National Category Manager

Leader, innovator & largest distributor in building products, brands & solutions
- Develop the customer led offer in the highly opportunistic hardware category
- Newly created high profile role with full C-level support & engagement

**Key Points**:

- **Leader, innovator & largest distributor in building products, brands & solutions**:

- **Develop the customer led offer in the highly opportunistic hardware category**:

- **Newly created high profile role with full C-level support & engagement**

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**What’s in it for you**:

- **A once in a lifetime opportunity**:

- to take on a pioneering role and contribute to this organisations’ broader growth agenda
- **To be part of an ecofriendly and sustainably focussed organisation **- focussed on minimising its impact on the planet in every way
- **Career growth and personal development - **this is a role that will scale. It will form its own business unit and evolve and expand rapidly, with you taking the lead role
- **To be rewarded with a generous salary package - **made up of base, super, FMV plus bonus and many other non-financial benefits
- **To be part of a culture that is - **balanced, down to earth, incredibly flexible and one that values its most important asset, its people
- **To be in role with high visibility - **that will utilise all of your skill sets across category management, market analysis, sales, relationship development, product management and collaboration

**Your prospective employer**:
Welcome to the home of innovation This multi award winning, privately-owned Australian company has a very proud history of developing and supplying world-class, sustainable products, brands and solutions within the building category nationwide. With a strong reputation for quality, agility and unparalleled service they are now the largest and most respected independent distributors as well as being the industry leader in their market. With ‘opportunity knocking’ now is the ideal time to develop a customer-led offer in the hardware category, providing customers a further compelling reason for their customers to buy. We are therefore now searching for a National Category Manager - Hardware who is hungry to be part of this organisation’s next chapter and to play a critical part in contributing to the broader growth agenda.

**This is a role that will scale.**

**What does an average week look like**:
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Your remit will be to create, build and execute a compelling vision for the highly opportunistic hardware category and then for driving the adaptive change through the organisation to support the sales and category management process. More specifically you will:

- Have full end-to-end accountability for the customer offer within the hardware category, including the decision making relating to ranging, the promotional calendar, sales and category targets, product availability, merchandising, supplier strategy and support, pricing and COG’s management. The role also works very closely with the brand/private label team and strategic partners/suppliers on the sourcing and development of the branded offers to ensure strong alignment with customer requirements
- Reviewing and forming the pricing, sales and marketing strategies will naturally form part of your remit, as will ensuring expertise knowledge is applied in forecasting, inventory management, commercial/trading terms negotiation and supplier management and development. In the first instance, you will be responsible for generating sales and training the sales team in the hardware category (who currently are experts in the building and related category) however as the category sales grow, the vision is that this role will form and build its own sales team
- You will provide leadership to your customers, developing and capitalising upon retailer and supplier relationships and you will be focused on growth and sustainability of the business through competitive and profitable promotions and complaint retailing standards

**_While the fundamentals of category management are the backbone of the role, the ability to influence a diverse internal and external stakeholder network to drive sales and to introduce and lead ‘best practice’ category management principles and processes will be a critical element of success._**

**Here’s what it will take**:

- **You are a reputable self-starting talented ‘merchant’ **with proven knowledge in all things category and product management in the hardware category. Your experience may have been gained from the supplier or retail side (or both)
- **You are a leader who is professionally mature**:you inspire confidence, you are incredibly commercial and you are motivated by driving a customer-led agenda
- **You have an ability**:to think beyond and deliver tomorrows innovation today and you have always demonstrated sound judgment in anticipating challenges, problem-solving, and seeking the right resources to resolve issues
- **You take a non-hierarchical