Category Specialist

Insight Global; Rhode Island; On-site; USD 33,000 - 41,000; Full time

Job summary

Insight Global is seeking a highly organized Category Specialist for its Beauty & Personal Care Merchandising team in Rhode Island. You will drive category growth, manage assortments across brands, and support planograms, in-store merchandising, and promotions.

The role offers exposure to category strategy, vendor partnerships, lifecycle management, and retail analytics, with clear paths to Category Manager and leadership roles.

Qualifications

• 2+ years in a CPG manufacturer, retail, merchandising, buying, or category planning.
• Strong organizational and project management skills to handle multiple initiatives.
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and large datasets.
• Ability to collaborate across departments and communicate effectively.

Responsibilities

• Execute category strategies to drive sales growth, margins, and market share.
• Manage product assortments across brands and ensure alignment with demand and objectives.
• Develop and maintain planograms, product placement, shelf allocation, and visual merchandising.
• Coordinate introductions, transitions, and discontinuations across stores.
• Monitor category performance and identify opportunities to optimize assortment.
• Plan and execute promotions; ensure materials and signage are accurate in stores.
• Track promotion performance and analyze post-promotion results.
• Ensure pricing accuracy and promotional compliance across products and locations.
• Coordinate vendor communications and promotional planning activities.
• Prepare for vendor meetings with sales data, insights, and assortment recommendations.
• Maintain timelines and deliverables to meet launch deadlines.

Skills

2+ years CPG merchandising experience

Strong organizational skills

Excellent attention to detail

Analytical and problem-solving

Cross-functional collaboration

Project and deadline management

Strategic merchandising sense

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Our client is seeking a highly organized and detail-oriented Category Specialist to join their Beauty & Personal Care Merchandising team. This position serves as a critical partner to category leadership, helping drive category growth, support merchandising strategies, and ensure the successful execution of product assortments, promotions, planograms, and in-store merchandising initiatives.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to build a long-term career in merchandising, category management, or retail buying. The individual in this role will gain exposure to category strategy, vendor partnerships, product lifecycle management, and retail analytics, creating a clear path toward future Category Manager and leadership opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

Category & Merchandising Support

• Partner closely with merchandising leaders to execute category strategies that support sales growth, margin objectives, and market share expansion.
• Assist in managing product assortments across multiple brands and categories, ensuring products align with customer demand and business objectives.
• Support the development and maintenance of planograms, product placement strategies, shelf allocation decisions, and visual merchandising initiatives.
• Coordinate the introduction of new products, product transitions, and item discontinuations across stores.
• Monitor category performance and identify opportunities for assortment optimization and sales improvement.

Promotional & Marketing Execution

• Support the planning and execution of promotional events, seasonal product launches, and marketing campaigns.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure promotional materials, displays, and signage are accurately executed in stores.
• Track promotion performance and assist with post-promotion analysis to identify successes and opportunities for improvement.
• Ensure pricing accuracy and promotional compliance across products and locations.
• Serve as a liaison between merchandising, inventory planning, supply chain, marketing, store operations, and external vendor partners.
• Assist with vendor communications, product information gathering, and promotional planning activities.
• Coordinate timelines and deliverables to ensure projects remain on schedule and meet launch deadlines.
• Support preparation for vendor meetings by organizing sales data, category insights, and assortment recommendations.

Reporting & Analytics

• Utilize data and reporting tools to analyze product performance, sales trends, inventory levels, and market opportunities.
• Create and maintain reports that provide visibility into category health, promotional effectiveness, and product performance.
• Identify trends and insights that can help drive strategic merchandising decisions.
• Support forecasting, budgeting, and financial planning activities.

Operational Support

• Maintain product information, item setup, pricing details, and merchandising documentation.
• Ensure accuracy of category databases, reports, and internal systems.
• Troubleshoot day-to-day issues related to products, inventory, promotions, and store execution.
• Manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced retail environment while maintaining strong attention to detail.

Required Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience within a consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturer, retail organization, merchandising, buying, category management, or analytical business environment.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to work effectively in a deadline-driven environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and experience working with large datasets.
• Ability to collaborate across multiple departments and communicate effectively with various stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Passion for beauty, cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, or the broader beauty industry.
• Previous experience supporting merchandising, buying, category management, or retail planning functions.
• Experience working with product assortments, promotions, planograms, or inventory management.
• Familiarity with retail analytics, sales reporting, and market trend analysis.

This position offers significant exposure to merchandising strategy and leadership within a high-performing retail organization.

Compensation: $24 - 30/hr. Exact compensation may vary based on several factors, including skills, experience, and education.