Category Analyst II

Kohler Co. • Kohler, WI

5d • Onsite

About The Position

Kohler Co. is seeking an analytical candidate with strong business acumen and a results-oriented approach to join a Kitchen & Bath category team. The Category Analyst II owns increasingly complex portions of category management and business execution, turning market, customer, financial, operational, and competitive data into recommendations that help Product Managers, Directors, and Category Leaders make informed decisions. The role supports multiple Product Managers and owns recurring business processes and operating rhythms. It requires understanding business questions, diagnosing underlying drivers, identifying risks and opportunities, and recommending actions to improve category performance. It also develops decision-making capability and business ownership in preparation for future Product Management responsibilities.

The position is onsite in Kohler, Wisconsin, four days per week, with approximately 10 to 20 percent annual travel to Kohler manufacturing locations, customers, and the market. The salary range is $73,250 to $111,350, and the position is eligible for performance bonus or variable incentive compensation. Kohler offers applicable benefits beginning on the first day of employment.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required.
• At least 2 years of experience with a track record of high performance in an analytical or business-facing role.
• Proficiency in Excel and comfort working with large data sets, reporting tools, and AI tools.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Curiosity, creative thinking, accountability for outcomes, and initiative to find solutions and work effectively with all levels of the organization.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

• Exposure to category management, product management, demand planning, supply chain, analytics, finance, or commercial analytics.
• Working knowledge of new product development, channel marketing, manufacturing, forecasting, production planning, and category business management.

Responsibilities

• Own recurring business processes and analytical responsibilities for assigned portions of the category.
• Translate customer, channel, financial, and operational signals into actionable business recommendations.
• Develop scenario analyses, options, and recommended actions for Product Managers and Directors.
• Lead assigned topics during demand planning, pricing, supply, inventory, and category performance reviews.
• Recommend forecast assumptions, inventory actions, promotional activity, pricing opportunities, and portfolio priorities within established business guidelines.
• Track key business actions and help resolve cross-functional issues.
• Build comprehensive unit forecasts for assigned product lines and recommend actions, projecting the first-order impact of promotions, load-ins, load-outs, and customer inventory changes.
• Turn point-of-sale, shipment, orders, and weeks-of-stock analysis into forecast recommendations and summaries for the team.
• Project inventory levels, anticipate supply shortages and excess, and raise flags early so cross-functional teams can address root causes.
• Apply available levers to adjust future inventory position, supporting new product introductions, discontinuations, and service performance.
• Conduct category pricing analysis using price elasticity principles and project future elasticity impacts from historical data.
• Perform break-even analysis on sales and margin impacts of discounts and promotional plans, and track results against plan.
• Complete dollar forecasting and sales performance analysis, recommending actions and quantifying expected impacts on sales, margin, inventory, and service performance.
• Monitor performance against key indicators and benchmarks, and assess portfolio effectiveness to identify improvement opportunities.
• Gather customer and consumer feedback through quantitative and qualitative methods, directly and with supporting teams, and distill it into actionable category insights.
• Gather and analyze competitive data and trends, translating findings into business recommendations.
• Maintain current competitive and market information, including product catalogs, price lists, promotions, and new product introductions.
• Compile reports and communicate findings and insights clearly to cross-functional partners and leadership.
• Partner with Product Management to align demand, supply, customer, and financial signals with the product plan.
• Pressure-test assumptions in launch plans, discontinuations, promotions, and category initiatives.
• Collaborate with Channel Marketing to execute new product launch plans and current portfolio programming.

Benefits

• Applicable benefit programs are available beginning on the first day of employment, with no waiting period.
• Competitive total rewards package supporting health and wellbeing.
• Access to career growth and development opportunities.
• Diverse and inclusive workplace.
• Performance bonus or variable incentive compensation.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level