Head of Category Management

Job Description

We’re hiring a proven commercial leader to take full accountability for one of our most strategic and commercially significant categories. This role demands someone who can set a clear direction, lead a high‑performing team, and deliver ambitious results across a complex and fast‑moving business.

You will own the category end-to-end — shaping strategy, driving performance, influencing senior stakeholders, and representing the category at the highest levels. If you’re an experienced category expert with a strong leadership track record and the confidence to operate at scale, this is a major opportunity to make a business-wide impact.

• Set the strategic direction for the category, defining the long‑term vision, commercial priorities and investment focus, and ensuring execution delivers meaningful business impact.

• Lead a senior, high‑performing team, setting standards for performance, capability, pace and decision‑making, while developing future leaders and shaping the overall culture of the function.

• Define and evolve the category proposition across all channels, ensuring it delivers competitive advantage, meets diverse customer needs, and positions the business for future growth.

• Own senior supplier relationships at a strategic level, negotiating complex commercial agreements, shaping joint business plans, and ensuring the business secures a market‑leading position.

• Drive transformation and innovation, challenging current ways of working, unlocking efficiencies, and ensuring the category stays ahead of market trends, customer behaviour and commercial risk.

• Act as a key senior leader within the commercial organisation, influencing cross‑functional decision‑making, shaping enterprise‑wide priorities, and driving alignment across multiple business units.

• Significant senior experience leading a complex commercial or category function.
• A proven track record of delivering commercial results and leading teams to high performance.
• Strong negotiation and supplier management experience, with the ability to build long-term, strategic partnerships.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with influence at all levels.
• Strategic thinking, sound judgement, and the ability to simplify complexity and deliver at pace.
• Collaborative leadership style, with a commitment to developing people and building inclusive, high-performing teams.
• Flexibility, resilience and a solutions-focused mindset in a fast-moving environment.

Booker is the UK's leading food & drink wholesaler. We are privileged to serve independent retailers, caterers and small businesses, from locations across the country. We operate over 190 cash and carry branches, eight distribution centres, five Best Food Logistics sites, as well as six support centre locations across the UK.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) at Booker means that whoever you are and whatever your background, we always want you to feel represented and that you can be yourself at work. In short, we’re a place where Everyone’s Welcome.

We know life looks a little different for each of us. That’s why at Booker and Best, we always welcome conversations about flexible working. Some people are at the start of their careers, some want the freedom to do the things they love. Others are going through life-changing moments like becoming a carer, nearing retirement, adapting to parenthood, or something else. So, talk to us throughout your application about how we may be able to support you.

We’re proud that Booker is a Disability Confident Committed employer and we’re committed to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process. For further information on the accessibility support you can expect, please contact recruitment@bookergroup.com

Please note

We can only accept candidates over the age of 18 if the role requires working before 6:15 am or after 9:45 pm or involves working in areas such as the warehouse, beers, wines & spirits, and driving roles.

On the occasions where we have high volumes of applicants, some roles may close earlier than the advertised end date in order for us to manage all of the applicants appropriately. We will only be able to offer individual feedback to those candidates who attend an interview.

*Booker Group is part of Tesco plc, however, is operated separately from the core Tesco business and as such the benefits offered will be different from those offered at Tesco*

For more information about us please visit www.bookergroupjobs.co.uk