Category Specialist - Ethnic Foods

Overview

Purpose:

Organize and communicate analytical and quantitative marketing and category research to support identification of business performance gaps/opportunities by accessing and verifying company trends, profitability, and sales data. Accountable for the organization maintenance of data across the organization.

• Support Category Managers in the development of category strategies using analysis, forecasts, and performance reporting provided
• Support Category Managers through the vendor setup process, completing New Item Forms, and coordination of team specific survey programs and/or events
• Under the guidance of the category manager, work with vendors to track performance against category business plans
• Track compliance against Category business plans and store execution opportunities
• Track results at end of each promotion in terms of sales, profit, and share growth or contribution
• Maintain weekly, quarterly, and yearly scorecards to track sales, gross profit dollars, supplier performance and share of each category
• Provide data support for the merchandising team, ad item selection, and event planner processes
• Assist category management in the setup, execution, and completion of category assortment reviews
• Support the merchandising team by accessing, verifying, and organizing internal intelligence and sales data using a variety of sources such as Data warehouse, Nielsen and IRI syndicated data
• Balance competing priorities, eliminate duplication of effort, streamline requests, and prioritize tasks
• Perform special projects and other duties as assigned

• Bachelor’s Degree preferred in Finance, Business, Statistics or similar quantitative field
• 1-3 years relevant experience
• Bi-lingual (Spanish) preferred, but not required
• Financial, mathematical, statistical, marketing, merchandising and consumer research background to be able to read, interpret, and understand how internal and external factors influence financial results
• P&L structure knowledge
• Ability to manage information efficiently, provide summary evaluation, and meet project deadlines
• Organizational and project management skills
• Advanced computer skills including Word, Excel, and Power Point
• Ability to work with vast amounts of data from different data sources
• Ability to handle multiple tasks concurrently
• Ability to collaborate with partners across the business
• Possess strong written and verbal communication skills
• Must have the ability to represent the company's interests to outside professionals and vendors

• Ability to travel up to ~10% of the time, which may include weekends and evenings, as needed
• Most work is performed in a temperature-controlled environment
• Incumbent may sit for long periods of time at a desk or computer terminal
• Incumbent may use calculators, keyboards, telephone and other office equipment in the course of a normal workday
• Stooping, bending, twisting and reaching may be required in completion of job duties

Ability to demonstrate, understand and apply our workplace values.

Simplicity (operate) – the drive to identify root cause and innovate to remove complexity to deliver the best outcome

Heart (emotion) – the passion that drives you to get up every day and work hard to strive for excellence

Performance Excellence (mindset) – clearly defining high expectations, driving ownership of key roles and responsibilities, executing with integrity and emphasis while creating a culture of accountability

Respect (philosophy) – taking pride in being inclusive and treating everyone who comes through the doors with respect

• 401K company match up to 4%
• Paid Time Off
• Medical Insurance options including FSA & HSA
• Vision Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programs
• Team Member Referral Program
• Tuition Reimbursement

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature of the work performed by the employees assigned to this job. All employees must comply with Company policy and applicable laws. The responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified may vary within each department and /or location.