Assistant Category Manager

Position Summary

The Assistant Category Manager (ACM) supports the development and execution of category strategies that drive sales, profitability, market share, and customer satisfaction. This role partners closely with the Category Manager to manage product assortment, pricing, promotions, vendor relationships, and overall category performance.

The ideal candidate is analytical, commercially minded, and proactive, with the ability to translate data into actionable recommendations, influence business decisions, and collaborate across multiple teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Category Management: Support category strategies, assortment planning, product selection, pricing, and promotional execution to drive sales and profitability.
• Business Analysis: Analyze sales trends, consumer insights, market data, and financial performance to identify opportunities and recommend improvements.
• Vendor Management: Build and maintain vendor relationships, support negotiations, manage promotional programs, and identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Financial Performance: Monitor key metrics, including sales, margin, market share, product movement, and net contribution.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Merchandising, Pricing, Replenishment, Supply Chain, and Marketing to execute category initiatives.
• Strategic Execution: Take ownership of assigned projects, manage competing priorities, and support category planning and business decisions.
• Leadership: Provide support and leadership coverage in the Category Manager's absence.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 5–8 years of combined experience in retail, merchandising, category management, pricing, procurement, supply chain, or related functions.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and develop actionable business recommendations.
• Experience supporting or managing product assortment, pricing, promotions, vendor relationships, or category performance.
• Strong Excel skills and experience with reporting, forecasting, or business intelligence tools.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, organization, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to influence stakeholders, manage multiple priorities, and work independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated initiative, adaptability, and ability to navigate ambiguity.

Preferred Experience

• Grocery, retail merchandising, or consumer packaged goods (CPG) experience.
• Experience with Fresh or Center Store categories.
• Familiarity with tools such as Power BI, Tableau, Nielsen/Circana, RELEX, SEGA, or other category analytics and forecasting platforms.
• Experience analyzing consumer trends, promotional effectiveness, assortment performance, and category profitability.

Travel

Typically 8–12%.