Sr. Category Analyst

Kohler Co. • Kohler, WI

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Kohler Co. is seeking a Senior Category Analyst to lead the analytical and operating engine for a category, sub-category, customer group, or major business process within its Category Strategy organization. This senior individual-contributor role connects category performance, forecasting, supply management, pricing, customer insights, and business strategy. The analyst translates complex data, market conditions, and customer signals into recommendations that shape category decisions and business outcomes.

The role supports multiple Product Managers and Category Leaders while owning assigned segments, initiatives, customer groups, or operating processes. It calls for strong analytical ability, business judgment, and influence across Sales, Marketing, Operations, Finance, Supply Chain, and Product Management. It is intended to develop future Product Managers by progressively expanding business ownership, decision-making authority, and strategic influence.

The position is onsite in Kohler, Wisconsin, with approximately 10 to 20 percent annual travel to Kohler manufacturing locations, customers, and the market. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future. The stated salary range is $92,400 to $141,000, and the role is eligible for performance bonus or variable incentive compensation. Kohler states that applicable benefits are available from the first day of employment.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Three to five years of analytical or business-facing experience with a track record of high performance, including demonstrated ability to interpret data and deliver meaningful insights.
• Proficiency in Excel, data visualization tools, and AI tools.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to influence across functions and organizational levels.
• Curiosity, initiative, business judgment, accountability for outcomes, and the courage to move from analysis to recommendation without being asked.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in category management, product management, demand planning, supply chain analytics, finance, or commercial analytics.
• Working knowledge of new product development, manufacturing, forecasting, production planning, pricing, and category business management.

Responsibilities

• Own assigned business segments, initiatives, customer groups, or operating processes within the category.
• Exercise decision rights for defined business areas within agreed guardrails and escalate trade-offs when needed.
• Develop recommendations and decision options for Product Managers and Directors on pricing, forecasting, inventory, portfolio management, and business performance.
• Lead cross-functional problem solving related to forecast accuracy, inventory risk, product transitions, pricing actions, and category execution.
• Present category performance, opportunities, risks, and recommendations to leadership teams and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Coach and develop Category Analysts and Category Analyst II associates in analytical problem solving and business decision-making.
• Improve business processes, reporting, operating rhythms, and analytical capabilities to strengthen category performance.
• Own complex unit forecasts for assigned product lines, accounting for one-time events, macroeconomic conditions, customer inventory behavior, and category-specific dynamics.
• Translate point-of-sale, shipment, order, and weeks-of-supply data into forecast enrichments and actionable business recommendations.
• Anticipate supply shortages and excess, diagnose product-level root causes, and partner with Supply Chain and Operations to resolve issues.
• Manage ramp-up and ramp-down of overlapping products during new product introductions and discontinuations, protecting in-stock performance while minimizing cash and capital employed.
• Lead category pricing analysis, incorporate price elasticity into recommendations, and ground promotional proposals in the likelihood of achieving break-even.
• Apply knowledge of pricing tiers and channel levers to recommendations on list price, promotion, price realization, and margin outcomes.
• Assess portfolio effectiveness and product performance from launch through discontinuation, summarize results, and recommend actions on dollar forecasting and sales performance.
• Monitor category indicators such as sell-through, weeks of supply, forecast accuracy, margin, and working capital, and report progress to peers and executives.
• Determine when customer and consumer input is needed and select appropriate methods, such as surveys, focus groups, usability tests, service and support analysis, field tests, or market visits.
• Turn customer, consumer, and competitive input into actionable category perspectives, working directly and alongside Research, Design, and Channel Marketing.
• Maintain current competitive and market intelligence, including product catalogs, price lists, promotions, and new product introductions, and use it to inform pricing, positioning, and innovation recommendations.
• Compile reporting and present findings and recommendations to cross-functional partners and leadership.
• Influence product, portfolio, pricing, launch, and discontinuation decisions through fact-based analysis and business recommendations.
• Partner with Product Management on portfolio decisions, aligning demand planning, supply, customer, and financial signals with the product roadmap.
• Support Channel Marketing with launch plans, promotional programming, and execution across the current portfolio.

Benefits

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

What This Job Offers

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