VP, Category Management, Health & Beauty Care, Mass Beauty and Baby

Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President, Front Store & Category Management, the incumbent will guide, direct and oversee a team of Category Management professionals to ensure the maximization of sales, profits and market share for all categories within the business unit.

Primary Responsibilities:

1. Develop and provide strategic direction and plans to enhance and drive departmental performance.

2. Manage components of vendor relationships including financial objectives, targets, joint business plan objectives and tracking, and ensuring mutual objectives are achieved.

3. Prepare and achieve financial budgets by category to increase market share, top line sales, gross profit dollars and program funds, while minimizing and reducing costs and all other related category expenses.

4. Develop, execute and monitor and continually adjust a promotional strategy plan to drive top line sales and increase gross margin dollar profit.

5. Manage, evaluate, develop and implement category tactics and strategies to maximize efficiency and adapt to changes in the marketplace to ensure market share growth.  Develop and establish short and long term departmental goals, objectives policies and operating procedures.

6. Oversee workload and provide staff supervision to ensure that work is done accurately, efficiently and complies with policies, procedures and standards as well as best working practices. 

7. Provide guidance, motivation, and performance review including hiring and terminating employees, maintain and enhance competency levels, identify future training requirements and achieve goals to increase performance. 

8. Attend various meetings with key stakeholders and senior management to ensure category management objectives and strategies are communicated and are aligned with the overall organizational plan.

Skills, Knowledge & Education:

Skills:  

This position requires a superior level of initiative and judgment in order to organize and prioritize tasks, workload and projects. Courtesy, tact and diplomacy are required in dealing with colleagues in every day working relationships.

• Requires extensive knowledge and skill in multiple disciplines to be able to integrate them effectively and a capacity to understand and interpret conflicting goals and needs of diverse groups.
• Organizes a diverse function or integrated units by developing plans and setting directions.
• Negotiates in highly competitive or adversarial circumstances where extensive skills in negotiation or high levels of diplomacy are needed. 
• Develops new techniques and innovative approaches to further continuous improvements.
• Decisions are highly complex in nature involving multiple elements, factors and interests to develop new models and processes to meet future needs within a framework of corporate policy, general direction, multiple needs and legislated compliance.
• Adaptable to set and prioritize work with multiple exceptions.  Able to work with diverse personalities and styles.
• Communicates with clarity, verbally and in one on one or group situations, or over the telephone.
• Communicates well in writing by composing clear documents; facility with editing and/or proof-reading is required.
• Computer skills to create and interpret reports, documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
• Business acumen - advanced knowledge of strategic planning, retail operations, public relations, project management and media, relationship management principles and practices.

Education & Job Knowledge:  

Post secondary equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Retail or related field.

Experience:

Greater than ten years experience in retail, business, marketing or equivalent experience.