Assistant Category Manager, Hertfordshire

Are you looking for an opportunity to grow your career in commercial  / buying?  Would you enjoy the pace and energy of a retail environment which is  collaborative, down to earth, fun and inclusive where people feel part of a winning team?

We’re looking for an Assistant Category Manager to join our Commercial team.  This is a genuine opportunity to develop your career in Commercial, where you’ll support the development and delivery of the category strategy working with our category teams on all aspects of our products’ journeys – from their original source anywhere in the world, right through to the shelves in our stores.

Activities within the role are varied, but you’ll get direct experience within the Customer and Category Teams, providing the opportunity to take ownership of many aspects of the category and buying process including range reviews and the category communication process.  

Don’t worry if you don’t have extensive commercial experience, if you have the foundation skills and experience, we’ll give you the opportunity to develop them into a Category manager of the future.

In return we ask you to bring a genuine enthusiasm to continue your career in commercial / buying, and the energy to thrive in an environment where no day is the same. We’re looking for a ‘can-do’ attitude, attention to detail, strong communication skills alongside good numeracy.

What you’ll be doing: 

Take full ownership for a group of suppliers and sub categories including product listings and profitability

Develop & own a category communication process including the development of templates and a channel / customer matrix to support timely communications of product launches / promotions/ clearance and other activities with stores and the Wickes operations team

Work with the product supply analyst to  minimise stock holdings whilst developing improved processes which improve on shelf availability.

Work with supply chain and suppliers to ensure product availability, management of stock turn and problem stock issues are identified and resolved  

Ensure that all administration tasks are completed accurately and with a timely completion.

Manage relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, continually increasing standards of customer service through continual review and improvement to processes.

Work closely with the Wickes Customer Experience team, ensuring that customer need and proposition are represented within advertising & promotional activity

Working with the Marketing team to ensure  that all deadlines for advertising / promotions / price guides are met.

About you: 

You will have some previous buying / commercial experience

The ability to multitask and prioritise workload alongside good time management

Strong numeracy and analysis skills – knowledge of Excel, PowerPoint, Word or Google equivalents essential

Attention to detail with a right first-time attitude

Great communication skills whether face to face, telephone or email

Collaborative team working and relationship building

Positive attitude, motivated and enthusiastic with an entrepreneurial attitude & way of thinking

Works well under pressure and to tight deadlines

What can we offer you?

You’ll be supported with fantastic learning and development and have the opportunity to grow and develop your career with us 

We’ll also equip you with a benefits package that includes:

Competitive bonus

Save-as-you-earn scheme

Contributory pension scheme

Colleague discount 

Discount platform including savings and cash back at numerous retailers, savings on gym membership, cycle to work scheme

Our widely recognised wellbeing strategy is something we’re proud of at Wickes. As part of this, we offer a range of health and wellbeing benefits and support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, financial education & loans, and access to parental, menopause and fertility support. 

You’ll work from our Support Centre in Watford, where our Commercial team are based, along with our other support functions.  We recognise the value of bringing our teams together to collaborate, support each other and build on our amazing culture.  We are also encouraging our teams to work flexibly, with a blend of remote / office working. 

About Us: 

Wickes is a multi-channel retailer operating in the home improvement market.  With 40 years in industry, Wickes now generates revenue in excess of £1.3Bn across 230 stores delivered by 8,000+ colleagues.  

Wickes’ culture is a collaborative, down to earth, fun and inclusive environment where people feel part of a winning team. All our colleagues come from different backgrounds, but what we all have in common is a determination to succeed and a passion for being the best we can be. If that sounds like you, we’ll make you feel right at home.