Senior Category Manager DACH, Team Lead (All Genders)

Job Description

At zooplus, we are on a journey to build the most customer-centric pet care e-commerce experience in Europe. Our work makes over 12 million pet parents genuinely happier – and that’s something we really care about. In Germany (DE), our home base and largest market, category leadership is high visibility, hands‑on, and directly accountable for commercial results.

We’re hiring a Senior Category Manager with Team Lead and German skills to take end‑to‑end ownership of key categories, driving topline growth and profitability through commercial insight, strong execution, and direct team leadership. This is a role for someone who thinks and acts like a General Manager of the Category: you own the commercial strategy, shape go‑to‑market initiatives, and lead a small, high‑performing team while collaborating across a broader cross‑functional squad, including CRM, Paid Marketing, Vendor Management, Direct Marketing, and Own Brand Management.

Why this role is different

• Local Relevance: Develop market‑specific initiatives that deliver measurable results.
• Scalability: Build processes and initiatives that create agility and free time for strategic thinking.
• Strategic & Commercial Impact: Influence category performance, raise the bar for “great” 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 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 pricing experiments, recommending adjustments to balance competitiveness and profitability.
• Build and execute the campaign and promo roadmap with central teams.
• Track performance, manage cost vs. 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: able to align, influence, and drive decisions across functions.
• Deep understanding of local customer needs and market dynamics in DACH.
• Languages: min. B1 German and strong English.
• Hands‑on, proactive, and relentlessly focused on impact, with leadership experience in driving category results.

What You Can Expect

• High‑visibility leadership role in Germany, our biggest market, with decisions that are 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 programmes 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.

Ready to lead a category and shape the DACH business?

Apply now or reach out directly.

Benefits

• Hybrid working – 60% of your time in the office and 40% at home, with an option to work 20 days abroad in approved countries.
• Development opportunities that help you shape your own career path, excellent training and support, wellbeing offers, subsidised transport or bike leasing, and a 20% discount across all our products.
• 28 vacation days plus days off on 24th and 31st December.
• Corporate rates at a local gym chain (Body & Soul).
• Company mobile phone for work and personal use.

Equal Opportunity Statement

At zooplus, we believe in equal opportunity and support everyone to fulfil their potential. We recognise the power of listening and learning from each other and embrace diversity and inclusion of all. zooplus is committed to equal opportunity. We value and embrace diversity and inclusion of all Team Members.