Category Manager - Sam's (based in Bentonville, AR)

Premier Nutrition•Rogers, AR

11h•$130,000 - $140,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Premier Nutrition Company (PNC), maker of Premier Protein and Dymatize and part of BellRing Brands, is seeking a Category Manager to partner with Sam’s Club merchandising teams. The role develops and delivers go-to-market strategies to achieve Sam’s Club and PNC business targets, including category plans, analysis of product assortment, pricing, promotion and placement, and new product introductions. It also facilitates communication between PNC’s headquarters category leadership and Sam’s Club sales teams. The Category Manager builds strong vendor-partner relationships with Sam’s Club and drives continuous improvement in the retailer’s total category performance. The role’s work is divided among analytics and reporting (50%), customer and category development (40%), and sales strategy and planning (10%). It involves synthesizing sales, household-panel and consumer data into actionable recommendations; leading modular planning and performance analysis; supporting category initiatives and store-level testing; monitoring competitive activity; and collaborating with internal teams and external partners. The position is hybrid, with employees expected to work in the office Tuesday through Thursday. The posting describes a significant amount of computer-based work, frequent use of office technology, regular communication and meetings, and occasional movement around the office. The expected pay scale is $130,000 to $140,000, subject to relevant experience, qualifications, geographic area where applicable, and internal equity.

Requirements

At least 5 years of CPG experience.
Walmart or Sam’s Club advisor experience is required.
High-level analytical experience; category management, retail management, or selling experience is preferred.
In-depth understanding of category management principles.
Proficiency with category management tools, including syndicated data such as IRI, Nielsen, or SPINS; MADRID; Scintilla; JDA; ProSpace; assortment-optimization tools; and custom and proprietary consumer studies.
Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, including the ability to analyze multiple data sources and make action-based recommendations.
Advanced PC skills, including Excel, Word, data-visualization software such as Tableau or Power BI, and PowerPoint.
Familiarity with the Sam’s Club business model.
Familiarity with JDA or other planogram software and data.
Project-management and organizational skills, including the ability to manage competing priorities while supporting multiple retail customers.
Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present complex data clearly and persuasively recommend actions to stakeholders and customers.
Ability to manage tasks and exercise independent judgment without supervision.
Ability to work independently and with teams.
Builder mindset and ability to create foundational documents.

Nice To Haves

CMA certification.
Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, marketing, or a related field.
Previous experience in a Category Advisor or Captain role.
Category management, retail management, or selling experience.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain an advisor relationship with Sam’s Club while maintaining confidentiality and required firewalls for category and competitive data.
Synthesize POS, MADRID, household panel, and consumer-study data to make recommendations on assortment, merchandising, pricing, and shelving.
Create category insights for everyday needs, ad hoc business questions, and modular processes.
Lead modular drawing and planning, including customer strategy, merchandising layouts, adjacencies, assortment optimization, pack-out compliance, and set-size versioning.
Quantify cluster- and modular-specific opportunities and track performance before and after modular changes.
Advise on initiatives such as omnichannel engagement and expansion of category adjacencies.
Assess industry trends and competitive actions to develop promotional offerings that maintain or improve competitive position.
Plan, test, and monitor store-level tests to improve shopper engagement.
Support the business-planning process within PNC’s Sam’s sales team.
Monitor competitive activity and share relevant information with headquarters teams.
Partner with Sales, Broker Partners, Customer Marketing, and other internal departments to evaluate distribution, merchandising, and shelf initiatives for customer decision makers.
Use technology and customer knowledge to support recommendations and customer initiatives.