Category Manager

Who We Are
OTR Group comprises of over 1000 retail, convenience, and quick service restaurants – including brands such as Reddy Express (formerly known as Coles Express), SmokeMart GiftBox, and in S.A, Krispy Kreme, Hungry Jacks, Oporto, Guzman y Gomez and many others. OTR Group is part of the Viva Energy Australia Group – an ASX-listed company helping Australians reach their destination by refining, importing, and distributing energy products while building a safe and sustainable energy future for all Australians. With Viva Energy Australia’s national footprint and OTR’s history of industry-leading innovation, there has never been a more exciting time to join the OTR Group as we set out to redefine the retail landscape in Australia.

The Role
Reporting to the Head of Merchandise, the Category Manager will play a critical role in shaping the customer offer across multiple categories. This position is responsible for the development and execution of strategic category plans to drive sales, profitability, and innovation, while ensuring alignment with broader business objectives.

Responsibilities
As the Category Manager, you will be responsible for the end-to-end management of category performance through strategic planning, supplier engagement, and cross-functional execution.

You will provide:

• An annual category plan including product, price, and promotional strategies aligned to OTR's business objectives.
• Strong supplier relationship management to optimise trading terms, promotional support, and innovation.
• Effective range and space management through up-to-date planograms and data-led decisions to drive market share and sales.
• Delivery of category budgets for sales, GP%, and shrink, supported by regular data analysis and actionable reporting.
• Seamless execution of new store openings including accurate ranging, promotional stock planning, and supplier engagement.
• Maintenance of compliance across merchandising standards, pricing reviews, and promotional programs.
• A passion for customer insight, store-level relevance, and category innovation to position OTR as first-to-market.

What We Offer

• Join a dynamic team at a renowned South Australian company, known for their innovation and outside-the-box thinking.
• Be a part of the journey, with countless opportunities as we rapidly expand into a nationwide retail powerhouse.
• Access to exclusive staff benefits via our OTR App.
• Access to our free and confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

About You
We are seeking a strategic and commercially minded category leader with:

• Experience in category management, merchandise planning or buying, preferably within retail or FMCG environments.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to drive sales and margin improvement through data-led strategies.
• Demonstrated success in supplier negotiations, promotional planning and range optimisation.
• Excellent stakeholder management and the ability to influence cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in interpreting category data, analysing performance and generating actionable insights.
• A proactive, curious, and innovative mindset – someone who thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced retail environment.
• Experience working with planograms, ranging tools, or category systems (desirable).

We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and encourage and support diversity in our traditional and non-traditional roles.

Please note: This role is being sourced by our internal Talent Acquisition team; therefore, we will not be accepting applications via external recruitment agencies.