Head of Category - Managed Convenience (Off Trade)

Job Title: Head of Category Offtrade

Location: Hemel Hempstead Hybrid

Job Length: Permanent

Working Hours: Monday – Friday (full time 35 hours)

About the Role

At Carlsberg Britvic, we're looking for an effective commercial leader to shape the future of category growth across one of the UK's most exciting multi-beverage portfolios.

This is a highly influential leadership role, responsible for leading and developing a talented category team while partnering with senior internal and external stakeholders to unlock transformational growth opportunities. We're seeking someone who combines strategic thinking with strong commercial acumen, has the gravitas to influence at all levels, and can inspire teams and customers to think differently.

Whilst category leadership experience is valuable, we are equally interested in candidates from broader commercial backgrounds who have a proven track record of driving growth, influencing senior stakeholders, leading high-performing teams, and delivering breakthrough customer outcomes.

The successful candidate will play a key role in shaping our category strategy, supporting the delivery of our Annual Operating Plan, and ensuring Carlsberg Britvic continues to be recognised as the indispensable category partner of choice.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Development

Inspire, coach and develop a high-performing category team.
Create a culture of accountability, resilience, collaboration and continuous improvement.
Set clear objectives aligned to business priorities and support individuals to achieve their full potential.
Build team capability across strategic thinking, customer influence, insight and category leadership.
Ensure robust succession and development plans are in place across the team.

Strategic Leadership

Define and deliver a clear vision for category growth across your channel.
Identify transformational growth opportunities and lead the team to convert these into tangible commercial outcomes.
Champion our category growth strategy internally and externally, inspiring customers and colleagues through compelling recommendations and thought leadership.
Partner closely with Sales, Marketing, Commercial Growth and Strategy teams to align priorities and maximise business performance.
Lead the development and execution of category plans and customer growth roadmaps that support ambitious business objectives.

Customer & Commercial Impact

Build trusted relationships with senior customer stakeholders and position Carlsberg Britvic as a strategic growth partner.
Lead the creation of compelling category and customer growth stories that influence decision-making and unlock mutual value.
Drive breakthrough customer initiatives that deliver measurable commercial results.
Use category, shopper and customer insight to shape recommendations and identify new opportunities for growth.
Support commercial teams in the delivery of value realisation initiatives and strategic business priorities.

Operational Excellence

Support the delivery of key commercial planning processes, including Annual Operating Plan development and performance management cycles.
Monitor performance against objectives, driving pace, focus and effective course correction where required.
Share best practice, market insight and customer learning to continuously enhance category effectiveness.
Ensure strong execution of category plans and customer initiatives across all channels.

Experience and Key Attributes

We're interested in leaders who can demonstrate:

Significant FMCG and/or broader commercial leadership experience.
A proven ability to influence and engage senior stakeholders both internally and externally.
Strong strategic thinking with a track record of delivering commercial growth and transformational outcomes.
Experience leading, developing and inspiring high-performing teams.
Exceptional communication, presentation and relationship-building skills.
The gravitas and credibility to operate effectively at senior leadership level.
Resilience, adaptability and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
Strong commercial judgement and customer focus.
Experience working with major customers and delivering mutually beneficial business outcomes.
A growth mindset with the ability to challenge convention and identify new opportunities.

Why Join Us?

This is an opportunity to lead one of the most critical growth functions within Carlsberg Britvic at a pivotal time for the business. You'll have the platform to shape strategy, influence senior decision-makers, develop talented people, and make a significant impact across some of the UK's most iconic beer and soft drinks brands.

If you're a strategic commercial leader who thrives on influencing, inspiring others and delivering breakthrough growth, we'd love to hear from you.

Our commitment to diversity equity & inclusion

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences - including those of different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, religions, and socioeconomic statuses. We actively seek to create a safe and inclusive environment for all of our colleagues, where diverse perspectives are welcomed, and inclusive practices are embedded in everything we do.

We are happy to support accessibility needs, to ensure a fair and equitable experience for all candidates, so please do let us know if you require any adjustments during the recruitment process.

This is an exciting time to join our newly formed business – with their incredible individual history’s, innovation of products and some of the UK’s most iconic brands, Carlsberg Britvic strives to deliver the best service to our customers and consumers. We aim to make a difference, bringing together two diverse companies, our global reach enables opportunity, growth and a chance to work with some fantastic people.