Category Manager

Medela•McHenry, IL

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Medela LLC is seeking a Category Manager for their Consumer Products division in McHenry, IL. This hybrid role, with three days in the office, offers a starting salary of $100K plus bonus. The Category Manager will be instrumental in shaping the future of Medela's consumer products by analyzing consumer behavior, retail performance, and product strategy. This role involves using data to influence product launches, pricing strategies, and retail growth, and translating consumer and market insights into impactful business decisions. The ideal candidate is passionate about uncovering market trends, solving business challenges with data, and driving strategic decisions. This position is crucial for analyzing consumer behavior, market trends, retailer performance, and competitive activity to identify opportunities for profitable growth. The Category Manager will collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Finance, and Supply Chain to develop category strategies, support new product launches, optimize pricing, and select appropriate retail channels.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, Finance, or a related field.
4+ years of experience in Category Management, Category Strategy, Shopper Insights, Consumer Insights, Product Marketing, Commercial Excellence, or a related commercial function.
Experience working with consumer products in industries such as Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Consumer Durables, Juvenile Products, Consumer Healthcare, Housewares, Consumer Electronics, Sporting Goods, or medical devices sold through retail channels.
Experience using syndicated market data such as Circana (IRI), NielsenIQ, GfK, Numerator, or similar.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to transform data into actionable business recommendations.
Experience supporting product launches, pricing strategies, assortment decisions, and retail channel planning.
Understanding of retail environments, consumer purchasing behavior, and category management principles.
Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint.
Excellent presentation and communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional teams.
Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
A collaborative, curious mindset with a passion for understanding consumers and growing brands.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Power BI or Tableau is preferred.

Responsibilities

Analyze consumer, shopper, customer, market, and channel data to identify emerging trends, growth opportunities, and competitive insights.
Translate data into actionable recommendations that improve category performance and drive business growth.
Support the development of retail channel strategies by evaluating customer opportunities, shopper behavior, and competitive dynamics.
Help define go-to-market strategies for new consumer product launches, including channel prioritization, pricing recommendations, and distribution opportunities.
Analyze syndicated market data (Circana/IRI, NielsenIQ, GfK, Numerator, or similar) alongside internal business performance to identify opportunities for growth.
Monitor category performance and changing consumer purchasing behaviors to provide actionable insights across the organization.
Support pricing strategy through competitive analysis and market evaluation.
Develop compelling customer presentations that communicate category insights, consumer trends, and growth opportunities.
Research evolving consumer needs, retail trends, and competitive activity to identify new opportunities.
Recommend assortment and distribution strategies that improve product availability and retail performance.
Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Finance, and Supply Chain to support commercial initiatives and product launches.
Build dashboards and reports that communicate category health and business performance.
Support customer meetings with data-driven recommendations that strengthen retailer partnerships.