Category Manager

Company Overview

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Texas Petroleum Group (TPG) is a retail fuel company managing retail gas stations in Texas with a variety of commercial constructs. Operating under the Tradename “Timewise” the team has a strong legacy of operating excellence in the Texas market and takes pride in their customer service and bottom-line focus. Recently acquired by Shell, Texas Petroleum group is being operated independently as a wholly owned subsidiary. This ownership change brings ambitions for accelerated growth as well as new regulatory and compliance requirements to be implemented. The company is at a crossroads and entering a phase of significant transformation and growth.

Summary of Key Responsibilities

The Category Manager drives excellence through developing a strategic offering and product placement that maximizes customer traffic, revenue, and profitability for their assigned category. They will be responsible for ensuring such excellence through provision of category management responsibilities for assigned categories and in supporting fellow Category Managers, allowing the broader team(s) to optimize performance and all growth opportunities.

This role will require best-in-class category management skills with the effective use of the 4Ps - Product (i.e., Range), Place (i.e., Merchandising), Pricing & Promotions. The successful candidate will be required to build extensive knowledge of their categories and the wider dynamics of the retail environment. They will be expected to define, shape, manage and monitor their categories; working with internal and external stakeholders to optimize an ever-evolving offer whilst delivering against business targets. Pivotal to the role will be interaction with suppliers, negotiating then managing the execution of annual Joint Business Plans.

Job Duties:

The key tasks, duties, and responsibilities that make up the Category Manager (CM) job description are:

• Demonstrate clear understanding of category management fundamentals (range, merchandising, pricing & promotions)
• Support CM Team to optimize untapped revenue opportunities across the full spectrum of assigned categories and services; ensuring sales, margin, income streams and cost reductions are maximized
• Take full P&L ownership for assigned categories; accountable for delivering sales and revenue targets
• Deliver KPI reporting to ensure that all CR categories are performing in line with targets and contractual requirements (incl. but not limited to weekly sales reporting, category deep dive analysis, promotional effectiveness, and ad hoc reporting)
• Establish, build, and manage critical supplier relationships, including ownership across all negotiations
• Act as CM Team focal point to support product and promotional set up, supply chain queries and processing of payments from or to suppliers
• Ensure that best-in-class category management principles and processes are applied to all assigned categories: delivering enhanced performance results on a continuous basis
• Ensure clear, concise, and appropriate timed communication of range, promotions, and new initiatives to colleagues, cross-functional depts, retailers and customers
• Develop incentive programs and contests to drive engagement of customers and store associates

Experience and Skills Required:

Direct experience or a clear understanding of Category Management and the Convenience Retail business will be a clear advantage. The following requirements will form a key part of the candidate selection process for this role:

• Result driven mindset; able to deliver against or support delivery of stretching business targets
• Commercial acumen; good understanding of sales, margin and profitability metrics, supported with understanding of all factors that can influence performance
• Negotiations skills; demonstrable negotiation skills
• Analytical skills; robust analytical skills demonstrable across different tools with high attention to detail, experience of using SAP Business Objects would be a strong advantage
• Insights Orientated; rounded understanding of the dynamics of the shopper and the retailer, underpinned by a deep consumer led mindset
• Positive self-starter; able to act as an advocate for change, seeking constant business or process improvements
• Strong relationship management skills; able to adapt approach to different audiences or circumstances
• Strong interpersonal skills; able to communicate, engage, influence or challenge different stakeholders where required
• Collaborative; able to work across multiple external and internal touch points, an effective team player and contributor
• Agility; able to respond at speed to changing business demands, reacting to challenging or unforeseen circumstances in a calm and measured manner, solving a problem firsthand if one should arise
• Resilience; up for a challenge and able to prioritize workload when under pressure from different stakeholders
• Attention to detail; strict attention to detail must be applied to all work; ensuring all tasks are accomplished within the timescales specified
• Relevant experience; first-hand experience and understanding of Category Management, as well direct consumer goods retailing experience is a key advantage
• Strong IT Skills; high degree of competence in all MS Windows packages
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or related field