Senior Category Manager Soft Fruit - Hawthorn East

We’ve been trusted to serve Aussie communities since 1914 and grown to become a top 30-listed on the ASX with over 115,000 team members and a portfolio of iconic brands. At Coles Group, you’ll not only get to make a difference to millions of Aussie lives—you’ll also get to see your impact.

About the team

Our Commercial team is a large, but a close-knit group of trading experts, who are ready to shape the future of Coles. We pride ourselves on the long-lasting supplier relationships we build, the new ideas we develop and how passionately we work to help Australian eat and live better every day. And the best part? We’re all so different. We bring diversity of thought, backgrounds, and experience to every Business Unit across Coles Supermarkets and Liquor.

About the role

As a Senior Category Manager for Soft Fruit, you will be part of the commercial team within Produce, a dynamic, high performing team that fosters a great team culture and career development. 

You’ll be responsible for managing one of the largest categories within the Fruit portfolio; accountable for growing profitable category sales by satisfying our customer’s needs, growing market share in-line with strategic goals. 

This role will see you foster strong relationships with your team and our network of farmers and growers, utilising your excellent skills at influencing and negotiating positive outcomes for both parties. 

You'll also:

• Lead and develop a small team of direct reports
• Be accountable for the execution of the category's pricing, promotion, range selection, layout development and product development
• Drive results and performance of your category
• Work cross-functionally across Marketing, Operations, Transformation and Strategy
• Execute our customer-centric strategy for your category to shape a legacy for the future
• Drive innovation within the category, working closely with the broader Coles Merchandise team
• Build strong relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders, using your negotiation and influencing skills to drive the direction of the category  

About you and your skills

This is a complex position that would suit an experienced Category Manager. In this role you will utilise your experience in understanding market share gaps and helping to develop and implement a market leading plan across this portfolio. A successful candidate will be highly engaged and passionate about the role with well-developed stakeholder management skills.

You'll also need:

• A thorough understanding of managing large categories
• Ability to generate new and original ideas and solutions
• Experience managing several suppliers, with varying levels of complexity
• Leadership experience to effectively manage a team
• Outstanding influencing, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills
• A dynamic style, to operate in a fast paced, customer-driven retail environment
• Strong financial acumen within a highly commercial environment

What’s in it for you?

• Flexible working options: We know that work is only one part of your life, so we actively encourage a positive work-life balance and provide hybrid working options to help you achieve it.
• Office perks: Take advantage of our gym facility and fitness classes, free parking, BBQ area, mini-Coles supermarket, fooderie hub where you can sample new products before they hit the shelves, school holiday program and so much more when you come in.
• Discounts: Eligible team members receive 5% discount all year round on your Supermarket and Liquor online and in-store purchases. We also offer additional periods of double discount (10%) at various times throughout the year. As well as hotdeals exclusive to team members that translate into additional savings.
• Reward through recognition: Give and receive recognition, linked to our Coles values, through our digital recognition platform ‘mythanks’. You can accumulate points to redeem in the online shop for exciting gifts and electronic gift cards from an extensive range of retailers.
• Opportunities for learning and development: No matter where you start within our diverse business, you’ll have experiences, exposure, and education to satisfy you. Discover and explore a variety of career development programs and job-specific training.
• Paid parental leave: We understand how important your life outside work is and offer permanent team members paid parental leave to support you in balancing work and family.
• Investment in your future: Our annual team member share plan offer allows eligible team members to make regular pre-tax salary sacrifice deductions to purchase Coles Group shares.

About the recruitment process

We’re continuing to build a gender equitable team, and a culture that is just as diverse, inclusive and welcoming as the communities we serve. We are committed to creating a workplace that is safe and respectful for our team. We encourage applications from people of all ages, cultures (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples), abilities, sexual orientation and gender identities.

We’re happy to adjust our recruitment process to support candidates with disability. For further information and additional contact details visit the ‘Our Recruitment Process’ section of our careers site or email inclusionrecruitment@coles.com.au

Job ID: 163702

Employment Type: Full time