Category Executive

Dis-Chem Pharmacies; Midrand; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Dis-Chem Pharmacies is seeking a Category Executive to lead the end-to-end category strategy, drive growth, and ensure alignment with commercial priorities across the category ecosystem.

The role mandates strong leadership, proven strategy development, and the ability to manage cross-functional teams including buyers and planners, while safeguarding profitability and governance standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, commerce, economics or similar field.
• Minimum 10-12 years of experience in category management, merchandising, or commercial management.
• Proven track record in strategy development and P&L ownership.
• Experience managing cross-functional category teams.
• Leadership experience, including managing cross-functional category teams.

Responsibilities

• Define the end-to-end category specific strategy, including growth ambitions, customer value proposition, financial targets and competitive positioning.
• Set category assortment architecture, SKU rationalisation principles and portfolio balance.
• Develop category pricing and promotion principles within Commercial.
• Decision Intelligence (CoE) guardrails.
• Lead and influence cross-functional teams including category managers, buyers and planners.
• Communicate category strategies clearly and ensure shared understanding of priorities across execution teams.
• Provide strategic guidance to category teams to ensure execution accuracy and quality.
• Ensure all category decisions comply with commercial guardrails for margin, profitability and pricing architecture.
• Ensure category strategies comply with data, policy and financial governance standards.
• Identify and elevate risks related to commercial performance vulnerabilities.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Commercial acumen

Category management

Leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, commerce, economics or similar field

Job description

The Category Executive is the strategic owner of the category and provides commercial direction to the category ecosystem ensuring clear alignment to commercial priorities.

Minimum Requirements…

• Bachelor’s degree in business, commerce, economics or similar field OR
• Minimum 10-12 years of experience in category management, merchandising,
• or commercial management.
• Proven track record in strategy development and P&L ownership.
• Experience managing cross-functional category teams.
• Leadership experience, including managing cross-functional category teams.

Advantageous:

• N/A

Job Specification…

Strategy and value delivery

• Define the end-to-end category specific strategy, including growth ambitions, customer value proposition, financial targets and competitive positioning.
• Set category assortment architecture, SKU rationalisation principles and portfolio balance.
• Develop category pricing and promotion principles within Commercial
• Decision Intelligence (CoE) guardrails.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead and influence cross-functional teams including category managers, buyers and planners.
• Communicate category strategies clearly and ensure shared understanding of priorities across execution teams.
• Provide strategic guidance to category teams to ensure execution accuracy and quality.

Governance & Risk

• Ensure all category decisions comply with commercial guardrails for margin, profitability and pricing architecture.
• Ensure category strategies comply with data, policy and financial governance standards.
• Identify and elevate risks related to commercial performance Vulnerabilities.

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinker able to integrate insights, customer behaviour and market trends
• Strong commercial and financial acumen
• Deep understanding of category management and retail operations

Special conditions of employment:

Key performance indicators:

• Commercial performance – Category sales growth (%), gross margin (%) and market share growth (%).

• Portfolio performance – Assortment productivity (sales per SKU)
• Promotional and pricing effectiveness – Promotional ROI and pricing competitiveness.
• Improvement in team culture score.