Senior Manager, Founder's Office (Category Management)

Senior Manager, Founder's Office (Category Management) Location: Nine Elms, London, Full-time About Zapp Zapp is London's leading premium convenience retail platform. Founded in 2020, our vision is to disrupt the multi-trillion dollar convenience retail market, currently dominated by major players, by developing best-in-class customer-centric technology and fulfilment solutions. Zapp partners with some of the world's leading brands to deliver an exclusive range of hand-picked products 24/7, delivered in minutes. About the Role This role sits at the sharp end of Zapp's commercial operation. As Senior Manager, Founder's Office (Category Management), you will own a significant portion of the range, the supplier relationships that underpin it and the commercial performance it delivers. You will operate with the autonomy of a category lead and the access of someone embedded in the Founder's Office: close to the strategy, visible to leadership and expected to drive outcomes without being directed This is the role for someone who has outgrown a junior buying or category position and is ready to step into genuine ownership, or who has come from a high-performance commercial environment and wants to apply that edge in a business where the pace is faster and the impact is more immediate. You will manage your own categories end-to-end, lead supplier negotiations, contribute to range strategy and work closely with the Director to raise the commercial bar across the team. Key Responsibilities Category Ownership Own a defined category portfolio end-to-end: ranging decisions, supplier negotiations, promotional planning and commercial performance Build and maintain a range that is curated, competitive and margin-optimised, making clear calls on ranging based on data and commercial judgement Lead range reviews for your categories with rigour: using performance data, customer insight and competitor benchmarking to drive continuous improvement Identify NPD opportunities and new supplier partnerships, taking them from identification through to ranging and launch independently Supplier Relationships and Negotiation Own the supplier relationships across your category portfolio, acting as the primary commercial contact for day-to-day trading and negotiations Lead trading term negotiations for your categories: driving improvements on cost, promotional investment, exclusivity and payment terms Develop joint business plans with key suppliers that set shared targets, embed accountability and create a clear roadmap for growth Manage supplier performance against agreed standards, resolving issues quickly and with authority Commercial Performance Own the P&L for your categories: tracking margin, availability, waste and sell-through and driving improvement across all levers Build and maintain category performance reporting using Zapp's internal data infrastructure, surfacing risks and opportunities in real time Work closely with Pricing to ensure your category economics are optimised, and with Marketing to develop customer-facing activations that drive conversion Contribute to the wider commercial planning cycle: quarterly reviews, OKR setting and cross-functional prioritisation Team and Cross-Functional Contribution Contribute actively to cross-functional projects across Marketing, Operations, Product and Finance, representing Category Management and keeping commercial priorities visible Identify and lead process improvements within the team, including opportunities to use AI and automation to improve reporting, forecasting and supplier management workflows What We're Looking For 4-7 years of experience in category management, buying or a senior commercial role, with direct ownership of supplier relationships and category P&L A track record of delivering commercial results: range improvements, negotiation wins, margin gains or availability improvements that show up in the numbers Strong analytical capability and confidence working with data to make and defend commercial decisions Experience at a high-performing retailer, grocery or e-commerce business (Ocado, Amazon, a major supermarket or similar) or a fast-scaling consumer start-up A proactive, self-directed operator who identifies what needs doing, takes ownership of it and drives it through without needing to be managed A clear and confident communicator: effective in supplier negotiations, cross-functional forums and leadership updates A genuine interest in applying AI and automation to commercial processes, with any hands-on experience seen as a strong advantage Familiarity with Looker or other BI tools is a strong advantage Benefits This is a genuinely differentiated opportunity: direct access to the Founder and Senior Leadership Team of one of London's most ambitious retail platforms, with real ownership of a function that sits at the core of the business. Your work will be visible, consequential and fast-moving. We also offer: Competitive salary & equity package 25 days holiday per year (plus all bank holidays) Private Health Insurance Extended sick pay and maternity/paternity leave pay Cycle to work scheme