Senior Manager – Grocery Retail (UK and ROI)

Are you ready to shape the next chapter of our pioneering journey — bringing the magic of restaurant pizza and iconic dough balls to supermarket shelves across the UK? 

Over the past 22 years, we've built a strong presence in retail, becoming the first restaurant brand to break into grocery — true trailblazers at the time. Today, with annual sales surpassing £110m RSV, we still feel like we’re only scratching the surface. The potential ahead is enormous. 

We're looking for a heavy hitter to help lead this next phase of growth. You’ll be drawing on 60 years of restaurant heritage and a house of brands that includes legends like Dough Balls, American Hot, Sloppy Giuseppe and our famous House Dressing. Working closely with our key partners, you'll unlock strategies that bring more of the restaurant to shoppers — driving growth through innovation, bold marketing, smart commercial thinking and sharp consumer insight. 

What you’ll be doing: 

• Responsible for establishing and delivering a clear 3–4-year growth vision through key categories and occasions. 

• Develops and owns the annual channel plan in partnership with manufacturing partners and  - bringing the essence of the restaurant through everything we do  

• Be the voice of the consumer – brings insights driven thinking to fuel innovation, build strategic relationships and craft killer campaigns with the support of PEX marketing team 

• Develop and implement 3 year innovation pipeline translating restaurant equity into compelling product propositions with the help of the PEX food team 

• Lead performance management of key partners, ensuring sustained growth and outperformance against budget and market benchmarks. 

• Work with partners to define and implement propositions designed to unlock new listings, and a presence in new categories  

• P&L management and forecasting. 

What you’ll need: 

• Previous experience as a buyer or category manager with a leading UK supermarket, or an extensive background in product management gaining with a leading consumer good company.   

• Proven track record of delivering significant category growth with branded products. 

• Strong skills in sales, negotiation, business planning, forecasting, and category management. 

• Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder management experience. 

• Strong organizational and time management skills to meet deadlines. 

• Desirable: Resilience and adaptability in a fast-paced environment. 

• Desirable: Experience with licensing in a grocery retail environment. 

Who We Are: 

Where those who love pizza can be their true self. We’ve been around since 1965, bringing pizza to the UK and have since grown to a multichannel, international brand  Our people are at the heart of our success and everything we do, we believe you should always be able to express yourself.   

Our values and culture are made up of three key parts: use your head, show your heart and create a home.  For us, this shows up as: 

Head - were customer centric, commercially driven and obsessed by performance in all we do 

Heart - we show our heart, are honest and vulnerable with our teams and lead everything through our people 

Home - we create a home, where everyone has a place at our marble table and you can truly express yourself everyday 

Inclusivity and respect are at the heart of our business and are valued by our teams, customers, and suppliers. PizzaExpress and Milano is a place where everyone is welcome, and everyone belongs.  That’s why we assess each application on the aptitude to do the job and nothing else. 

What’s in it for you? 

• Company Bonus Scheme – Enhance your earnings through our performance-driven bonus program. 

• Car Allowance – Receive a car allowance to support your transportation needs. 

• Private Healthcare & Dental Care – Access BUPA’s comprehensive private healthcare and dental coverage to ensure your wellbeing. 

• Pension Contributions – Secure your future with a 6% company pension contribution 

• Dining Discounts – Enjoy 50% off at PizzaExpress restaurants, along with monthly socials featuring pizza, Peroni, and prosecco 

• High Street & Lifestyle Discounts – Take advantage of exclusive discounts across a wide range of retailers and lifestyle services 

• Employee Support – Benefit from the guidance of Mental Health First Aiders and 24/7 access to an Employee Assistance Programme offering expert advice on health, finance, and personal wellbeing.