Apparel Category Manager

League One Volleyball (LOVB); United States; Remote; USD 90,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

League One Volleyball (LOVB) is seeking an Apparel Category Manager to drive the strategic development of their apparel and accessories. This remote role requires strong analytical abilities and a passion for the sport to create market-aligned products, collaborating across various departments.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in apparel product creation.
• Experience with offshore factories for sourcing.
• Passion for sports and consumer dynamics.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end line planning and assortment development.
• Conduct trend and consumer research.
• Track product performance by style and category.

Skills

Analytical skills

Strategic planning

Communication

Creative thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

League One Volleyball (LOVB) provided pay range

This range is provided by League One Volleyball (LOVB). Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range

$90,000.00/yr - $100,000.00/yr

APPAREL CATEGORY MANAGER

About LOVB (League One Volleyball):

League One Volleyball (LOVB, pronounced “love”) is reimagining the sport of volleyball. Launched in 2019, our company is a mission-led sports performance, development and professional league that seeks to empower new generations of women athletes.

It is a groundbreaking time for volleyball in the US with our historic triple Olympic Gold medals in Women's Indoor, Beach and Sitting Volleyball. Volleyball is already the #1 most played girls' youth team sport. There are 38M current and former players today. Of major sports, it's the only one that is women-first (~90% of players are women). But the volleyball market has been almost entirely missed by traditional sports investors, brands, and media.

LOVB is capturing this opportunity. Today, we have created the largest youth club business in the country and are creating the next major American sports league. This community-up approach will drive participation and fandom, while enabling greater empowerment for girls and young women living this amazing sport. In this role, you will join a mission-driven, roll-up-your-sleeves team of innovators and builders who have come together to change the paradigm of professional volleyball and women’s sport

Job Summary:

As an Apparel Category Manager, you will drive the strategic development of LOVB’s apparel and accessories assortment. Your role is critical in transforming consumer and market insights into high-impact and market-right products that reflect LOVB’s brand identity and performance standards. You will partner cross-functionally with merchandising, design, sourcing, finance, e-commerce, and marketing teams to build compelling collections from concept through commercialization. Success in this role requires strong analytical capabilities and a passion for the apparel, sport and retail industries.

Please note: As part of the final stage in our hiring process, candidates will be invited to complete a short project relevant to the role to help us better understand your approach and skills.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Category Strategy & Line Management

• Lead end-to-end line planning and assortment development to meet revenue, margin, and brand goals.
• Define category mix, pricing, and fabric strategies; maintain consistent product architecture aligned to key moments in the consumer journey.
• Write product briefs and style-level documentation; manage timelines and cross-functional collaboration through the development cycle.
• Ensure alignment on marketing narratives, drops, and go-to-market plans with brand and digital teams.
• Manage product collaborations and contribute to efficiency improvements across product creation.
  
  
  

Consumer & Market Insights

• Conduct trend and consumer research, including demographic summaries and focus groups (e.g. teen club player, parents, volleyball fans)
• Translate insights into actionable product briefs targeting defined customer segments.
• Track competitor landscapes and adapt strategies accordingly.
• Collaborate with design, e-commerce and retail teams to collect, synthesize, and act on consumer insights/data.
  
  
  

Marketing Enablement

• Partner with marketing to bring product stories to life via photo shoots, digital content, and retail.
• Manage and support product photoshoots in all aspects: ordering and organizing samples, creating shot lists, assisting with styling and shoot production, review selects
• Work with leadership and marketing teams to create product seeding plans and assist in execution of plans
  
  
  

Performance Tracking & Financial Management

• Track product performance by style, category, and season.
• Identify opportunities for inline improvements and future product iterations.
• Present line reviews, seasonal recaps, and strategic updates to leadership
• Analyze sell-through and SKU profitability to inform future buys and line edits.
• Partner and collaborate with senior leaders and planning teams on unit buy plans, inventory strategy, and margin optimization.
• Develop unit buy plans ensuring total purchases align with open to buy and budgeted sales targets
  
  
  

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Must be able to stretch into product development activities (lab dips, fabric libraries, sample archiving).
• Willing to travel internationally, independently or with teams, for factory visits
• Required to independently create work back calendars, forecast to a budget - both by creating top down and bottoms up forecasts
• Strong analytical and strategic planning skills with attention to margin and product performance using consumer insights.
• Proficient in Excel and presentation platforms such as PowerPoint or Keynote.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills.
• Creative thinker with a proactive, entrepreneurial mindset and ability to execute in fast-paced environments.
• Deep passion for sport and understanding of cultural and consumer dynamics.
  
  
  

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Product Management, Fashion Merchandising, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in apparel product creation, merchandising, or category management.
• Must have experience working with offshore factories and independent agents to source products.
• Must have apparel product line management and product creation experience.
• Experience in startup environments and/or demonstrated success scaling small brands.
• Athletic or sports apparel experience is highly preferred.
• Preference will be given to those who have experience working in startups ($500MM and smaller).
  
  
  

Work Environment & Physical Requirements (Remote):

• Ability to operate a computer and use a keyboard, mouse, and video conferencing tools.
• Ability to clearly communicate via video, phone, and written channels.
• Occasional travel may be required for site visits and events.
  
  
  

Behavioral Competencies:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with internal and external teams.
• Able to solve problems quickly and adapt to changing circumstances.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships, fostering a collaborative team culture.
• Proactive in identifying risks and ensuring high-quality deliverables.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and prioritize effectively.
• Maintain focus and composure when handling completing priorities.
  
  
  

Location:

This is a remotely based position with occasional domestic and international travel.

Compensation & Benefits:

The annual base salary for this role is $90,000-100,000 plus our comprehensive benefits package.

LOVB is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to our team.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Marketing and Sales

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