Category Manager

Develop into a credible product expert across MERLYN’s full range, with deep knowledge of product design, features, pricing, and routes to market. Benchmark against competitors to identify gaps, unique strengths, and commercial opportunities.

MERLYN is one of the UK and Ireland’s leading shower enclosure companies. MERLYN design, engineer and craft the finest showering environments in the world. MERLYN is part of Norcros PLC, a group of market‑leading brands that design and supply sustainable bathroom and kitchen products in the UK, Ireland and South Africa, and selected export markets.

At the heart of the company is a simple ethos – to deliver on everything it promises to customers.

Reporting to the Estimating Supervisor, you will be a key member of the Commercial and Estimating department and cross‑functional teams within Merlyn.

The primary duties of the role will include the following (not in any specific order):

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• Product Expertise & Market Intelligence: Develop into a credible product expert across MERLYN’s full range, with deep knowledge of product design, features, pricing, and routes to market. Benchmark against competitors to identify gaps, unique strengths, and commercial opportunities.
  
• Commercial Performance Analysis: Gain a clear understanding of category performance through unit sales, revenue, and margin data. Use insights to inform pricing strategy, range development and cross‑functional decision‑making.
  
• New Product Introduction (NPI) Support: Support NPI projects from concept to launch. Help define business cases, market positioning, competitor insights, and range architecture, contributing to effective go‑to‑market planning.
  
• Tender & OEM Project Ownership: Take ownership of key tender and OEM proposals, including bespoke product development. Lead these projects from proposal through to launch, supporting internal coordination and customer engagement.
  
• Portfolio Management & Category Strategy: Analyse product performance to identify pricing, SKU or marketing adjustments. Support ongoing category management, lifecycle planning and strategic range development.
  
• Pricing Analysis & Strategy: Perform breakeven and margin analysis to guide pricing changes and align with market conditions. Develop proposals that optimise price, revenue and volume.
  
• Competitor & Market Benchmarking: Track competitor activity and product movements. Share insights to inform MERLYN’s product evolution, commercial positioning and innovation opportunities.
  
• Customer Insight & Market Feedback: Gather voice‑of‑customer feedback through trade visits and industry networking. Translate findings into product requirements that meet clear market needs.
  
• Customer File and Range Management: Maintain accurate customer price files, listings and discounts. Coordinate updates efficiently with the sales team, including any bespoke configurations.
  
• Technical Communication & Stakeholder Influence: Communicate complex technical or commercial ideas to a variety of audiences, including senior stakeholders, with clarity and influence.
  
• Trade Events & Representation: Represent MERLYN at trade fairs and industry events, supporting product visibility and building customer relationships.
  
• Flexible Project Support: Support a variety of projects across product and commercial teams as needed, demonstrating flexibility and teamwork.
  
• Customer Visit Support: Assist with UK and Ireland customer visits, ensuring presentations and engagements deliver a premium, professional brand experience.
  

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• Category management and product management experience.
  
• Experience managing categories of products and demonstratable success of category management and/or product management techniques.
  
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and ability to develop/maintain cross‑functional relationships internally and externally.
  
• Good organisational skills to manage and prioritise varied workload; demonstrates diplomacy, problem solving and decisiveness.
  
• Excellent written and presentation skills and ability to create compelling slides to communicate products/services to internal/external audiences.
  
• Strong commercial acumen and adept at commercial analysis and interpretation including pricing and margin management.
  
• Numerical competency – good understanding of or ability to grasp customer pricing, discount structures and trading agreements including rebates.
  
• Excellent data analysis and interpretation skills – particularly using Excel – good numerate ability.
  

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• Bathroom market experience or consumer durables/trade building products.
  
• Experience in new product customer research / market research.
  
• Experience in cradle‑to‑grave product management – new product ideas right through to withdrawals.
  
• Ability to build intricate and technical product knowledge (or know where/who to speak to) and ability to relate MERLYN’s products to competitor products and equivalents.
  
• A customer‑centric approach with prioritisation for voice of customer – demonstratable experience desirable.
  
• Knowledge and experience of Product Marketing systems (PIM).
  
• Degree or equivalent in management/business.
  

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• Positive can‑do attitude.
  
• Attention to detail attributes.
  
• Curious and always looking for ways to improve.
  
• Able to take ownership of tasks.
  
• Demonstrates honesty and integrity.
  
• Communicates well at all levels of an organisation.
  
• Ability to plan ahead, set goals and organise effectively to achieve objectives.
  
• Customer focused and driven to exceed excellence.
  
• Flexible and adaptable to change.
  
• Team player who encourages positive communication and respect.
  

Please contact or email for further details.

MERLYN design, engineer and craft the finest showering environments in the world. Based in Kilkenny, MERLYN has served the UK and Irish market for the last 25 years since its foundation in 2000. Our forward‑thinking company has become increasingly well known within the industry through its accelerated growth and broad range of product offering. Continuously building on its reputation for relentless attention to detail through innovation and design, whilst using only the finest sourced quality materials with an extensive range of finishes.

MERLYN has an extensive brand portfolio of products focused on the mid to high end of the shower enclosure sector and meets the highest demands in terms of design, performance and quality. MERLYN’S offering also extends to bespoke options including customisation of glass, shape, space and colour. xcfaprz

At the heart of the company is a simple ethos – to deliver on everything it promises to customers.