Assistant Category Merchant , Dairy Specialty, Specialty Cheese

AmazonAustin, TX
$53,700 - $94,000Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Category Merchant supports Whole Foods Market's Specialty Dairy category merchandising workstreams, contributing to the development and execution of strategies that deliver a differentiated assortment aligned with customer demand, quality standards, and financial goals.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in supply chain, business, engineering, finance or related technical or quantitative field, or 2+ years of industry work experience
  • 1+ years of experience in buying, category management, account management, or program management within a retail environment.
  • Intermediate proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, data analysis) and experience with business intelligence or analytics tools.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage vendor relationships, analyze sales data, and support assortment or promotional planning.

Nice To Haves

  • 1+ years of experience in specialty food, cheese, or perishable category management within a retail or grocery environment.
  • Knowledge of artisan and specialty cheese.
  • Experience managing supplier and distributor relationships.
  • Proficiency in analyzing sales, margin, and assortment data.
  • Experience with retail analytics tools (e.g. Nielsen or internal WFM/Amazon reporting systems) to evaluate item performance, promotional lift, and regional trends.
  • Familiarity with food safety and compliance requirements for perishable/dairy categories.
  • Understanding of seasonal merchandising and promotional planning — including experience supporting destination programs, cut-to-order, or demo/sampling initiatives.
  • Strong cross-functional collaboration skills — ability to partner with various support teams, operations, and marketing on assortment and merchandising decisions.
  • Passion for food, cheese culture, and customer experience — demonstrated through industry involvement (e.g., ACS certification, cheese education, food industry events).

Responsibilities

  • Supports program execution in partnership with Compliance, Marketing, E-Commerce, Operations, Finance, and Technology teams to ensure initiatives are delivered on time and aligned with category objectives.
  • Reviews and analyzes category performance metrics, sales trends, and financial health to identify growth opportunities, inform assortment decisions, and support margin optimization.
  • Maintains and updates the Specialty Dairy assortment, ensuring product mix reflects market trends, seasonal opportunities, supplier capabilities, and regional customer preferences.
  • Supports vendor communication, pricing negotiations, and delivery timelines to ensure product availability and alignment with merchandising plans.
  • Leverages sales data, inventory reports, and market insights to forecast demand and make recommendations for future product assortment and promotional strategies.
  • Assists in maintaining visual merchandising standards and promotional execution that elevate the Specialty Dairy category in-store and online.

Benefits

  • health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage)
  • 401(k) matching
  • paid time off
  • parental leave
  • sign-on payments
  • restricted stock units (RSUs)
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