Category Manager (Chicago)

Category Manager Job Profile:The Category Manager will have ownership for Air Systems, working collaboratively with Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing and Finance leaders to develop and implement strategies to set and successfully achieve financial targets. The individual in this role will be responsible for hitting the financial targets, setting and executing the category strategy, influencing operations management, and driving unique comment value to our customers. In addition, this individual will project manage in order to hot growth targets & achieve objectives.Responsible for the overall financial performance of Air Systems.Delivering the operating plan, achieving growth objectives including market share, revenue, profit and return on investment for the business.Develop and execute the product line strategy, informed by market and industry trends, competitive activity, and evolving customer needs.Work with Sales, Marketing and Operations leaders to develop, implement and manage activities to achieve the operating plan.Collaborate with Sales Leadership to develop and manage the forecasts for the given product lines and work with Supply Chain and Operations teams to drive Sales & Operations Planning process to balance supply and demand.Prioritize New Product Development efforts with the NPD engineering team on present and future product lines based on data from market trends, competitive product offerings, and customer requirements.Own prioritization of the new product development and feature enhancement backlog for Air product category.Drive pricing strategy by utilizing market research data, anticipated volumes, reviewing production and sales costs for production and customized orders.Manage installed asset base and allocation of future assets to ensure maximization of return on invested capital.Establish usage targets by machine type and monitor utilization of asset base to ensure customer forecasts/commitments are being achieved.Work with NPD and Operations to identify Capital investment opportunities and lead evaluation, justification, and approval, as well as implementation oversight of capital projects for the business line.Manage product SKU strategy, working in close coordination with Supply Chain and Field Sales to maximize inventory turns, and devise and execute on plans to avoid or effectively monetize slow moving inventory.Partner with Marketing to develop sales collateral and product training for Sales teams.Extensive business experience, with functional expertise in: Collecting and analyzing market data specific to the product line in order to identify market trends, new opportunities and implementation of growth strategies.Develop overall market strategy for product line and work collaboratively with Sales, Marketing and Operations leaders to develop functional strategies to support the achievement of short-term and long-term product line objectives. Understand the dynamics and tactics surrounding product positioning, marketing, selling and producing products in order to maximize the financial return for the organization.New Product Commercialization. Formal stage/gate NPC processes and the role of operationsAbility to identify and evaluate market opportunities for capital investment, as well as the financial modeling, risk analysis, and overall project management.Key Competencies Business acumenStrategic visionAnalytical, fact-based decision makingStrong market knowledgeFormal/informal leadershipChange managementResilience and positive approachPassion with strong work ethicStrong oral and written communicationOther QualificationsBachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferredSix to eight years work-related experience in financial or business management fieldsCompensationThe listed annualized base pay range is primarily based on analysis of similar positions. Actual base pay could vary and may be above or below the listed range based on factors including but not limited to performance, proficiency and demonstration of competencies required for the role. The base pay is just one component of Pregis’ total compensation package. The base pay range for this role is estimated to be $159,000 to $191,000, depending on experience and skills.Compensation details listed in US job postings reflect base salary only and do not include benefits. Learn more about Benefits at Pregis.#corp1JobFamilyProduct ManagementJobFunctionProduct ManagementPayTypeSalary