Senior Category Planning Manager

Ref: AS8050946

Warrington, England

£65,000

• Permanent
• Commercial Strategy
• Consumer Insights
• Seasonal Planning

About the candidate

A commercially focused category planning professional with over eight years’ experience across the sports, lifestyle retail and footwear sectors. They bring a strong blend of sales, planning and analytical expertise, with a track record of turning complex data into clear insight that supports stronger commercial decisions.

They have managed full seasonal planning cycles across EMEA, working closely with sales, marketing and merchandising teams to align brand priorities with go-to-market activity. Available to start in two weeks, they are now looking for a permanent opportunity where they can add value through category strategy, consumer insight and performance-led planning.

What makes them great?

• Strong commercial impact: Developed sell-in tools and planning frameworks that helped improve sell-through rates by around 15% across key categories.
• Data-led efficiency improvements: Introduced performance tracking that contributed to a reduction in excess inventory of around 20%, supporting better stock management.
• Launch and stakeholder success: Produced market insight that supported a product launch which exceeded sales forecasts by around 30%, while influencing cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders.

Areas of expertise

• Seasonal category planning: Experienced in managing end-to-end seasonal planning activity across multiple product categories and regional markets.
• Sales and inventory analysis: Skilled in forecasting, performance tracking and using data to improve stock turnover and commercial outcomes.
• Consumer and market insight: Confident translating market trends, competitor activity and consumer behaviour into actionable plans for sales, marketing and product teams.