Senior Manager, Category Management & Strategy

Traditional Medicinals•Rohnert Park, CA

9h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Category Management & Strategy is a customer-facing role within the Sales Strategy & Planning team. This role will develop and lead strategic initiatives and drive growth through retailer partnership, Joint Business Planning, and advanced business analytics. This role develops customer-facing category strategies that unlock shared value for Traditional Medicinals and key retail partners through assortment, merchandising, pricing, and shopper-led recommendations. As a core thought leader and participant in JBP and Top-to-Top planning, the Sr Manager delivers actionable insights that shape both long-term category vision and near-term commercial execution. This position will lead and develop the category management team, building strong analytical talent and elevating category management capabilities across the organization.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
8–10 years of experience in Category Management, Shopper Insights, or Business Analytics within CPG.
5+ years of experience supporting Sales, Customer Marketing, or Trade Strategy strongly preferred.
Experience managing and developing analytical talent required.
Deep understanding of category management principles, assortment strategy, and shopper behavior across retail channels.
Proven ability to lead Joint Business Planning (JBP) through insights-driven strategies that deliver mutual customer and company growth.
Strong capability to translate complex data into clear, actionable business recommendations and category opportunities.
Demonstrated success influencing retail partners through consultative selling, thought leadership, and strategic storytelling.
Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with experience developing executive-ready and customer-facing selling narratives.
Ability to synthesize syndicated and non-syndicated data sources into cohesive insights that drive decision-making.
Strong cross-functional leadership skills, partnering effectively with Sales, Marketing, Shopper Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, and Innovation teams.
Proven people leadership skills, including coaching, talent development, performance management, and building high-performing analytical teams.
High level of business acumen, including understanding of financial drivers such as pricing, trade spend, velocity, incrementality, and profitability.
Strong strategic thinking balanced with executional rigor to deliver both long-term category vision and near-term commercial impact.
Ability to identify marketplace trends, competitive dynamics, and shopper shifts to proactively surface risks and growth opportunities.
Skilled in developing category frameworks and scalable tools that enhance organizational capabilities and best practices.
Strong project management and prioritization skills in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with multiple stakeholders.
High attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy, governance, and consistent reporting standards.
Results-oriented mindset with a high sense of urgency, ownership, and accountability for delivering measurable business outcomes.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel (pivot tables, modeling) and PowerPoint (executive-ready storytelling).
Expertise with syndicated data platforms such as NielsenIQ, Circana/IRI, SPINS, and retailer-specific POS reporting tools.
Strong Power BI capability, including dashboard development, data refresh processes, governance, and automated reporting.
Experience working with retailer portals and data systems (e.g., Walmart Retail Link, Kroger 84.51°, Target Partners Online).
Familiarity with space planning, assortment optimization, and category management tools (e.g., planogram or space-to-sales platforms).
Ability to integrate and analyze multiple data sources (shipments, consumption, loyalty/shopper data, eCommerce analytics) to generate actionable insights.

Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Growth Leadership
Develop and lead category strategies that optimize total category performance, not just TM brand growth.
Identify whitespace opportunities and recommend assortment, shelving, and merchandising improvements.
Drive long-term category vision and strategic frameworks that improve shopper outcomes.
Serve as a category growth leader across key retailers where TM has a leadership position.
Creating and presenting strategic category growth stories to key customers across multiple sales channels and categories
Customer-Facing Insights & Selling Stories
Lead the creation of customer-facing insights decks, category growth stories, and executive-ready presentations. Synthesize across multiple data sources to build recommendations through holistic and compelling story-led communications.
Support Joint Business Planning (JBP) efforts through data-driven trends, opportunities, and category recommendations.
Translate insights into actionable retailer strategies that support joint wins for TM and customers.
Present business performance narratives including defense stories, new item recommendations, and price justification.
Business Analytics, Reporting & Performance Insights
Own monthly business reporting processes including consumption, shipment, and customer performance tracking.
Lead Power BI refreshes, data merging, and ongoing dashboard governance to ensure consistent reporting.
Provide business analytics support across eCommerce, retailer portals, shopper panels, and omni-channel data sources.
Deliver regular updates on category dynamics, competitive trends, and marketplace shifts.
Cross-Functional Partnership & Execution Support
Partner closely with Sales, Shopper Marketing, Brand, Supply Chain, Finance, and Insights teams to align category strategy with execution.
Support internal stakeholders with insights that inform brand planning, innovation, and promotional strategy.
Enable Sales teams with relevant, customized insights to strengthen retailer relationships and improve execution.
Contribute to internal decision-making forums by sharing trends, risks, and growth opportunities.
Data & Vendor Management
Serve as the primary liaison for syndicated data partners (e.g., NielsenIQ, Circana/IRI, Retail Link, customer POS).
Ensure strong data governance, accuracy, and consistency across reporting and analytics tools.
Manage and negotiate new and existing contracts and identify opportunities with capabilities to evolve TM’s CatMan and Shopper Insights competitive advantage.
Team Leadership and Coaching
Manage, coach, and develop two direct reports (Category Analysts) through training, prioritization, and performance management. Provide hands on guidance and oversight to teams, critical projects, and analyses.
Provide day-to-day coaching and guidance to develop individuals that align the business and individual development growth opportunities.
Build category management best practices as part of a broader Center of Excellence for TM.