Category Manager

Senior Commercial Category Manager

40,000 + 20% Annual Bonus

The Opportunity:

Our client is a successful and growing business operating within the flooring, interiors and construction supply sector. They are seeking a commercially driven Senior Commercial Category Manager to lead supplier relationships, optimise product categories and drive commercial performance across the business. This is a highly visible role, working closely with Operations, Estimating, Finance and Sales to improve margins, strengthen supplier partnerships and support future growth.

The Role:

You will be responsible for managing supplier relationships, commercial agreements and category performance, ensuring the business maximises value from its supplier base while maintaining a competitive product offering. This role combines strategic thinking with a hands‑on approach and offers genuine influence across the business.

• Build and maintain strong supplier and manufacturer relationships.
• Conduct supplier reviews and monitor performance against KPIs.
• Manage supply, service and product‑related issues.
• Drive supplier accountability, service improvements and responsiveness.

• Negotiate pricing, rebates, payment terms and commercial agreements.
• Manage supplier discussions around price increases and market changes.
• Identify opportunities to improve margins and supplier value.
• Work with Finance to support commercial returns and cash flow.

• Manage product categories across multiple sales channels.
• Optimise product ranges to support customer demand and profitability.
• Identify opportunities for innovation, upgrades and range improvements.
• Work closely with operational teams to ensure products are practical and efficient to deliver.

• Analyse supplier and category profitability.
• Support pricing strategies and margin protection initiatives.
• Monitor inflationary pressures and cost recovery opportunities.
• Provide commercial insight and performance reporting.

• Collaborate with Commercial, Operations, Finance, Customer Service and Sales teams.
• Develop strategic supplier partnerships to support future growth.
• Secure supplier support including marketing contributions, training, promotional activity and showroom support.

• Commercially astute and confident.
• Experienced in supplier management and negotiation.
• Skilled in category management and profitability analysis.
• Relationship‑focused with strong stakeholder management skills.
• Organised, proactive and hands‑on.
• Comfortable influencing at all levels of a business.
• Able to balance operational realities with commercial objectives.

• Flooring
• Interiors
• Builders Merchants
• Construction Supply
• Distribution & Wholesale
• House builder Supply Chains
• Home Improvement Products
• Retail Category Management

Experience in category management, procurement, supplier negotiations, pricing, margin improvement and commercial performance analysis is highly desirable.

• 40,000 per annum
• 20% annual bonus
• Private healthcare
• 23 days holiday, rising to 25 days after 5 years' service
• 5 paid sick days per year
• 4% matched pension contribution
• Monday to Friday working pattern
• 40‑hour working week
• Long‑term career development opportunities
• Opportunity to shape a growing commercial function
• Supportive leadership team with ambitious growth plans

We would love to hear from you if you are looking for a role where you can make a genuine commercial impact and help shape the future of a growing private equity‑backed business. Please contact us for a confidential discussion.