Category Manager; St. Louis, Missouri

The Category Manager position is responsible for the development and implementation of category-specific sourcing strategies that deliver profitable growth. We are looking for a candidate with 3‑5 years of strategic sourcing experience, located in St. Louis, Missouri.

Mid‑Senior level

Full-time

Marketing and Sales

Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage

• Ownership of assigned product category performance and management of the overall health of the portfolio.
• Strategic engagement with supplier community to develop and implement initiatives that enable profitable growth.
• Monitor the health of assigned categories and manage the product lifecycle.
• Develop category and market expertise that allows the organization to effectively compete in target market segments; this includes market trends and competitive analysis, as inputs to the development of our assortment strategy.
• Leverage market intelligence to validate and benchmark costs and competitive pricing.
• Monitor market needs and trends, competitive products, and the changing production schedules of approved manufacturers to improve competitive positioning.
• Work to develop "Best Value" product opportunities that include best performance, customer acceptance, and continuous improvement.
• Develop product pricing policies and negotiate best cost vendor programs to improve product positioning while improve margin.
• Rationalize and consolidate product lines to improve inventory turns and create volume cost improvement opportunities.
• Manage on-going supplier relationships and execute supplier performance management initiatives in accordance with standards and guidelines and in collaboration with business partners.
• Manage multiple projects and initiatives within assigned categories with the ability to meet defined timelines and provide proactive status communication to business partners.
• Establish category ownership with internal and external stakeholders.
• Support sales staff with special product requirements and costing. Work to improve go-to-market strategy and speed of new product implementation.
• Support sales staff by problem solving and recommending new and different packaging products as they become available.

• Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree preferred.
• 5+ years’ experience in Category Management or relevant business experience is required.
• Import procurement experience is strongly preferred.
• Distribution experience strongly preferred.
• Solid knowledge of marketing and sales principles.
• Solutions oriented thinker and doer.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated highly developed experience in negotiation and best in class practices.
• Strong ability to assess and manage contractual, operational, financial and business risk.
• Working knowledge of the raw materials used in food service, janitorial and processor packaging is preferred with an existing working relationship with packaging material manufacturers is preferred.
• Ability to effectively work across a matrix global organization.
• A strong ability to create a partnership atmosphere with internal and external resources while achieving key operating.
• Exceptional EQ and influencing skills are required;
  Ability to work collaboratively across multi-functional teams.
• A strong relationship builder who is able to foster excellent relationships and gain credibility quickly across all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability leading through The ability to develop and drive recommendation through the organization, showing initiative across functions.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Possess strong planning, organizational and time management skills, as well as, strong analytical problem-solving skills.
• Multi-task with the ability to change direction quickly and often.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office mandatory (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.).

Bunzl is a global leader in the Cleaning & Hygiene, Food Processing, Grocery, Health Care, Non-Food Retail, and Safety industries. We have grown both organically and through acquisitions to sales in excess of $10 billion. Bunzl North America is headquartered in…