Director of Category Management

Next Phase Enterprises; Bentonville (AR); On-site; USD 126,000 - 161,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

401(k) profit sharing

Vacation

Holidays

Floating Holidays

Company-paid LTD and life insurance

Sick leave

Job summary

Next Phase Enterprises seeks a Director of Category Management to lead a team of Category Advisors in transforming retail, shopper, market, and consumer data into actionable growth strategies. You will guide cross-functional teams and work with retailers, suppliers, and executives to translate complex data into clear recommendations.

The role focuses on category strategy, analytics, shopper insights, and optimizing assortment, pricing, and promotion.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Analytics, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in a CPG Category Management role with complex modular systems.
• Strong understanding of retail and CPG business models.
• Experience analyzing data across price, promotion, assortment, and performance.
• Robust storytelling skills with data visualization examples.
• Experience with clients, retailers, suppliers, or senior stakeholders.
• Advanced Excel and PowerPoint; Tableau/Power BI is a plus.
• Strong communication and presentation skills; team leadership experience.
• Travel willingness of 10–20%

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and mentorship to Category Advisors and analysts.
• Lead client engagements from discovery to implementation and expand services.
• Develop customized solutions based on client objectives and challenges.
• Present findings to senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Partner with sales, retailers, and suppliers to drive category growth.
• Develop category reviews, business reviews, and retailer presentations.
• Lead modular and space planning initiatives to optimize productivity.
• Translate retailer expectations into actionable internal strategies.
• Build data-driven dashboards and analytical frameworks to inform decisions.

Skills

Category Management

Retail Analytics

Data storytelling

Leadership

Client facing

Excel

PowerPoint

Tableau/Power BI

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Analytics, or related field

Master's Degree preferred

Tools

JDA Space Planning

Blue Yonder

Retail Link

Scintilla

Nielsen/Circana

SPINS

Tableau/Power BI

Job description

Job Title: Director of Category Management

Employment Type: Full Time

Reports To: President

Travel: 10%

Work Schedule: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm

Pay Range: 126,000-160,800k per year

Incentive Pay: Quarterly performance bonus

Benefits Summary: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k) profit sharing, Vacation, Holidays, Floating Holidays, Company-paid LTD and life insurance, and Sick leave

Position Summary

The Director of Category Management is responsible for leading a team of exceptional Category Advisors to help Next Phase Enterprises turn retail, shopper, market, and consumer data into actionable strategies that drive profitable growth both internally and with our external partners.

This role serves as the Team Lead, combining category management expertise, retail analytics, shopper insights, market intelligence, and commercial strategy to identify opportunities and develop solutions that improve internal and external sales, profitability, assortment, pricing, promotion, distribution, and overall category performance.

The Director partners closely with retailers, suppliers, sales teams, brand teams, and executive leadership to understand business objectives, uncover growth opportunities, and translate complex data into clear, compelling recommendations that influence decision-making.

Core Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Capability Development

• Provide strategic direction and mentorship to Category Advisors, analysts, and other team members.
• Establish best practices, processes, and standard operating procedures for category management and insights.
• Improve the organization's analytical capabilities, tools, and methodologies.
• Develop training and educational resources to elevate category management expertise across the organization.
• Lead cross-functional teams on complex client and internal initiatives.
• Promote a culture of fact-based decision-making, curiosity, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Client Consulting & Business Development

• Create an environment and reputation of excellence, hard work, and trust to clients.
• Lead client engagements from discovery and analysis through recommendation and implementation.
• Develop customized solutions based on individual client objectives and business challenges.
• Present findings and recommendations to senior-level internal and external stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to expand existing client relationships through additional analytics, insights, category management, and consulting services.
• Support new business development through presentations, proposals, capabilities discussions, and strategic pitches.

Retailer & Internal Collaboration

• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Understand retailer priorities, category strategies, shopper objectives, and competitive dynamics.
• Partner with sales teams to strengthen customer conversations through data and insights.
• Translate retailer expectations into actionable strategies for internal teams and partners.

Buyer Relationship-Building

• Serve as a key, customer-facing contact for multiple Walmart Merchants by providing category expertise and strategic guidance for the Advisorships we are responsible for
• Create and lead shopper- and category-centric presentations, founded in research and data analysis, that support Walmart's category performance objectives
• Develop and champion a long-term vision for our Retailer partners that enhance convenience, drive incremental purchases, and improve overall trip conversion
• Provide strategic and ongoing holistic category and shopper recommendations to the Walmart Merchant Teams, accounting for consumer and market trends, assortment, space, merchandising, and seasonal timing/reset calendars
• Bring a customer service and start-up mindset, eager to elevate the Retailer by utilizing a shopper-first approach

Category Strategy & Management

• Develop and execute category management strategies designed to drive sales, profitability, market share, and category growth.
• Analyze category performance, shopper behavior, competitive activity, assortment, pricing, promotion, and distribution to identify opportunities and risks.
• Develop category reviews, business reviews, strategic recommendations, and retailer presentations.
• Evaluate product portfolios and identify opportunities for assortment optimization, innovation, SKU rationalization, and whitespace.
• Help internal partners understand the role their brands and products play within the broader category and retailer ecosystem.
• Develop fact-based recommendations that align supplier objectives with retailer and shopper needs.

