Category Manager

jlb; Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 95,100 - 130,800; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Vision insurance

401(k)

Job summary

A retail consulting firm in Minneapolis seeks a Category Manager to lead category management efforts at Target. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in retail, strong analytical skills, and the ability to present complex data effectively. This role emphasizes building relationships and delivering strategic insights to enhance category performance.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in retail or brand background required.
• 3+ years as a Category Advisor preferred.
• Strong understanding of merchandising strategies.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex category work and analyze data from multiple sources.
• Manage relationships with Target and develop strategic recommendations.
• Own end-to-end reporting process and deliver insights.

Skills

Analytical skills

Project management

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Presentation skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, or related field

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

JDA

Job description

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JLB is an award-winning, retail consulting firm that is passionate about helping brands succeed at Target and Target win in the Marketplace. More than a traditional broker, we offer tailored solutions across Sales, Strategy, Category Management, Insights, Digital, Shopper Marketing, and more — helping brands thrive at one of the world’s most innovative retailers.

The Team

Our Category Management Service at Target serves as a pivotal resource for the Target buying team, offering flawless day-to-day support and is entrusted with direct access to Target’s internal systems. This role is exclusively dedicated to Target, representing a collaborative and strategic partnership that seamlessly integrates with the Target buying team. The Category Manager is an experienced, trusted advisor providing thought leadership and strategy direction with analytically based actionable insights addressing business goals and challenges.

The Role

The Category Manager leads complex category work, expertly analyzing data from multiple sources, synthesizing to deliver clear, tailored presentations to the Target buying team. This role combines analytics, presentation, and leadership skills to guide both short and long-term initiatives. They anticipate business needs and proactively identify challenges and opportunities. Strong project management, problem-solving, and communication skills are essential.

• Relationships: Independently manages day-to-day relationships with Target and cross-functional teams, including merchant, business analyst, inventory analyst, space & transition planning & pricing promo team, and develops relationships with Director merchant. Leads preparation and execution of client meetings, including weekly updates and ad hoc sessions, while driving collaborative problem-solving discussions. Provides strategic recommendations grounded in a deep understanding of category trends and client needs.
• Reporting: Owns the end-to-end reporting process, combining advanced data analytics with a deep understanding of business drivers. Integrates multiple data sources to deliver detailed weekly reports and strategic insights that highlight performance trends, opportunities, and risks. Incorporates insights on sales, promotions, and inventory in multiple roll-ups like brand, vendor, subcategory, and item. Develops and manages custom attributes, enabling deeper analysis and providing valuable insights into business performance. Supports ad hoc reporting needs, proactively identifying relevant data points to address client questions and guide decisions.
• Marketplace Insights/Competitive Shops: Manages in-depth analyses of competitive marketplace and retailer trends, including merchandising, pricing, brand, and SKU selection. Produces comprehensive reports on market share, competitive retailer performance, and industry trends. Identifies and capitalizes on emerging trends, opportunity items, promotional themes, and merchandising strategies. Provides strategic recommendations to the Target merchant team.
• Category & Seasonal Reviews: Executes category and seasonal review utilizing some pre-established templates and creating custom outputs for their business. Gains a deep understanding of client strategies and analyzes sales, space-to-sales, consumer behavior, basket drivers, segmentation, pricing tiers, assortment gaps, white space, and merchandising. Provides actionable insights and strategic recommendations to enhance category performance and productivity. Is successful at synthesizing to create executive summaries and key recommendations summaries independently. Effectively presents to the client, utilizing advanced presentation techniques to convey complex data and insights, fostering client understanding and buy-in.
• Planogram Process: Own the transition & revision planogram process from start to finish. This includes managing T&A, confirming item images & attributes, merchandise planning, SVP walk-through support, planogram optimization, and writing all planogram versions. Analyze merchandising and assortment to influence strategy. Develops strategic planograms that align with business objectives and enhance the customer experience. Efficiently writes up to 1,000 planograms, store ties, fixture placement, signage, and proofing.
• Digital Support: Manages the development of comprehensive digital performance reports and seasonal analyses. Conducts in-depth analysis of channel sales performance, search behavior, purchasing ability, and site content and experience. Collaborates with internal digital category experts to identify the correct tools to use for a business question before developing custom outputs. Develops and presents to Target strategic recommendations based on data analysis to support business objectives and improve digital performance.
• Macro & Micro Trends: Research trends and utilize internal resources to gain comprehensive insights. Identify emerging trends and apply these to current and forward-thinking category initiatives. Shares insights and presentations that apply to other categories at JLB to create efficiency and knowledge sharing.

Minimum Qualifications

Education Level: (Required) bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field such as Business, Finance, Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, or a related discipline.

Field of Study/Area of Experience:

6+ years of experience in retail or brand background is a must.

3+ years of relatable Category Advisor or Captainship is preferred but not required.

Target-specific Category Management experience is a plus.

Proficient in diverse tasks including reporting & analytics, setting planograms, planogram writing, creating presentations, and adept presentation delivery. Skilled in synthesizing multiple/extensive resources to craft compelling narratives and actionable insights, with a deep understanding of merchandising strategies and the ability to leverage and apply substantial datasets effectively.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Direct Reports

- This position does not have supervisory responsibilities for direct reports

Indirect Reports

- Does not have direct reports, but may delegate the work of others and provide guidance, direction, and mentoring to indirect reports

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Strategic Thinker: Deep understanding of business strategy with the ability to synthesize data, trends, and insights into actionable recommendations aligned with long-term growth.
• Highly Organized: Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and coordinate across teams with precision and efficiency.
• Advanced Analytical Skills: Expert in evaluating complex data sets and using tools to generate clear, actionable insights.
• Detail-Oriented: Strong attention to data accuracy and integrity, especially in tools like JDA and other planning systems.
• Tool Proficiency: Skilled in Excel, PowerPoint, JDA, POS systems, and market insights platforms (e.g., Kantar, Mintel, Numerator), as well as Target-specific tools.
• Customer Service Focused: Prioritizes clear communication and responsiveness to drive customer satisfaction.
• Self-Starter: Proactive, results-driven, and solutions-oriented with a strong commitment to continuous improvement.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Product Management and Strategy/Planning

• Industries

  Marketing Services and Retail

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Inferred from the description for this job

Medical insurance

Vision insurance

401(k)

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