Senior Specialist, Category Development

Staples; Framingham (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Inclusive culture with employee groups

Flexible PTO and holiday schedule

Online discounts & wellness programs

Job summary

Staples seeks a Senior Specialist, Category Development to partner with Merchandising and cross-functional teams. You will benchmark markets, analyze category performance, and translate findings into actionable insights that drive growth and margin.

The role requires strong analytical, presentation, and communication skills, with experience turning data into business recommendations. A collaborative mindset across functions will elevate customer value.

Qualifications

• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to synthesize complex information from multiple sources into clear, actionable insights.
• Effective written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Customer-focused mindset with business acumen and curiosity about retail trends.
• Confidence managing multiple priorities and working independently within established processes.
• Collaborative approach across Merchandising, Category Development, Product Development, Marketing, Analytics.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a research and insights partner for Merchandising and cross-functional teams.
• Benchmark markets and competitors; analyze category performance.
• Translate complex findings into actionable insights to drive differentiated growth and margin.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Synthesis

Communication

Business acumen

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Marketing/Analytics

Tools

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

What you will be doing:

As a Senior Specialist, Category Development, you’ll serve as a research and insights partner for Merchandising and cross-functional teams. You’ll benchmark markets and competitors, analyze category performance, and translate complex information into actionable insights that help drive differentiated growth, sustainable incremental margin, and customer value.

What You Bring to the Table:

• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to connect trends, performance metrics, and business results to practical opportunities and risks.
• Ability to synthesize complex information from multiple sources into clear, actionable insights and recommendations.
• Effective written, verbal, and presentation communication skills, including the ability to translate complex findings into concise business implications.
• Customer-focused mindset, strong business acumen, and curiosity about retail, consumer behavior, market trends, and competitive dynamics.
• Confidence managing multiple priorities, working independently within established processes, and escalating complex or high-risk issues when appropriate.
• Collaborative approach with the ability to partner across Merchandising, Category Development, Product Development, Marketing, Analytics, and other cross-functional teams.

What’s needed: Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Merchandising, Analytics, Market Research, or related field.
• 2+ years of experience in category management, merchandising, market research, consumer insights, business analytics, or related field.
• Experience analyzing quantitative and qualitative data from multiple sources.
• Experience creating reports, presentations, dashboards, or stakeholder recommendations that translate insights into action.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience supporting Private Brand, product development, or innovation initiatives in retail, consumer products, category management, or merchandising environments.

Experience using market research, competitive intelligence, or benchmarking tools to develop executive-level presentations and business recommendations.

Advanced proficiency with Excel and data analysis techniques.

We Offer:

• Inclusive culture with associate-led Business Resource Groups
• Flexible PTO (22 days) and Holiday Schedule (7 observed paid holidays)
• Online and Retail Discounts, Company Match 401(k), Physical and Mental Health Wellness programs, and more!