Retail Analytics & Insights

• Leverage retail and consumer data to uncover actionable business insights.
• Analyze sales trends, market share, velocity, distribution, pricing, promotional performance, and competitive activity.
• Utilize syndicated, retailer, shopper, and consumer data sources to develop a comprehensive view of category performance.
• Translate complex datasets into clear, executive-level stories and recommendations.
• Identify emerging trends and changes in shopper behavior that may impact client businesses.
• Build repeatable analytical frameworks, dashboards, reports, and tools that improve decision-making.

Shopper & Consumer Insights

• Incorporate shopper behavior and consumer research into category strategies and recommendations.
• Develop shopper-centric insights that explain not only what is happening, but why it is happening.
• Design and utilize shopper surveys, research, and other insight-generation methodologies.
• Identify consumer needs, purchase drivers, barriers, occasions, and emerging trends.
• Connect shopper insights to actionable assortment, merchandising, pricing, packaging, innovation, and marketing recommendations.

Modular Drawing

• Lead the design and optimization of space allocation frameworks for all of Next Phase’s Category Advisorships, driving data-driven space and modular strategies that maximize category productivity, enhance shopper experience, and support sustainable growth.
• Manage the end-to-end modular-drawing process, including assortment, modular, and space allocation strategies that optimize productivity across in-line and seasonal (endcap/feature) destinations
• Own the evolution of merchandising standards for our categories — in-line, endcap, and seasonal feature placements — by developing scalable space solutions that improve visibility, availability, and purchase conversion
• Influence future assortment and modular/reset strategies, fighting to increase Walmart's market share and optimize productivity

The Director is expected to produce and/or oversee:

• Category reviews and retailer presentations
• Category growth strategies
• Retailer and supplier business reviews
• Shopper and consumer insight studies
• Competitive and market analyses
• Assortment and SKU recommendations
• Pricing and promotional analyses
• Sales and performance dashboards
• Client strategic recommendations
• Category management tools and frameworks
• Standard operating procedures and analytical processes
• New business proposals and client pitches

Success Metrics

Success in the role is measured by the ability to:

• Generate measurable sales and profit growth for internal stakeholders.
• Identify and capitalize on meaningful category and shopper opportunities.
• Strengthen internal and external relationships and increase client retention.
• Expand existing Retailer relationships through additional services.
• Win new consulting and analytics business.
• Improve the quality, speed, and scalability of analytical deliverables.
• Increase adoption of data-driven decision-making among clients and internal teams.
• Develop and mentor high-performing category management talent.
• Establish Next Phase Enterprises as a trusted authority in category management, retail analytics, and shopper insights.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Analytics, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in a CPG Category Management role, including managing highly complex modular systems and thousands of planograms annually, ideally including seasonal/holiday reset cycles
• Strong understanding of retail and CPG business models.
• Experience analyzing data across a variety of category management insight areas, including price and promotion optimization, assortment rationalization, new item performance, basket affinity analysis, cross shop, source of volume, switching, etc.
• Robust storytelling skills and ability to visualize data in a compelling manner (portfolio of examples preferred)
• Experience working directly with clients, retailers, suppliers, or senior business stakeholders.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills, including pivot tables, slicers, and formulas to automate and add value to reporting; Tableau/Power BI a plus
• Strong presentation skills and ability to influence and persuade others
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to deliver clear and concise information to both internal and external stakeholders
• Experience in managing a team of Category Advisors with multiple Advisorships
• Customer-facing experience (Category Advisor/Captain experience strongly preferred)
• Strong knowledge of core data sets, including point-of-sale and household data (i.e. Nielsen, Circana, SPINS, Numerator, Scintilla)
• Advanced Blue Yonder / JDA Space Planning and Automation Software skills for modular and planogram management
• Strong working knowledge of Walmart systems and tools, including Retail Link (POS, inventory, and replenishment data) and Scintilla (Walmart's advanced supplier analytics platform, including Customer Perception and Store Assortment & Space Analytics).
• Outstanding organizational, presentation, and follow-up skills; self-starter, detail-oriented, highly organized, with the ability to multitask and work in a team-oriented environment
• Master's Degree preferred
• Ability to travel 10-20%

Preferred

• Experience working within the Walmart ecosystem.
• Experience with syndicated and/or retailer-specific data platforms.
• Experience conducting shopper or consumer research.
• Experience managing or mentoring teams.
• Consulting or agency experience.
• Experience developing retailer presentations and customer-facing selling stories.
• Experience with business development and client acquisition.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Thinking
• Category Management
• Retail Analytics
• Data Interpretation
• Executive Communication
• Client Consulting
• Business Development
• Storytelling & Presentation
• Relationship Management
• Problem Solving
• Commercial Acumen

Hiring Process

Our process may include application review, interviews, assessments, reference checks, and a conditional offer.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

The Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected status.

Accommodation Statement

Applicants needing accommodation during the hiring process may contact human resources @ [e-mail].

Work Authorization

Employment is contingent upon the ability to work lawfully in the United States and completion of employment eligibility verification after hire.

Background Check / Drug Testing

Employment offers may be contingent upon job-related screening, where permitted by law.

At Will Employment

Employment with FoodStory Brands is at-will, meaning either the employee or the company may end the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause or notice, unless otherwise required by applicable law.

This job postings not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications associated with the role. The company reserves the right to modify this description at any time.