Head of Category (Omni)

The Edge Partnership - The Edge in Asia; Mumbai; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 3,200,000; Full time

Job summary

The Edge Partnership - The Edge in Asia is seeking a senior leader to own category strategy and execution across online, quick commerce and offline stores in Mumbai. You will drive third-party brand partnerships, negotiate pricing and terms, and shape the private label portfolio with a strong P&L focus.

You will lead a team, build a robust pricing framework across channels, and collaborate closely with Revenue to align assortment, pricing and promotional strategies.

Qualifications

• MBA from a Tier 1 institute.
• 12–13 years of experience across both online (e-commerce/quick commerce) and offline (retail/store) formats within an omni-channel business.
• Experience in Beauty & Personal Care or closely adjacent consumer/retail category preferred.
• Strong grounding in category management, brand/vendor negotiation, pricing strategy, private label strategy and execution, and P&L management.
• Proven experience building and leading teams with strategic and hands-on execution capabilities.
• Track record of job stability with ideal tenures of 4–5 years per company.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end category strategy and execution across online, quick commerce, and offline stores.
• Serve as the primary commercial touchpoint with third-party brand partners, negotiating pricing, discounts, terms, visibility and marketing support.
• Develop and maintain a pricing framework across brands and channels to balance competitiveness with margins.
• Lead Joint Business Plans with key brand partners to drive mutual growth.
• Define strategic direction of the private label portfolio, including portfolio architecture and growth roadmap.

Skills

Category management

Brand/vendor negotiation

Pricing strategy

Private label strategy

P&L management

Team leadership

Strategic thinking

Hands-on execution

Education

MBA from Tier 1 institute

Job description

A senior leadership opportunity with a fast-scaling omni-channel retail business, seeking an experienced category leader to own category strategy and execution across online, quick commerce and offline stores. This role combines two connected mandates - driving best-in-class third-party brand partnerships and pricing across all channels, and owning the strategic direction of the private label portfolio - working in close partnership with the Revenue function.

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape category strategy at scale across a true omni-channel footprint, combining strategic brand and private label leadership with hands-on ownership of P&L, inventory and in-stock performance.

Some of the key responsibilities will include:

• Owning end-to-end assortment strategy for the category across online, quick commerce and offline stores.
• Acting as the primary commercial point of contact with third-party brand partners, negotiating pricing, brand-funded discounts, trade terms, visibility and marketing support.
• Building and maintaining a pricing framework across brands and channels that keeps the platform competitive while protecting category margins.
• Developing and executing Joint Business Plans with key brand partners to drive mutual growth and long-term relationships.
• Working closely with online, quick commerce and offline store teams to align assortment, pricing and promotional strategies.
• Defining and owning the strategic direction of the private label portfolio, including portfolio architecture, white space identification and growth roadmap.
• Leading and mentoring a team responsible for private label execution, from product development and sourcing to pricing and go-to-market.
• Tracking and owning private label P&L performance, making data-led calls on where to double down, reposition or prune.
• Sharing joint ownership of the category P&L with Revenue, negotiating brand funding to support competitive pricing where needed.
• Owning inventory health across private label and third-party brands and driving brand-side negotiation to maintain in-stock availability.
• Building a rigorous review cadence and reporting framework covering brand economics, private label performance, pricing and inventory health.

To be eligible for this role you will require:

• MBA from a Tier 1 institute.
• 12-13 years of overall experience, with a demonstrated track record across both online (e-commerce/quick commerce) and offline (retail/store) formats within an Omni business.
• Experience in BPC (Beauty & Personal Care) or a closely adjacent consumer/retail category strongly preferred.
• Strong grounding in category management, brand/vendor negotiation, pricing strategy, private label strategy and execution, and P&L management.
• Proven experience building and leading teams, with the ability to operate both strategically and hands-on.
• A track record of job stability, with ideal tenures of 4-5 years per company.