Advisor, Category Planning - Analytics

Cardinal Health•Dublin, OH

About The Position

Marketing is responsible for assessing customer needs, market conditions and competition to inform business strategy. Marketing implements the strategy through developing, commercializing and monitoring the appropriate products and services. Category Planning is responsible for the aggregation, reporting and forecasting of designated businesses and their P&L. Supports Category Management team on building category financial plans that support and drive the desired financial results that increase market share and exceed customer expectations. The Category Planning team is a strategic business partner embedded deeply within Pharmaceutical Division Consumer Health Category Management, dedicated to turning market and performance data into a competitive advantage. By leveraging advanced analytics platforms and business intelligence tools, we uncover the story behind the numbers to solve complex commercial challenges. Our insights directly shape category strategies, influence product assortments, and drive measurable business growth. We serve as the vital link between data and execution, empowering Category Management leaders to anticipate market trends, track performance seamlessly, and make confident, profitable decisions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Analytics, Data Analytics, Economics, Finance, Statistics, Data Science, or equivalent work experience preferred
4+ years of experience in category management/category planning analytics, commercial/sales operations analytics, or a similar data-driven role, preferred
Advanced experience designing and building interactive dashboards using modern BI tools (Looker, PowerBI, Tableau or similar).
Experience with workflow automation tools (Alteryx or similar) is highly preferred
Strong proficiency in writing and optimizing SQL queries, with hands-on experience using cloud data warehouses (e.g., Google BigQuery), preferred
Experience or strong interest in leveraging AI tools (Gemini, Copilot or similar) and automation (e.g., prompt engineering, workflow automation) to improve reporting speed and efficiency is highly preferred
Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills, with a proven ability to translate complex business questions into clear, scalable analytical solutions
Strong analytical problem-solving skills and strict attention to detail/data hygiene
Prior experience using enterprise ERP systems (e.g., SAP) or working within the Pharmaceutical Distribution / Consumer Health / Retail industry is a plus
Familiarity with incorporating and analyzing non-transactional or syndicated market data (e.g., NIQ, IRI) alongside internal financial metrics is a plus

Responsibilities

Support the creation and maintenance of core reports and dashboards, balancing speed, accuracy, and usability.
Partner with internal teams and external stakeholders to gather data requirements, clarify the underlying business questions, and apply that context to tool creation.
Fulfill ad-hoc reporting requests while actively working to translate routine asks into scalable, repeatable reporting solutions.
Point stakeholders to "single source of truth" dashboards to provide visibility and avoid unnecessarily re-creating analyses.
Assist in integrating non-transactional data (e.g., category mappings, financial budgets, market data) into our reporting workflows, supporting standard intake processes and documentation standards.
Apply strong data hygiene and quality assurance discipline. Validate inputs and outputs using reasonableness checks, variance flags, and source reconciliation before releasing tools or insights.
Develop a deep familiarity with standard metrics, definitions, and assumptions to continuously build technical and business acumen, progressing toward full tool ownership.
Explore and promote early use cases for AI and automation to enhance reporting workflows and support faster business decision-making.
Assist with meeting preparation by pulling relevant metrics, summarizing key insights, and highlighting open questions or risks for business leaders.
Manage workloads using agreed-upon criteria (business impact, urgency, effort, dependencies) and communicate tradeoffs early.
Provide clear, continuous updates to stakeholders, confirming receipt of requests, communicating progress or blockers, and closing the loop with exceptional accuracy and attention to detail.
Build strong interpersonal skills with business partners, practice professional clarification and constructive pushback to ensure alignment on scope and deliverables.