Category & Marketing Manager

DEPARTMENT Brand & Marketing JOB TITLE Category & Marketing Manager RESPONSIBLE TO Brand Director GENERAL DESCRIPTION/ CONTEXT

Fortitude Spirits Group was officially launched in October 2024, by Kliro Capital Partners with a clear and ambitious vision: to become a leading force in the UK spirits industry. We’re not just a new business; we are a collective of pioneers dedicated to pushing boundaries, creating exceptional spirits and building a unique service for our partners and customers.

Our value brands are the bedrock of Fortitude, delivering 650k cases and £15m in sales and are critical to our ambitious growth strategy. Along with our Premium and 3rd party portfolio, we aspire to triple our business over the next 5 years. We need a commercially astute, creative self-starter to join our team to help drive this growth.

The role will lead our amazing range #2’s in key categories (Veroni, Angels, Cococariba, Messer, Bella, Carthy’s), our customer partnership brands, such as Donovan’s with Morrisons and our innovation agenda in the value space, such as Whisky and Mid Proof.

This is highly commercial, autonomous and entrepreneurial role. Primarily focused on the UK and Ireland, but over time will explore export markets. The key growth drivers are product, pack, price, in outlet activation, and social buzz. You will need to be just as comfortable in a P&L, as working on new pack, as discussing liquids to be executing social media plans.

This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference, both delivering growth and shaping the future of brands and the drinks category

Leadership team, sales, NPD, supply, finance, legal, social agency.

• Full end-to-end ownership of the brand portfolio P&L, including revenue, margin, pricing, trade spend, and marketing investment.
• Develop, manage, and deliver annual budgets, forecasts, and long-range plans.
• Identify and deliver profit growth opportunities through pricing, mix, cost management, and portfolio optimisation.
• Own business cases for innovation, renovation, and commercial initiatives.

• Lead category strategy development using consumer, shopper, and market insights.
• Define category vision, growth drivers, and role of each brand within the portfolio.
• Partner with Sales to translate category strategies into compelling customer propositions and joint business plans.
• Monitor category performance, trends, and competitor activity to inform decision-making.

• Develop and execute brand strategies and annual marketing plans aligned to category objectives.
• Lead integrated marketing campaigns across all channels, including digital, social, and in-store activation.
• Act as brand guardian, ensuring consistency and effectiveness across all touchpoints
• Manage agencies and external partners to deliver high-quality creative and media execution.

• Identify and create products & brands in response to market opportunities.
• Identify growth opportunities through innovation of our existing portfolio.
• Manage brand lifecycle, portfolio rationalisation, and prioritisation of investment.

• Act as the central point of contact across Sales, Finance, Supply Chain, NPD, and Legal.
• Partner closely with Finance on performance tracking, forecasting, and investment effectiveness.
• Support Sales with category insights, customer presentations, and commercial negotiations.

• Own category and brand performance reporting, including KPIs, ROI, and brand health metrics.
• Use data and insights to optimise marketing spend, promotional effectiveness, and portfolio decisions.
• Present clear performance updates and strategic recommendations to senior leadership.

• Lead, coach, and develop brand or category team members
• Foster a high-performance, collaborative culture

This is not an exhaustive list but merely an overview of the main duties involved.

• 7-10 years’ experience experience in FMCG category management, brand…