Category Executive Maternity Cover
Location: Uxbridge, West London
Department: Category - Brands - Meat & Plant Based
Way of Working: Office-based
Looking to Start Your FMCG Category Career?
Have you recently completed a degree and gained experience through a Category, Marketing, Commercial, Shopper Insight, or FMCG placement year? Or perhaps you've completed a graduate programme within FMCG, Retail, or the Food Industry and are looking for your next challenge?
We're looking for a Category Executive to join our Brands team on a 12-month maternity cover contract, supporting the growth of exciting food categories across some of the UK's leading retailers.
This is a fantastic opportunity to gain hands-on experience in Category Management, working closely with commercial teams, customers, and internal stakeholders to turn shopper and consumer insights into winning category strategies.
What You'll Be Doing
- Building relationships with retail customers, including Buyers and Merchandisers.
- Analysing shopper, consumer, and market data to identify category opportunities.
- Supporting category reviews, range recommendations, and customer presentations.
- Creating engaging insight-led reports and category stories.
- Monitoring category performance and identifying growth opportunities.
- Acting as the voice of the shopper within the business.
- Working closely with Commercial, Marketing, Brand, and Customer teams to support category growth.
About You
We're keen to hear from candidates who have:
- A degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Food, Consumer Behaviour, or a related subject.
- Completed a placement year or graduate programme within:
- Category Management
- Shopper Marketing
- Marketing
- Commercial
- FMCG
- Food Manufacturing
- Retail
- Strong analytical skills and confidence working with data.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills.
- Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills.
- A genuine interest in consumer behaviour, retail trends, and category growth.
- The ability to build relationships and influence stakeholders.
Desirable
- Experience with Nielsen, Circana (IRI), Kantar, or similar data sources.
- Exposure to UK grocery retailers.
- FMCG, food, branded, or plant-based category experience.
Why Join Pilgrim's Europe?
This role offers a fantastic opportunity to develop your career within one of Europe's leading food businesses, gaining exposure to Category, Commercial, Marketing, and Customer teams while working with major UK retailers.
Benefits Include
- Competitive salary and benefits package
- Pension scheme
- Employee discount platform
- Ongoing training and development
- Exposure to senior stakeholders and retail customers
- Excellent career progression opportunities across Category, Commercial, and Marketing functions
Whether you're coming from a placement year, graduate scheme, or an entry-level FMCG role, this is an excellent opportunity to build a successful career in Category Management within a leading food manufacturer.
Apply today and help shape the future of our Brands - Meat & Plant Based categories!
