Category Merchandising Specialist

Objective Partners; New York (NY); On-site; USD 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Objective Partners is seeking a Category Merchandising Specialist to drive horizontal strategies across multiple categories, balancing inventory curation, content development, and performance reporting.

You will work closely with Senior Category Leads to translate strategy into actionable merchandising deliverables, manage multiple workstreams, and maintain high standards of quality while adapting to evolving tools and priorities.

Qualifications

• 2–4 years in merchandising, ecommerce, or related field.
• Strong merchandising instincts and storytelling.
• Data-driven with ability to evaluate performance.
• Excellent organization and attention to detail.
• Experience with content management or merchandising systems.
• Ability to work independently and across teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Curious, adaptable, and fast to learn new tools.
• Passion for creativity and customer experiences.

Responsibilities

• Execute strategies and roadmaps for assigned business areas.
• Translate insights into merchandising deliverables like collections and landing pages.
• Source inventory, refresh content, and coordinate launches.
• Develop understanding of audience, inventory, and competition.
• Curate differentiated inventory reflecting marketplace strengths.
• Build merchandising experiences from curated pages to personalized collections.
• Apply editorial and visual judgment across onsite and marketing touchpoints.
• Support category storytelling through collection development and seller spotlights.

Skills

Merchandising instincts

Data-driven

Organized

Collaborative

Content management

Ecommerce operations

Tools

Content management systems

Job description

About The Role

We’re seeking a Category Merchandising Specialist to help bring horizontal business strategies to life across a dynamic, multi-category marketplace. This role combines strong merchandising instincts, operational excellence, and data-informed decision-making to create compelling experiences that help customers discover unique and relevant products.

The Category Merchandising Specialist will support one or more horizontal businesses spanning multiple categories, customer missions, or inventory segments. Working closely with Senior Category Leads, this role will execute established strategies through inventory curation, content development, performance reporting, and cross-functional coordination.

The ideal candidate will develop a deep understanding of the businesses they support—including their audiences, inventory, performance, seasonal rhythms, and competitive landscape—and use that knowledge to deliver high-quality customer experiences.

This is a hands‑on role for a strong operator and merchant who enjoys translating strategy into action. You’ll manage multiple workstreams, maintain a high bar for accuracy and quality, and adapt as merchandising tools, processes, and priorities evolve.

What You’ll Do

Execute Business Strategies

• Execute strategies, priorities, and roadmaps established by Senior Category Leads for assigned business areas.
• Translate strategic direction and customer insights into clear merchandising deliverables, including collections, landing pages, content modules, and marketing assets.
• Support seasonal, evergreen, and real-time programming by sourcing inventory, building experiences, refreshing content, and coordinating launches.
• Develop a strong understanding of each business’s audience, inventory, performance, and competitive context to strengthen day‑to‑day execution.
• Identify relevant inventory, trends, sellers, and cultural moments that align with established business priorities.

Deliver Merchandising Excellence

• Curate differentiated, high‑quality inventory that reflects the marketplace’s unique strengths and the objectives of each business.
• Build and maintain merchandising experiences ranging from highly curated landing pages to scaled, algorithmically driven collections that support personalized discovery.
• Apply strong editorial and visual judgment to ensure compelling inventory is consistently highlighted across onsite and marketing touchpoints.
• Support category storytelling through collection development, seller spotlights, inventory augmentation, and campaign content.
• Ensure merchandising experiences authentically represent the breadth and diversity of the marketplace.

Support Performance & Optimization

• Monitor business, collection, and listing performance using established reporting and success metrics.
• Surface meaningfully trends, risks, inventory gaps, and execution opportunities to Senior Category Leads.
• Support measurement of merchandising initiatives by gathering results, documenting learnings, and identifying potential optimizations.
• Use performance data and customer signals to inform inventory selection, content refreshes, and day‑to‑day merchandising decisions.
• Develop a strong understanding of key sellers, their inventory, and their needs; support seller outreach and synthesize feedback to inform execution and surface opportunities.
• Make recommendations within established strategies regarding where programming could be improved, refreshed, or expanded.

Drive Operational Excellence

• Build, publish, and quality-check merchandising experiences using content management and merchandising platforms.
• Manage assigned deliverables against established briefs, calendars, and launch timelines.
• Maintain accurate documentation and communicate progress, risks, and dependencies to Senior Category Leads.
• Coordinate inputs, feedback, and approvals across Merchandising, Marketing, Brand, Creative, Product, and other cross‑functional partners.
• Learn and adapt to emerging tools and processes that enable more scalable, dynamic, and personalized merchandising.
• Contribute to broader team priorities and support new executional needs as they arise.

About You

• 2–4 years of experience in merchandising, ecommerce, content programming, marketplace operations, retail, or a related field.
• Strong merchandising instincts with an eye for compelling inventory, product presentation, and storytelling.
• Comfortable using data to evaluate performance, identify patterns, and inform executional decisions.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple assignments and shifting timelines.
• Experience working with content management, ecommerce, or merchandising systems.
• Able to work independently within clear strategic direction while proactively identifying questions, risks, and opportunities.
• Strong collaborator with the ability to coordinate effectively across multiple teams and stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Curious, adaptable, and comfortable learning new tools, systems, and processes.
• Passion for creativity, independent commerce, and creating meaningful customer experiences.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, ethnic origin, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.