Our client is a looking to hire a full-time Director of Category Management in their North York office! This role reports to the VP of Product Management and will play a pivotal role in developing and executing the overall strategy for product categories and grow the category as well. The ideal candidate will be a brand expert, and come from retail cpg industries and understand how to operate in a B2B space.

Please see details below:

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Complete Category Knowledge -Holistic knowledge of product category, from engineering, right through to sales and inventory strategy. Requires the ability to distill product features, benefits, and information down to the key messages for field staff and customers (also responsible for maintenance of category "romance" data).
• Competitive/Market Intelligence - Monitoring of market trends and key category competitors, including SWOT analysis and other relevant activities. This includes maintaining our internal "competitive edge" assessments, as well as retail price tracking.
• Strategic Planning - Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for the product category. This involves analyzing market trends, understanding customer needs, and aligning the category strategy with overall business goals.
• Customer Inventory/Sales Optimization - Monitor customer sales to gauge success and growth opportunities. Optimize inventory models to ensure appropriate product coverage, while avoiding excess stock and associated issues. Conduct regular reviews for key accounts to ensure inventories remain current.
• Product Selection/Lifecycle Management - Choose the right mix to support customer strategy, with a focus on lifecycle and appropriate brand grading. This includes managing new releases, identifying new opportunities, monitoring sales and warranty performance, and deciding when to phase out or introduce new parts.
• Category and Customer Training - Regular preparation and presentation of training materials for the field that translates inputs from engineering (and other reviews) into clear strategic/marketing messages that put our products in the best light possible, while being easy to understand.
• Marketing and Promotion - Collaborate with the Marketing team on effective promotional campaigns, product launches, and merchandising strategies. Monitor the success of these initiatives and adjust strategies based on performance data.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration - Collaborate with various departments (including Product Management, Sales, Marketing, Cataloging, IT, Customer Service, and Finance) to ensure effective communication and alignment of strategies. Work closely with the sales team to incorporate customer feedback and data insights into category plans.
• Data Analysis and Reporting: Utilize data analytics tools to monitor key performance indicators, sales trends, and other relevant metrics. Generate reports and insights to inform decision-making processes and continually refine the category strategy.

Qualifications, Skills, and Educational Requirements

• 10 years of relevant work experience and proven acumen in a B2B product/category management (preferably working with international vendors)
• Category management expertise: Lifecycle planning, SKU rationalization, gap analysis, and product mix optimization
• Experience working in both private label and branded product strategies
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Experience working with key customers or channel partners to align category initiatives with customer needs
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights
• Proficient in data analysis/reporting/presentation tools such as Excel, PowerPoint and Tableau/Power BI (Access or other database experience an asset)
• Problem solver with the ability to assess a situation and provide a data-centric solution
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work cross-functionally across the organization
• Comfortable presenting analyses and training within the team, with management and field staff, and potentially directly to customers
• Able to manage multiple projects, deadlines and deliverables