📣  A bit about the role.

At Butternut, we put the food back into dog food. We believe dogs deserve to eat the healthiest, most natural and tastiest food with none of the nasties. That’s why we make freshly prepared dog food. Cooked like you would at home.

We’ve come a long way since our co-founders (Kev & Dave) hand-delivered the first Butternut Box, we now feed a lot of dogs across the UK - but we want to feed dogs everywhere. And to do this, we are extending the convenience to customers through our first retail partnership with a well-known UK pet retailer.

As we em-bark on this new retail venture, we are seeking a dedicated and experienced Category Manager to lead our retail category, ensuring the optimal performance and growth of our products in the retail market. This role will initially focus on building a successful partnership with our first retail partner, with long term plans to expand to other retailers in the UK and Europe.

🌿 In this role you can expect to:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive retail strategy and brand launch that aligns with our mission.
• P&L accountability for the retail category; working with supply & growth teams to deliver sustainable growth of the category.
• Relationship management of our key retail partnerships.
• Lead regular retail trading meetings: KPI updates (performance, customer, shopper dynamics, supply, margin) and project meetings.
• Build a clear contact strategy to ensure reliability with the retailer and the appropriate escalation support where required.
• Collaboration with growth, strategy, and product teams to provide insights to support NPD launches and integrate retail performance into the wider business strategy.
• Regular analysis of shopper and customer dynamics; campaign performance and supply performance to identify new opportunities and address challenges.
• Embed category expertise and ways of working including range reviews; merchandising; shopper segmentation and messaging; and shopper events.
• Collaborate with the Brand & Creative team to develop marketing campaigns and merchandising materials specific to the retail category
• Develop industry leading retail partnerships in the UK and EU, while aligning elegantly with our core DTC model.

Over time we expect this role will build new retail partnerships and expand our market presence in the UK and Europe.

👋  A bit about you.

• Proven experience as a Category Manager or Account Manager or in a similar role within the retail industry, preferably in the food sector.
• Strong understanding of category management, retail operations, and the dynamics of the retail market.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, project manage and deliver successful retail category initiatives, driving sales growth and achieving targets.
• Analytical mindset with excellent data analysis and interpretation skills.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills to build effective relationships with stakeholders.
• Proactive, self-motivated, and results-oriented with the ability to work independently and in a team environment.
• DESIRED - Familiarity with the UK and European retail landscape and an understanding of regional market dynamics.
• DESIRED - Worked in an omni-channel business with insights into how retail interacts with e-commerce metrics.
• DESIRED - Passion for pets and knowledge of the dog food industry is highly desirable.

🐶 A bit about us. 

At Butternut, we put the food back into dog food. We believe dogs deserve to eat the healthiest, most natural and tastiest food with none of the nasties. That’s why we make freshly prepared dog food. Cooked like you would at home. Delivered in perfect portions. #LI-Hybrid

As a B-Corp certified company; you can be sure you are joining a sustainable company who care about our people, product and our impact on the environment.

Our goal is to help dogs live healthier, happier and longer lives whilst leaving humans smiling after every interaction. We’ve come a long way since our co-founders (Kev & Dave) hand-delivered the first Butternut Box, we now feed a lot of dogs across the UK - but we want to feed dogs everywhere. And to do this, we need a team of brilliant people who share that ambition to come and work with us. 

 🙌 A bit about what we offer.

• 25 days holiday (plus 8 bank holidays) and an additional day for every year of service 
• 5 paid 'paws' days per year to support to learning and/or wellbeing
• £500 personal learning & development budget 
• Butternut Box employee discount 
• Enhanced parental leave
• Co-working office space. Flexible working hours and work from home options 
• Cycle to work scheme
• Pension with NEST
• Private Medical Insurance with Vitality
• Lots of office dogs (Ajax, Brio, Basil, Chorizo, Lenny, Jasper, Peggy, Pip, Rudi and many more….)

❗️A few things to note: 

• Butternut Box is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity and inclusion. We welcome people of different nationalities, backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives.
• As our business has grown so has our responsibility to our community, our planet and our business. We are not perfect, but we are committed to doing business the right way and continually improving our social and environmental performance.
• We are not looking for external agency support with this role.
• This role is a hybrid position, with 3 days per week in our West London Office and 2 from home. 

#LI-Hybrid