Category Manager- Fine Paper

Mac Papers and Packaging, • Jacksonville, FL

5d • Onsite

About The Position

The Fine Paper Category Manager is responsible for developing and executing the category strategy for the assigned line of business. This role owns the commercial direction of the category, including supplier strategy, product portfolio management, margin improvement, rebate performance, market intelligence, sourcing support, and sales enablement. They will work closely with Sales, Purchasing, Supply Chain Analytics and supplier partners to ensure the company has the right products, suppliers, costs, pricing guidance, inventory strategy, and market positioning to profitably grow the assigned category. This role is not responsible for day-to-day purchase order execution. The Category Manager serves as the strategic and commercial owner of the assigned category, helping the business make better decisions around what to sell, where to source, how to price, what to stock, which suppliers to prioritize, and how to improve category profitability.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Statistics, or related field preferred, or equivalent work experience.
• 1-3 years of experience in supply chain analytics, planning, logistics, or data analysis.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to work with large datasets and identify trends or anomalies.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and familiarity with database management.
• Basic understanding of supply chain concepts, statistical analysis, and inventory management principles.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Effective communication abilities and the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.
• Must be able to read and communicate in English, for safe and effective performance of the job and business operations.
• Must be able to work alone, and with a team.
• Must be able to pass a drug screen and criminal background check.

Nice To Haves

• Exposure to ERP systems, planning tools, and business intelligence platforms preferred.
• Experience in wholesale distribution or the paper/packaging industry a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the category strategy for Fine Paper, aligned with company growth, margin, supplier, inventory, and customer objectives.
• Identify growth opportunities within the assigned category, including product expansion, private label, preferred supplier programs, substitutions, cross-sell opportunities, and emerging customer needs.
• Partner with the Director of Category Management to establish annual goals, strategic priorities, and action plans for the assigned category.
• Monitor category trends, competitive activity, customer demand, supplier developments, and market conditions.
• Lead action plans to address underperforming products, suppliers, customer programs, or margin trends.
• Maintain substitute item catalogs and alternate sourcing strategies to address supply gaps and customer needs.
• Own category-level performance analysis, including sales, gross margin, rebate income, SKU productivity, supplier performance, inventory turns, and category profitability.
• Drive improvement in gross margin dollars, gross margin percentage, rebate income, supplier program income, inventory productivity, and category profitability.
• Support margin guardrails, pricing guidance, supplier cost-change processes, and profitability expectations for product category.
• Partner with Finance and Sales leadership to evaluate customer specific inventory, customer profitability, deal economics, and corrective action plans.
• Monitor and support processes for customer-specific stocking, including volume commitment, margin expectations, supplier support, inventory risk, and exit plans.
• Support sales in new sourcing requests, first suggesting core commodity skus, then if none are suitable for the customer aiding in identifying and bringing in alternatives.
• Lead supplier negotiations related to rebates, cost changes, private label, and strategic programs.
• Partner with purchasing team on supplier service issues, lead times, fill rates, backorders, cost changes, and supply disruptions.
• Identify and qualify alternative suppliers to reduce risk, improve competitiveness, and support growth.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other protected category.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree