Category Manager (12 month fixed term contract)

At Highland Spring, we’re proud to be the UK’s favourite water brand. Every drop of our natural source water is drawn from protected, organic land in the Ochil Hills, and we’re committed to caring for the land, our people, our customers and the communities around us. 

We’re looking for Category Manager to join the team on a 12 month fixed term contract. This is a great opportunity to play a highly visible role in shaping category growth with major retail and online partners. You’ll use insight to identify growth opportunities, influence customer plans, support range and merchandising decisions, and help bring Highland Spring Group’s category strategy to life across key customers. 

What you’ll be doing 

As Category Manager, you’ll work closely with Sales, Marketing, Operations and Commercial Finance to turn market, shopper and customer data into clear, compelling growth opportunities. 

You’ll lead customer-facing category management, building strong relationships and translating insight into compelling recommendations to help our customers grow their Water and Soft Drinks categories. 

You’ll also: 

• Deliver actionable market, category, customer and brand insights  

• Build strong relationships with key external category contacts  

• Lead range reviews for allocated retail, online and route-to-market customers  

• Develop recommendations on merchandising, planograms and shelf layouts  

• Support the commercial delivery of NPD, including insight, rationale and selling stories 

• Partner with Sales and Brand teams to ensure plans are commercially strong and brand-aligned 

• Act as a brand guardian, ensuring all activity aligns with Highland Spring Group brand objectives and guidelines.  

What we’re looking for 
We’re looking for someone with FMCG experience, ideally within food or drink, who understands how to use insight to influence commercial decisions. 

You’ll have a strong background in category management, shopper insight or category-led marketing, with experience of leading or supporting customer range reviews. You’ll be confident working with data sources such as Nielsen, IRI/Circana, Kantar and customer-specific data, and able to turn complex information into simple, persuasive recommendations. 

You’ll also have: 

• Strong commercial judgement and a growth mindset  

• Excellent influencing and stakeholder management skills  

• Confident communication and presentation skills  

• The ability to work at pace across multiple customers and priorities  

• A collaborative style, working closely with Sales and Brand teams  

• A proactive, self-starting approach with strong ownership and follow-through 

Our values 
At Highland Spring Group, how we work matters. Our values are at the heart of everything we do: 

We’re a Team – we work together, support each other and know that everyone’s role matters. 
We’re Proud – we take pride in our brands, our work and making things happen. 
We Care – we care for each other, our customers, our environment and making sure everyone has a voice.  

For this role, we’re especially interested in people who take ownership, build strong relationships, communicate with impact, solve problems thoughtfully and work collaboratively to deliver great outcomes. 

If you could be our next Category Manager, please apply today.