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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Assistant Category Manager

💰 $ - $

RetailMerchandisingE-commerceSupply ChainBuying

🎯 Role Definition

As an Assistant Category Manager you will support the Category Manager in developing and executing category strategies that maximize sales, margin and market share. You will use consumer and sales data to recommend assortments, pricing, promotions and inventory plans; manage supplier relationships and commercial negotiations; and work cross-functionally with merchandising, marketing, supply chain and operations to deliver excellent in-store and online customer experiences. This role requires a balance of analytical rigor, commercial acumen and operational discipline to drive measurable category growth.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Buying Assistant / Junior Buyer
  • Merchandiser / Merchandise Analyst
  • Sales Analyst / Data Analyst (Retail)

Advancement To:

  • Category Manager
  • Senior Category Manager
  • Head of Merchandising / Category Director

Lateral Moves:

  • Trade Marketing Manager
  • E-commerce Merchandising Manager
  • Supplier Relationship Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Support the development and execution of a data-driven category strategy that aligns with company sales, margin and market share targets, including defining target consumer segments, price architecture and brand mix.
  • Analyze weekly and monthly sales, margin and inventory data to identify trends, growth opportunities and risks; prepare actionable recommendations and present them to Category Manager and commercial stakeholders.
  • Assist in SKU assortment planning and rationalization by evaluating SKU performance, cannibalization, lifecycle stage and space productivity to optimize on-shelf and online assortments.
  • Manage the commercial calendar and lead short- and long-term promotional planning including price markdowns, feature ads, seasonal events and cross-category promos to maximize ROI and minimize margin erosion.
  • Support vendor and supplier management activities, including onboarding, performance reviews, contract compliance monitoring and escalation of service issues impacting availability or cost.
  • Prepare and maintain accurate category P&L models; track gross margin, promo margin, rebates and allowances and recommend corrective actions to improve profitability.
  • Collaborate with supply chain and demand planning teams to set replenishment rules, safety stock levels and lead-time assumptions that reduce out-of-stocks while controlling working capital.
  • Conduct regular competitive market scans and pricing analysis to benchmark assortment, feature activity and promotional mechanics; translate insights into tactical actions.
  • Execute product launches and phase-outs: coordinate timing, inventory buildup, merchandising assets, e-commerce content and in-store planogram adjustments.
  • Optimize in-store and online merchandising strategies including planogram updates, shelf facings, endcap plans and digital category pages to improve conversion and basket size.
  • Work with marketing and creative teams to brief, develop and validate promotional creative, POS materials and digital content that drive traffic and conversion.
  • Manage monthly vendor A&P, co-op and rebate reconciliations; ensure promotional funding is applied correctly and campaign ROI is measured.
  • Lead cross-functional project workstreams (pricing changes, private label introductions, range reviews) and ensure timely delivery against project milestones.
  • Monitor and improve category KPIs such as sell-through, weeks of supply, margin percent, inventory turns, promo uplift and on-shelf availability.
  • Support contract negotiations including price, terms, volume commitments and freight allowances; prepare negotiation briefs and recommended positions based on margin impact.
  • Build and maintain robust product and merchandising documentation (assortment guides, product specs, planograms, category supplier lists) to support operational execution.
  • Drive SKU-level forecasting improvements by analyzing demand drivers, seasonality and promotional elasticity to reduce lost sales and excess inventory.
  • Coordinate store and field visits to audit shelf compliance, display execution and competitive activity; convert field observations into action plans.
  • Ensure product compliance with legal, regulatory and company quality standards including labeling, packaging and promotional claims.
  • Support retailer’s sustainability and private label initiatives by evaluating alternative suppliers, pack formats and cost-to-serve implications.
  • Prepare executive-level reporting and regular business reviews for senior leadership, highlighting wins, challenges and prioritized actions.
  • Maintain strong day-to-day communications with suppliers, logistics, pricing and operations teams to resolve supply disruptions and promotional execution issues quickly.
  • Conduct ad-hoc analysis and build dashboards that highlight performance drivers and support strategic decision-making for the category.

Secondary Functions

  • Assist in training and mentoring junior merchandising or buying staff, sharing best practices in assortment planning and commercial analysis.
  • Participate in cross-functional workshops to align assortments, promotions and seasonal plans with broader merchandising and marketing calendars.
  • Provide support for demand-sensing pilots, A/B tests, and pilot promotions; measure outcomes and recommend rollouts.
  • Help maintain master data hygiene for SKUs, product attributes and vendor records in merchandising and ERP systems.
  • Support sustainability and cost-to-serve assessments for packaging, logistics and shelf-life to inform supplier selection and assortment choices.
  • Coordinate with e-commerce operations to ensure product content, images and availability are accurate and optimized for search and conversion.
  • Provide analytical support for private label development and benchmarking against national brands.
  • Facilitate quarterly category planning sessions and follow up on agreed action items to ensure accountability and execution.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Category management and assortment planning experience with demonstrable outcomes (e.g., SKU rationalization, uplift in GM%).
  • Strong Excel skills: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, advanced formulas, sensitivity analysis and scenario modelling.
  • Experience with BI and analytics tools (Tableau, Power BI, Qlik or equivalent) to create dashboards and visualizations for category performance.
  • Familiarity with retail forecasting and replenishment systems (SAP MM/SD, Oracle Retail, Blue Yonder/JDA, or similar).
  • Understanding of P&L drivers and ability to build margin scenarios, promo ROI and supplier cost analyses.
  • Solid knowledge of pricing strategies, promotional mechanics and elasticity testing.
  • Experience managing supplier relationships, purchase orders, contract terms and logistics coordination.
  • SKU lifecycle management including new product introductions, phase-outs and SKU rationalization methodologies.
  • Experience with planogram software and space productivity analysis (e.g., Nielsen Spaceman, Shelf Logic).
  • E‑commerce merchandising fundamentals: content optimization, digital assortment and conversion metrics.
  • Basic SQL skills or ability to extract and manipulate data from databases is highly desirable.
  • Familiarity with category analytics methodologies (ABC analysis, Pareto, cannibalization, price sensitivity).

Soft Skills

  • Strong commercial and analytical mindset with the ability to translate data into clear business actions.
  • Excellent negotiation and supplier management skills; confident in representing commercial positions.
  • Clear and persuasive communicator with the ability to present insights to senior stakeholders.
  • Project management skills with a track record of driving cross-functional initiatives to completion.
  • High attention to detail and accuracy, particularly with numerical and financial data.
  • Problem-solving orientation and the ability to prioritize under tight deadlines and competing priorities.
  • Collaborative team player who builds effective relationships across merchandising, supply chain, marketing and stores.
  • Adaptability and resilience in a fast-paced retail environment experiencing frequent change.
  • Customer-centric thinking: keeps consumer needs and in-store/online experience at the center of decisions.
  • Initiative and ownership: proactively identifies opportunities and drives them through to implementation.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Supply Chain, Retail Management or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • MBA or postgraduate diploma in Retail, Business Analytics, Supply Chain or Marketing (preferred but not required).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Marketing
  • Supply Chain / Logistics
  • Economics
  • Data Analytics / Business Analytics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–4 years in retail merchandising, category management, buying or commercial analytics.

Preferred: 3–6 years with direct experience in category planning, vendor negotiations, promotional planning and P&L support within grocery, general merchandise or e-commerce retail environments.

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