Sr Manager Merchandising Strategy

Ulta Beauty; Bolingbrook (IL); On-site; USD 119,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

Life insurance

Disability benefits

Paid time off

Job summary

Ulta Beauty is seeking a Senior Manager, Category Strategy & Insights to partner with Merchandising leadership. You will own category diagnostics, generate insights, and craft narratives that guide assortment, brands, and in-market execution.

You will lead analytics, leverage market tools, and translate trends into strategic implications, shaping enterprise planning and cross-functional initiatives. This is a senior IC role with leadership responsibilities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in strategy consulting or strategic roles within retail, beauty, or consumer industries.
• Strong strategic thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Excellent financial acumen with ability to evaluate drivers of profitable growth.
• Ability to distill complex data into clear, actionable insights and narratives.
• Proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint; data fluency to translate data into insights.
• Collaborative and able to influence across functions and with senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Serve as strategic partner to Merchandising leadership to shape category growth plans.
• Diagnose performance drivers and competitive dynamics to identify risks and opportunities.
• Translate market trends into category-level implications and whitespace opportunities.
• Lead deep-dive analyses to answer critical business questions and inform decisions.
• Provide strategic and analytical support for priority brand conversations and assortment decisions.
• Develop executive-ready narratives for planning milestones and reviews.
• Translate strategy into actionable recommendations and KPIs; track impact.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Financial acumen

Data fluency

Excel

PowerPoint

Cross-functional collaboration

Leadership mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or advanced degree preferred

Tools

NIQ

Circana

Panel data tools

Job description

Overview

Discover greater levels of performance. With over 1,400 stores throughout the U.S. and an innovative omni-channel ecosystem, Ulta Beauty is revolutionizing the beauty retail experience. Ulta Beauty is expanding its digital capabilities, opening new stores on a continual basis and re-designing existing locations with the latest design and technological advancements for heightened guest experiences. We’re not just growing, we’re thriving through consistent innovation and a bold commitment to re-imagination. If you want the opportunity to build something strategic, to take ownership of your career trajectory, to apply your passion to operational excellence, Ulta Beauty provides the kind of stability and support few organizations can match. So be curious. Be flexible. Be more than you thought possible. The future is yours at Ulta Beauty.

Discover greater levels of performance. With over 1,400 stores throughout the U.S. and an innovative omni-channel ecosystem, Ulta Beauty is revolutionizing the beauty retail experience. Ulta Beauty is expanding its digital capabilities, opening new stores on a continual basis and re-designing existing locations with the latest design and technological advancements for heightened guest experiences. We’re not just growing, we’re thriving through consistent innovation and a bold commitment to re-imagination. If you want the opportunity to build something strategic, to take ownership of your career trajectory, to apply your passion to operational excellence, Ulta Beauty provides the kind of stability and support few organizations can match. So be curious. Be flexible. Be more than you thought possible. The future is yours at Ulta Beauty.

The Impact You Can Have

The Senior Manager, Category Strategy & Insights serves as a strategic partner to Merchant leadership—owning category-level diagnostics, insight generation, and strategic storytelling that drive growth and performance. Embedded within assigned categories, this leader translates market dynamics, competitive shifts, consumer trends, and internal performance data into actionable strategies that shape assortment, brand decisions, innovation priorities, and in-market execution. This role bridges analytics and strategy—moving beyond reporting to identify “who’s winning and why,” uncover whitespace opportunities, and enable merchants to make informed, forward-looking decisions. The Senior Manager will play a critical role in category reviews, brand conversations, and enterprise planning moments by delivering clear insights and strong strategic implications. This is a senior individual contributor role with significant cross-functional leadership responsibility.

YOU'LL ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS BY:

Category Strategy Leadership

• Serve as strategic thought partner to Merchandising leadership, shaping category growth plans
• Diagnose performance drivers and competitive dynamics to identify risks and opportunities
• Translate consumer, market, and macro trends into clear category-level implications
• Identify whitespace across assortment, innovation, and brand mix

Performance & Competitive Analytics

• Lead deep-dive analyses to answer critical business questions (“who’s winning and why”)
• Leverage internal data and market measurement tools (NIQ/Circana, panel, etc.) to inform decisions
• Standardize insights and frameworks to elevate recurring category reviews
• Conduct post-mortems and recommend performance optimization actions

Brand & Assortment Strategy

• Provide strategic and analytical support for priority brand conversations
• Inform assortment decisions through portfolio balance and incrementality assessment
• Develop executive-ready narratives for ABP, T2T, and key planning milestones

Execution & Impact Tracking

• Translate strategy into actionable recommendations and measurable KPIs
• Partner cross-functionally to align execution and monitor impact
• Refine recommendations based on performance outcomes

Operational Excellence

• Improve efficiency and automation in reporting and recurring analyses
• Mentor Analysts and elevate analytical rigor across the team

THE ESSENTIALS FOR SUCCESS:

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred
• 7+ years of relevant experience in strategy consulting or strategic roles within retail, beauty, or consumer industries
• Exceptional strategic thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Strong financial acumen with the ability to evaluate drivers of profitable growth, including sales, margin, and productivity
• Proven ability to distill complex data into clear, actionable insights and business narratives
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint; strong data fluency with the ability to independently translate complex data into clear strategic insights
• Strong collaboration and influencing skills; comfortable engaging across functions and with senior leaders
• Highly proactive, resourceful, and adaptable in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Skilled at managing multiple priorities, meeting deadlines, and driving progress with a positive, solutions-oriented mindset
• Passion for the beauty industry and deep understanding of the retail and consumer landscape

The pay range for this position is $119,300.00 - $175,000.00 / Year with the opportunity for eligible associates to earn additional compensation pursuant to the Company’s bonus plan. Exact pay will be based on factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, level, shift, geographic location, and business and organizational needs. Full-time positions are eligible for paid time off, health, dental, vision, life and disability benefits. Part-time positions are eligible for dental, vision, life, and disability benefits. For additional information concerning our benefits, visit our Benefits and Career Development page: https://learn.bswift.com/ulta

About

At Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA), the possibilities are beautiful. Ulta Beauty is the largest North American beauty retailer and the premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, hair care products and salon services. We bring possibilities to life through the power of beauty each and every day in our stores and online with more than 25,000 products from approximately 500 well-established and emerging beauty brands across all categories and price points, including Ulta Beauty’s own private label. Ulta Beauty also offers a full-service salon in every store featuring-hair, skin, brow, and make-up services.

We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest records, conviction records, or other criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of any applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the New York City Fair Chance Act.