Category Lead - Beauty & Wellness

FashionUnited; Dubai; On-site; AED 350,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

6thStreet.com seeks a Category Head – Beauty & Wellness to build, launch, and scale the Beauty & Wellness business across digital and phygital stores in the GCC. You will own full P&L, craft category strategy, curate assortment, and lead cross-functional teams to drive revenue growth and profitability.

Responsibilities span category strategy, brand portfolio management, pricing, promotions, and strategic partnerships with regional and international brands.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business, retail, marketing, or related field.
• 8-12 years of beauty, wellness, or lifestyle retail with category management or buying exposure.
• Strong understanding of beauty and wellness trends and customer behavior.
• Experience in sourcing, vendor negotiations, and brand partnership management.
• Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the Beauty & Wellness category vision aligned with business objectives.
• Own category P&L including revenue, gross margin, inventory, and profitability.
• Develop a 1–3 year growth roadmap for assortment, brand portfolio, and omnichannel initiatives.
• Lead weekly and monthly business reviews and drive corrective actions.
• Build and lead a high-performing team across category management, buying, merchandising, and trading.

Skills

Category management

P&L ownership

Negotiation

Leadership

Analytical mindset

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business, Retail, Marketing, or related field

Job description

6thStreet.com is an omnichannel fashion & lifestyle destination that offers 1400+ fashion & beauty brands in the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain & Qatar. Customers can shop the latest on-trend outfits, shoes, bags, beauty essentials and accessories from international brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Hugo, Marks &Spencers, Dune London, Charles & Keith, Aldo, Crocs, Birkenstock, Skechers, Levi’s, Nike, Adidas, Loreal, and Inglot amongst many more. 6thStreet.com recently opened GCC’s first phygital store at Dubai Hills Mall; an innovative tech-led space which combines the best of both online & offline shopping with online browsing & smart fitting rooms.

Role Summary

The Category Head – Beauty & Wellness will be responsible for building, launching, and scaling the Beauty & Wellness business. The role combines full P&L ownership, category strategy, assortment curation, brand partnerships, commercial trading, and cross-functional leadership to create a differentiated destination for beauty and wellness customers. The role will drive revenue growth, profitability, customer acquisition, retention, and long-term category expansion across digital and Phygital store.

Key Responsibilities

• Category Strategy & P&L Ownership
  • Define and execute the Beauty & Wellness category vision aligned with overall business objectives and customer strategy.
  • Own category P&L includes revenue, gross margin, contribution margin, inventory productivity, marketing efficiency, and profitability.
  • Develop and execute a 1–3-year growth roadmap covering assortment expansion, brand portfolio development, marketplace opportunities, omnichannel initiatives, and regional growth.
  • Analyze market trends, consumer behavior, competitive landscape, and emerging opportunities across beauty and wellness sectors within the GCC.
  • Identify whitespace opportunities and new growth segments to drive category leadership.
• Assortment & Brand Portfolio Management
  • Build and manage a differentiated portfolio across:
    • Skincare
    • Makeup
    • Fragrance
    • Haircare
    • Personal Care
    • Wellness & Self-Care
    • Vitamins & Supplements
    • Functional Nutrition
    • Women’s Wellness
    • Fitness & Recovery
    • Clean, Natural & Sustainable Products
  • Develop category architecture including price ladders, customer segments, hero products, exclusive launches, bundles, and subscription offerings.
  • Source, negotiate, and onboard leading regional and international brands including the marketplace model.
  • Lead commercial negotiations covering margins, rebates, marketing investments, exclusivity, payment terms, inventory commitments, and promotional support.
  • Establish strategic partnerships with key suppliers to drive innovation, exclusives, and category differentiation.
  • Build and execute the annual trading calendar covering key retail moments such as Ramadan, Eid, Summer, Back-to-School, White Friday, Singles Day, 11.11, 12.12, New Year Wellness, and gifting occasions.
  • Define pricing and promotional strategies balancing competitiveness, premium positioning, customer value, and profitability.
  • Drive growth through promotions, bundles, replenishment programs, subscriptions, and loyalty initiatives.
  • Monitor and optimize key KPIs including:
    • Revenue
    • Margin
    • Conversion
    • Average Order Value (AOV)
    • Sell-through
    • Customer Acquisition
    • Repeat Purchase Rate
    • Inventory Turnover
    • Category Market Share
  • Lead weekly and monthly business reviews and implement corrective actions to maximize performance.
• Customer Experience & Omnichannel Merchandising
  • Partner with Product, UX, CRM, and Marketing teams to create a best-in-class Beauty & Wellness shopping experience.
  • Develop category navigation, product discovery journeys, routines, wellness goals, personalized recommendations, and educational content.
  • Ensure best-in-class product content including ingredients, benefits, certifications, usage guidance, routines, reviews, before-and-after imagery, and expert recommendations.
  • Drive onsite merchandising strategy including category pages, landing pages, search optimization, ranking logic, and cross-category recommendations.
  • Build customer engagement programs focused on replenishment, loyalty, subscriptions, sampling, and community-led discovery.
  • Identify opportunities to integrate beauty and wellness with fashion and lifestyle categories to increase basket size and customer lifetime value.
• Supply Chain, Inventory & Operations
  • Partner with Planning and Supply Chain teams to manage demand forecasting, inventory investments, replenishment, launch planning, and lifecycle management.
  • Optimize inventory health, stock cover, markdown exposure, and working capital efficiency.
  • Ensure operational readiness for beauty and wellness-specific requirements including storage, shelf-life management, temperature-sensitive products, compliance, and returns handling.
  • Drive availability and fulfillment excellence while minimizing stock-outs and excess inventory.
• Marketing, Partnerships & Customer Growth
  • Collaborate with Brand Marketing, CRM, Social Commerce, Influencer Marketing, and Performance Marketing teams to drive customer acquisition and retention.
  • Develop integrated category campaigns, product launches, influencer partnerships, and brand collaborations.
  • Build category awareness through educational content, wellness programs, expert partnerships, and community engagement initiatives.
  • Drive customer lifecycle strategies focused on repeat purchases, replenishment behavior, and long-term loyalty.
• Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Build and lead a high-performing team across category management, buying, merchandising, and trading.
  • Foster a culture of commercial excellence, customer obsession, innovation, and accountability.
  • Collaborate closely with Product, Operations, Finance, Marketing, CRM, Marketplace, and Retail teams to deliver category objectives.
  • Mentor and develop future category leaders within the organization.

Desired Experience

• · Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business, Retail, Marketing, or related field.
• · 8-12 years of experience in beauty, wellness, or lifestyle retail, with strong exposure to category management or buying.
• · Proven track record of managing category P&L and driving commercial growth in high-SKU environments.
• · Strong understanding of beauty and wellness trends, customer behavior, and product ecosystems.
• · Experience in sourcing, vendor negotiations, and brand partnership management.
• · Strong analytical and commercial acumen with ability to drive performance through data.
• · Experience working across digital and omnichannel environments.
• · Excellent stakeholder management and ability to lead cross-functional teams.