Category Controller Job York area,York and North Yorkshire England UK,Business

Category Controller

Are you an experienced Category Controller, Trading Manager or Senior Commercial professional ready to take ownership of a high-impact category function?

Join a large, successful, family-owned multinational business where you'll have the opportunity to shape category strategy, build powerful supplier partnerships and deliver meaningful commercial growth.

The opportunity

You'll lead and develop a talented team of Category Managers and Category Assistants, taking ownership of trading performance, profitability and category strategy. Working closely with senior stakeholders, Finance and suppliers, you'll identify opportunities to improve performance, maximise margin and create a genuine competitive advantage.

You’ll be responsible for:

Owning P&L performance, budgets and commercial targets
Developing customer-focused category and sales strategies
Building and leveraging strong supplier relationships
Leading, coaching and developing a high-performing trading team
Driving margin, profitability and operational efficiency
Using data, customer insight and NPS to shape decisions
Overseeing supply chain performance, wastage, compliance and food safety
Working with Finance to turn commercial insight into action
Delivering strategic change and continuous improvement

What you’ll bring

We're looking for a commercially astute leader with significant experience in food retail, FMCG, buying or trading. You'll have a strong track record of influencing senior stakeholders, negotiating commercially, interpreting data and delivering business improvement.

You’ll also bring:

Proven leadership experience within a complex trading environment
Strong commercial and negotiation skills
Excellent understanding of merchandising, profitability and supply chain
Strategic thinking and a genuine appetite for driving change
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
A passion for developing people and building high-performing teams

Why join?

This is an opportunity to join a well-established, growing international organisation with a diverse portfolio of businesses and a significant presence across the UK and internationally.

You'll enjoy real commercial ownership, senior-level exposure, career development opportunities and the chance to make a visible difference in a fast-moving trading environment.

Benefits include

Competitive salary
pension
private medical cover
life assurance
22 days' annual leave with the option to purchase additional days
onsite parking