Senior Manager, Category Development
About The Position
Staples is business to business. You’re what binds us together. Our merchandising team aims to deliver the best value and selection to our customers through products, services and solutions all centered around our customers’ needs. We are driven by customer insights and analytics to bring products and solutions to market seamlessly. We’re inclusive, well-rounded professionals who have deep experience in buying, selling, negotiating, operations, design, innovation, finance and more. The Senior Manager, Category Development serves as a strategic business leader responsible for driving sustainable category growth, portfolio strategy, and merchant partnerships across key businesses. This role leads the development of multi-year category growth strategies, portfolio roadmaps, and investment priorities while partnering closely with Merchandising and cross-functional teams to deliver differentiated growth, incremental margin, and enhanced customer value. This position plays a critical role in shaping the future direction of assigned categories by leveraging data-driven insights, influencing senior leadership decisions, and aligning enterprise priorities with actionable strategies.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience
- 8+ years of experience in category management, strategy, merchandising, consulting, or analytics
- 3+ years of leadership or people management experience preferred
- Experience developing and executing growth strategies
- Strong data analysis and strategic thinking capabilities
- Experience influencing cross-functional stakeholders
- Strong financial acumen and business case development
- Proficiency in tools such as Excel, Tableau, or Power BI
Nice To Haves
- MBA or advanced degree
- Experience in retail, CPG, or consulting
- 5+ years leading high-performing teams
- Experience managing large category portfolios
- Track record of driving revenue growth and margin improvement
- Experience in matrixed organizations
- Advanced analytics skills (SQL, Python, BI tools)
- Private brand or product development experience
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute multi-year category growth strategies and actionable roadmaps
- Identify innovation opportunities, emerging trends, and growth platforms
- Evaluate investment priorities and strategic opportunities across categories
- Lead portfolio strategy and prioritize resources across initiatives
- Partner cross-functionally to align and execute strategic initiatives
- Influence senior leadership through data-driven insights
- Build and evaluate business cases using customer and financial data
- Drive ROI-focused decision-making
- Lead and develop a high-performing team
- Represent Category Development in leadership forums
Benefits
- Inclusive culture with associate-led Business Resource Groups
- Flexible PTO (22 days) and Holiday Schedule (7 observed paid holidays)
- Online and Retail Discounts
- Company Match 401(k)
- Physical and Mental Health Wellness programs
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
