Dairy Category Strategist — Hybrid Role

Cub; Stillwater (MN); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive 401k

Flexible PTO

Hybrid work

Health benefits

Mentorship program

Job summary

UNFI is seeking a Dairy Category Manager in Stillwater, MN. The role develops category strategies to drive sales, profitability, and market share while aligning with merchandising goals. The job requires strong analytical skills, vendor negotiations, and cross-functional collaboration.

The position involves a hybrid work model with three days in the Stillwater office, along with travel to company offices, distribution centers, or other locations for meetings and program execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; equivalent relevant work experience in food retail considered
• Strong merchandising and category management background with store operations exposure
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to analyze category performance

Responsibilities

• Develops annual category business plans, including sales and gross profit projections based on historical performance, market trends, and competitive analysis
• Creates pricing strategies, promotional calendars, and assortments by category and zone to optimize sales and profitability
• Manages vendor relationships, negotiations, item authorizations, and line discontinuations to maximize profitability
• Designs schematics and adjacencies to strengthen category roles across departments
• Plans ads, displays, and merchandising programs across stores and ensures alignment with strategies
• Performs post-promotional and ongoing performance analysis and maintains scorecards
• Collaborates cross-functionally with procurement, merchandising, store operations, and corporate teams to meet targets
• Regular store visits to assess program execution and opportunities

Skills

Merchandising

Category management

Analytical thinking

Negotiation

Excel

P&L understanding

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Tools

ERP systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

UNFI is seeking a Dairy Category Manager in Stillwater, MN. The role develops category strategies to drive sales, profitability, and market share while aligning with merchandising goals. The job requires strong analytical skills, vendor negotiations, and cross-functional collaboration.

The position involves a hybrid work model with three days in the Stillwater office, along with travel to company offices, distribution centers, or other locations for meetings and program execution.