeting new clients.
  • Assist with the preparation of proposals for new client tenders.

Performance and Support

  • Manage profitability of your categories through effective P&L monitoring and management.
  • Manage all client and internal reporting requirements against key metrics and objectives.
  • Work collaboratively with all stakeholders to ensure accuracy of stock and financial planning forecasts.

Talent Management and Development

  • You will implement the company’s Talent Management and Development strategy within your team, ensuring all team members have the necessary support and development opportunities to maximise their potential.
  • Liaise with Talent Management & Development to ensure that all annual performance appraisals are complete for all teams in line with company deadlines and that all personal and business objectives are agreed.
  • Lead recruitment in line with company policy and procedure when required, in conjunction with Talent Management & Development.

General

  • You will establish collaborative working relationships all internal stakeholders.

CAREER EXPERIENCE

  • Minimum of 5 years experience at a Senior Brand Manager, Marketing Manager or Client Manager within a fast-paced, dynamic organisation.
  • Demonstrable experience of working with leading brands in the beauty or personal care category across the Irish Pharmacy and Department store sectors is essential.
  • Demonstrable experience of managing and developing teams.
  • Demonstrable experience of creating and delivering successful brand plans and brand activation initiatives.
  • Experience building relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Good general standard of education including Maths and English.
  • 3rd level qualification in a business related discipline is advantageous but not essential.

REQUIRED SKILLS

  • The ability to take a proactive and solutions orientated approach to business challenges.
  • The ability to negotiate in order to interface effectively with key external clients and stakeholders.
  • The ability to lead, motivate and develop others to ensure the smooth and effective management of the team.
  • A strong understanding of the key financial measures that drive effective performance, including ROI calculations, promotional evaluation, and sales modelling.
  • Strong understanding of the core principles of category management and the ability to utilise these in trade recommendations and proposals.
  • Strong analytical skills in order to interpret sales data and forecast accordingly.
  • The ability to use Excel to an intermediate level in order to identify and analyse trends and create commercial recommendations.
  • The ability to use PowerPoint to an intermediate level in order to create impactful presentation for the trade and client review meetings.
  • A broad understanding of external economic and political factors that influence the industry and the ability to eloquently outline these both at trade and client meetings.