Senior Category Manager - Food, Beverage & Retail (fixed-term

Position: Senior Category Manager - Food, Beverage & Retail (fixed-term)
Location: Newark on Trent

Senior Category Manager - Food, Beverage & Retail (fixed-term)

Forest House | Circa £60,200 per annum plus 18% bonus scheme

We're a thriving team passionate about working together to deliver excellence, all in a natural forest environment

Please note this is a fixed-term contract for one year.

Are you a commercially astute procurement professional with a passion for delivering exceptional customer experiences?

We're looking for a Senior Category Manager to lead the development and delivery of category strategies across our diverse Food, Beverage and Retail portfolio. This is a high-impact role where you'll combine strategic thinking, supplier expertise and commercial insight to drive value, innovation and operational excellence across the business.

Working closely with colleagues across Food, Beverage, Retail, Operations, Finance and Sustainability, you'll help ensure our sourcing decisions support business goals while enhancing the guest experience. You'll play a leading role in supplier performance, cost optimisation, risk management and sustainability, delivering tangible benefits for both our business and our guests.

What you'll be doing

As our Senior Category Manager, you will:

Develop and implement category strategies that align with business objectives, customer trends and operational requirements.

Lead cross-functional planning to optimise product ranges, services, pricing and sourcing approaches.

Build and manage strong supplier relationships, driving performance, quality, compliance and continuous improvement.

Lead high-value sourcing initiatives, contract negotiations and tendering activity across Food, Beverage and Retail categories.

Identify opportunities for cost efficiencies, innovation and risk mitigation through detailed market and spend analysis.

Collaborate with key stakeholders to ensure procurement strategies support operational priorities, commercial targets and service delivery standards.

Champion sustainability and ethical sourcing initiatives that support corporate responsibility goals.

Ensure robust due diligence and best practice throughout the supply chain, maintaining compliance with health, safety, quality and sustainability requirements.

Coach, mentor and develop Category Managers, strengthening commercial capability and strategic procurement expertise across the team.

What's in it for you

Free day passes and access to leisure facilities (including the spa)

Discounts on breaks and in our shops and restaurants

Bonus scheme and recognition rewards

A supportive, friendly team

Career development and in-role training

Your working hours

Please note this is a fixed-term contract until 29th October 2027

You will be contracted to work 150 hours per 4-week period (37.5 hours per week). Normal working hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. However, dynamic working is available whereby the earliest start time is 7am and the latest finish time is 7pm.

Please note, this role will be hybrid with 2 days in the office and 3 days home-working.  This role will also require occasional travel to our villages based in the UK and Ireland and some overnight stays will be required.

About you

Full UK driving license

Commercial Acumen. Strong financial and analytical skills with the ability to identify cost saving and margin improvement opportunities

Negotiation. Skilled at building partnerships and negotiating favourable terms with suppliers

Substantial experience in category management, procurement or supply chain within hospitality and leisure.

Proven experience in creating and implementing sourcing and category management strategies

Strong understanding of food, beverage, retail operations and vendor landscapes.

Experience in contract management, negotiation, cost analysis and supplier performance management

Ability to build and maintain good relationships both internally and externally.

Attention to detail. Critical in product specification, pricing and contract terms.

Adaptability. Comfortable in a fast-paced environment and responsive to changing consumer and industry trends.

Strategic Thinking. Vision to shape long-term category strategies aligned with business goals.

Our values

Each colleague at Center…