With over 25 years’ experience, plus the same enormous passion and ambition we had on day-one, we’re trailblazers in the pet e-commerce industry. Our solutions make over 12 million customers genuinely happier – and that’s something we really care about. We work together to continually adapt; embracing change and the challenges it brings so that we can keep doing better. Join us and discover a place where your potential meets your passion for pets. That’s the power of plus.

At zooplus, we are on a journey of building 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. And in Germany (DE) - our home base and largest market - category leadership isn’t a back-office role. It’s high visibility, high responsibility, and right at the heart of the action. Join us and discover a place where your potential meets your passion for pets. That’s the power of plus.  

We’re hiring an E-commerce Team Lead Category Management to take end-to-end ownership of key categories across DACH, driving topline growth and bottom-line performance through a sharp commercial strategy, strong cross-functional steering, and scaled flawless execution. 

This is a role for someone who thinks and acts like true General Manager of the Category: you own the commercial strategy, set the go-to-market, and lead a tight team while steering actions spanning across a broader cross-functional squad, incl. CRM, Paid Marketing, Vendor Management, Direct Marketing, and Own Brand Management. 

Why this role is different 
Local teams at zooplus are not “execution units” for central playbooks. They are at the pulse of their market and closest to the customers. You will be a market shaper and relationship builder, with a mandate to: 

• Local Relevance: Create market-specific actions that work against market relevant ambitions and problem statements.  
• Scalability: Build processes and initiatives that allow your team to gain agility, speed and time for strategic tasks. 
• Strategic Impact: Influence the cluster agenda and raise the bar for what “great” looks like in category management. 

What you’ll own 

Category Strategy & Sales Steering 

• Define and own the commercial category strategy and translate it into actionable plans. 
• Drive go-to-market strategy across DACH, in close collaboration with central and local stakeholders. 
• Lead performance management across category, sub-category, and product level using clear KPI steering (input and output metrics). 
• Actively grow our portfolio with a strong focus on Own Brands—driving acquisition, migration, and retention. 

Pricing & Promotions 

• Define competitive a pricing and promotion strategy for your category. 
• Monitor pricing dynamics for key products and bestsellers.  
• Run pricing tests and recommend local price adjustments in alignment with the central pricing team, balancing competitiveness and profitability. 
• Build and execute the campaign and promo roadmap with central teams. 
• Track performance, manage cost vs. budget, and optimize promotional impact. 

Commercial Merchandising & Onsite Strategy 

• Own the onsite commercial strategy for your categories: define how customers discover, evaluate, and choose - turning traffic into profitable growth. 
• Translate category strategy into scalable merchandising principles, ensuring the right portfolio is visible in the right moments across the customer journey. 
• Use onsite performance insights (conversion, AOV, attach rate, search share, sell-through) to steer priorities and continuously improve outcomes. 

Leadership & Cross-functional Steering 

• Lead and develop a small team (people leadership + direction setting). 
• Steer and influence an extended cluster squad to deliver outcomes, not just activity. 

What we’re looking for 

• Proven experience in FMCG and e-commerce (pet sector a strong plus). 
• Experience leading and coordinating a small team and owning the overall category/team strategy. 
• Strong commercial acumen with a data-driven, analytical mindset. 
• Broad understanding of core business functions and how they connect (marketing, pricing, vendor, operations). 
• Strong stakeholder management: you can 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. 
   

What you can expect 

• A leadership role in Germany, our biggest and most visible market - where your decisions will be seen and felt. 
• Real ownership: strategy + steering + execution, end-to-end. 
• Cross-functional influence with senior visibility and the ability to shape scalable programs beyond one market. 
• A high-performance environment that values clarity, momentum, and measurable outcomes. 

Ready to lead a category like a GM and shape the DACH business? Apply now or reach out directly. 

Headquartered in Munich, with offices across Madrid, Krakow, Wroclaw, London and Vienna, we collaborate because we genuinely love working together - so you’ll be at the heart of an incredible, multinational team. We trust each other to get the job done, which means you’ll benefit from hybrid working, spending 60% of your time in the office and 40% at home. There’s an option to work for 20 days abroad in approved countries too.

Add to that development opportunities that help you to shape your own career path, excellent training and support, wellbeing offers, subsidised transport or bike leasing, plus 20% discount across all our products, and you’ll begin to get a sense of what sets us apart. Find out more about the specific benefits at your local office in our blog posts.

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.

#LI-Hybrid

✈️ 28 vacation days and days off on 24th and 31st of December
🏋️ Corporate rates at a local gym chain (Body & Soul)
📱 Company mobile phone for work and personal use
 

zooplus is committed to equal opportunity. We value and embrace diversity and inclusion of all Team Members.