Category /Buying Manager

IVC Evidensia is the UK and Europe’s leading veterinary care group, made up of over 900 practices and referral hospitals, united by a shared purpose of happier animals, happier owners.

We believe careers should be built without limits. Our people are supported to make more impact, access more career opportunities, and play an active role in their local and professional communities. Through investment in learning, innovation, and wellbeing, we create environments where our teams can grow in confidence, capability, and fulfilment—at every stage of their career.

Pet Drugs Online is one of the UK’s leading online pet pharmacies and retailers, helping pet owners access trusted medication, healthcare products, and everyday essentials quickly, safely, and conveniently. As part of the IVC Evidensia Group, Pet Drugs Online combines the agility of a growing ecommerce business with the strength and expertise of a leading veterinary care organisation.

Our teams play a vital role in making pet healthcare more accessible through innovation, operational excellence, and outstanding customer experience.

If you love owning a category end‑to‑end and want the freedom to shape how millions of pet owners shop, this is a role where you’ll genuinely move the needle. Our Pet Food team is growing in impact and ambition — and you’ll be right at the centre of it.

We’re looking for someone who knows how to build ranges people care about, negotiate hard but fairly, and turn commercial insight into decisions that actually matter. This is a chance to take full accountability for a category with huge visibility, strong business support, and plenty of space to make your mark.

How You’ll Make a Difference

• Lead the full commercial performance of the Pet Food category — from strategy and range to pricing, promotions and supplier terms.
• Build a category plan that blends customer insight, market trends and hard commercial logic into ranges that convert and perform.
• Own supplier relationships, negotiating costs, trade terms, funding and long‑term partnerships that drive growth and innovation.
• Keep a close pulse on trading performance, spotting issues early and driving actions that improve availability, margin and customer experience.
• Shape clear price architecture and promotional plans, collaborating with digital, supply chain, marketing and finance to bring them to life.

You’d Be a Great Fit If…

• You bringexperience in category management, buying or commercial trading, ideally within pet food, grocery, pharma, FMCG or multi‑SKU retail.
• You have strong negotiation experience and know how to secure, manage and deliver vendor income.
• You’re confident owning a P&L, using data to guide decisions, and influencing senior stakeholders with clarity and credibility.
• You’ve built and refined ranges before — understanding good/better/best structures, pricing logic and how to drive performance.
• You’re comfortable working cross‑functionally and leading plans that require tight coordination and commercial judgment.

How We’ll Support You

At Pet Drugs Online, we’re committed to supporting your development and wellbeing. When you join us, you’ll benefit from:

• A role with real impact in a growing ecommerce and pet healthcare business

• Clear career pathways with progression opportunities within Pet Drugs Online and the wider IVC Evidensia Group

• Ongoing learning and development supported by experienced colleagues and teams

  A collaborative, values-led culture focused on care, innovation, and continuous improvement

What We Offer Our Team

• Healthcare Cash Plan

• Cycle to Work scheme

• Green Cars salary sacrifice scheme

• Hybrid working (3 days per week in office)

• Discounted staff pet care

• Access to discounts/cashback with hundreds of participating retailers

Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging

We are committed to Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging, we are keen to hear from candidates from all minority and diverse groups. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are keen to hear from candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions and would be happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments needed during the recruitment process.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.