Assistant Category Manager

Job description

Current Vacancy

Assistant Category Manager – Heavyside (Full Time)

Location: Middlesbrough (with travel to branches and occasional overnight stays) 
Reports to: Head of Category/Category Manager

 About Us

At JT Atkinson, we’re a family-run, thriving, independent builders’ merchant with a strong presence in the industry with over 160 years’ experience. With 37 Branches in the north of England and Online, we continue to grow, we’re looking for an Assistant Category Manager – Heavyside to support this key product category, driving sales, profitability, and market share.

The Role:

As Assistant Category Manager, you’ll be responsible for the support and development of category strategies, managing supplier relationships, and ensuring we offer market-leading products. You’ll collaborate closely with the wider commercial team, sales, marketing, and branch teams to maximise commercial performance and deliver results.

Key Responsibilities:

Category Management & Market Strategy

• Work alongside the Category Manager to develop and implement a category strategy to drive sales, market share, and profitability.
• Conduct annual range reviews and analyse new products, technologies, and trends.
• Monitor and drive category financial performance, ensuring targets for sales, margin, and profitability are met.

Supplier & Market Engagement

• Assist with supplier negotiations and prepare purchasing contracts for review by the Category lead.
• Assist in being a key contact for suppliers and supporting with price increases, range queries, competitor pricing, and rebates.
• Visit branches and attend industry events as appropriate.

Sales & Branch Support

• Identify branch needs for training.
• Ensure all POS align with company supplier agreements.
• Support sales and marketing teams in delivering promotional and pricing strategies.

What We’re Looking For:

We’re looking for a positive, engaged, and proactive individual eager to make an impact. Experience isn’t essential – we will help develop the right candidate. More than anything, we want someone with a strong attitude, willingness to learn, and ability to drive meaningful results.

Ideally, you’ll have an interest in:

• Category management within the building materials sector.
• Negotiation skills and supplier management, product trends and market positioning.
• Stakeholder management and working across multiple teams to deliver results.

Why Join Us?

At JT Atkinson, we believe in empowering our people to make a real impact. You’ll have the autonomy to shape your category strategy, backed by a supportive leadership team and a business with ambitious growth plans.

If you’re ready to take on a role where you can grow, develop, and make a tangible difference, we’d love to hear from you.

What we can offer:

We know that our colleagues are our greatest strength, so we’ve created a benefits package that means we attract the best candidates. From a competitive salary, enhanced holidays, endless training options, staff discount and our annual profit share, all of which are available to all our permanent employees.

How to apply:

Please send your CV with a cover email to the HR Team at penny.cooper@jtatkinson.co.uk or via our recruitment platforms.

Apply now and start your journey with JT Atkinson!