Director, Category Management & Insights

Role Overview

Category Strategy & Leadership

• Define and execute multi-year growth strategies for assigned product categories.
• Develop good-better-best assortment strategies tailored to customer segments and channels.
• Lead category-level goals related to revenue, margin, velocity and market share.

Market & Consumer Insights

• Analyze market trends, consumer behavior and competitive benchmarks.
• Guide SKU rationalization and portfolio optimization to balance profitability and shelf impact.
• Integrate consumer research and sales data into category planning.

Vendor & Supplier Management

• Build and maintain strategic vendor relationships.
• Lead negotiations to drive cost efficiency, innovation and supply reliability.
• Manage contracts and pricing strategies to optimize product selection.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Product Development, Sourcing, Planning and Inventory teams.
• Align category strategies with supply chain capabilities and seasonal rhythms.
• Collaborate with Sales and Marketing to ensure effective in-store execution and promotional planning.

Performance Monitoring

• Implement KPIs and metrics to monitor category performance.
• Report on sales trends, profitability, inventory health and promotional ROI.
• Make data-driven decisions to improve results and meet business objectives.

What You Will Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing or related field (MBA preferred).
• 7-14+ years of experience in category management, merchandising or buying.
• Proven track record of driving category growth and profitability.
• Strong analytical and financial acumen.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and leadership skills.
• Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint and merchandising analytics tools.
• Experience in consumer-packaged goods (CPG), retail or eCommerce environments preferred.
• Strategic thinker with a customer-first mindset.
• Collaborative leader who fosters high-performing teams.
• Comfortable presenting to senior leadership and external stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of retail operations, shopper behavior and vendor dynamics.

Benefits

• 401k competitive employer matching.
• Comprehensive medical, dental & vision benefits.
• Employer paid life & disability coverage.
• Paid time off and paid holidays.
• 8 weeks paid parental leave.
• Education assistance.
• Employee assistance program.
• Flexible hybrid working arrangement where it applies (up to 1 day/week after initial 90 days and approval by hiring manager and HR).

About Darigold