Commercial Category Lead DACH (All Genders)

Company Description

With over 25 years’ experience, we are trailblazers in the pet e‑commerce industry. Our solutions make over 12 million customers genuinely happier. We work together to continually adapt, embrace change, and drive better outcomes. Join us to discover a place where your potential meets your passion for pets.

Job Description

At zooplus we build the most customer‑centric pet care e‑commerce experience in Europe. In Germany our home base and largest market, the commercial category lead role is high‑visibility, hands‑on, and accountable for commercial results.

The role is for someone who thinks and acts like a General Manager of the Category: own commercial strategy, shape go‑to‑market initiatives, and lead a small, high‑performing team while collaborating with CRM, Paid Marketing, Vendor Management, Direct Marketing and Own Brand Management.

Why this role is different

Local teams at Zooplus are the closest to customers and market realities. You will be a market shaper and relationship builder, shaping the business locally. Your mandate includes:

• Develop market‑specific initiatives that deliver measurable results.
• Build processes and initiatives that create agility and free time for strategic thinking.
• Influence category performance, raise the bar for excellence in category management, and drive decisions that directly impact growth and profitability.

What You’ll Own

Category Strategy & Sales Steering

• Define and execute the commercial category strategy and translate it into actionable plans.
• Lead the go‑to‑market strategy across DACH in close collaboration with central and local stakeholders.
• Drive category performance through clear KPI management across category, sub‑category and product levels.
• Actively grow the portfolio with a strong focus on Own Brands—driving acquisition, migration and retention.

Pricing & Promotions

• Define competitive pricing and promotion strategies for your categories.
• Monitor pricing dynamics and run experiments, recommending adjustments to balance competitiveness and profitability.
• Build and execute the campaign and promo roadmap with central teams.
• Track performance, manage cost versus budget and optimise promotional impact.

Commercial Merchandising & Onsite Strategy

• Own the onsite commercial strategy: define how customers discover, evaluate and choose products.
• Translate category strategy into scalable merchandising principles to drive traffic, conversion and profitable growth.
• Use performance insights (conversion, AOV, attach rate, search share, sell‑through) to continuously optimise outcomes.

Leadership & Cross‑functional Steering

• Lead and develop a small team with direct accountability for results and growth.
• Steer and influence an extended cluster squad to deliver outcomes, not just activity.
• Ensure category expertise and retail best practices are embedded across your team and cross‑functional partners.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in retail, FMCG or e‑commerce (pet sector a plus) with strong category ownership.
• Track record of leading a small team while owning overall category strategy and results.
• Strong commercial acumen with a hands‑on, data‑driven, analytical mindset.
• Broad understanding of core business functions and how they connect (marketing, pricing, vendor, operations).
• Strong stakeholder management: align, influence and drive decisions across functions.
• Deep understanding of local customer needs and market dynamics in DACH.
• Languages: minimum B1 German and strong English.
• Hands‑on, proactive, relentlessly focused on impact, with leadership experience in driving category results.

What You Can Expect

• High‑visibility leadership role in Germany with decisions seen and felt across the organization.
• Real ownership: strategy, execution, performance steering and team leadership end‑to‑end.
• Cross‑functional influence and senior visibility to shape scalable programs beyond one market.
• A high‑performance environment that values clarity, speed and measurable outcomes.
• Opportunity to lead a category like a GM, driving commercial results while developing your team.

Additional Information

Headquartered in Munich with offices across Madrid, Krakow, Wroclaw, London and Vienna, we collaborate in a multinational team. You’ll benefit from hybrid working: 60 % time in office, 40 % remote, with an option to work up to 20 days abroad in approved countries. Development opportunities, training, wellbeing offers, subsidised transport or bike leasing and a 20 % discount on all products support your growth.

Equal opportunity employer – we value diversity, inclusion and support everyone to fulfil their potential.