Category Manager (Category Advisor)

About MPG

Market Performance Group (MPG) is a leading end-to-end, strategy & services omnichannel commerce agency focused on creating the best PATH FORWARD — from market strategy to in-market reality — for today’s fastest-growing consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers. Over the years, we’ve built a strong reputation as a trusted partner and valuable resource to a broad range of companies, from Fortune 500 to Private Equity, in categories that include health & wellness, food & beverage, home and hardlines. We revel in the opportunity to guide our clients on their path forward, building and activating strategies that ensure success. Everything we do is driven by our unrelenting commitment to leverage our deep operational experience, unparalleled omnichannel expertise, and industry relationships to drive performance in today’s dynamic omnichannel marketplace.

At MPG, we value our people and their contributions; they are critical to building the MPG Brand. Our leadership team has significant experience driving topline revenue and bottom-line profit, having held senior operating roles at leading CPG manufacturers and retailers. Our highly regarded, seasoned team of 400 strategy and commercialization professionals brings strong operational experience and a collaborative approach. All team members are singularly focused on providing clients with pragmatic, real-world market approaches, built on the strong consumer, category and marketplace insights needed to create sustainable, profitable brand growth.

About MPG Advisory

Market Performance Group (MPG) partners with Walmart as a third-party category advisor, providing unbiased, insight-driven support across category strategy, modular development, and performance optimization. Our approach is simple: Turn insights into action that improves the category for Walmart and the customer.

Position Overview

Market Performance Group (MPG) is seeking an experienced Category Manager to lead one of our newly acquired Walmart advisory categories. This role operates as a trusted, unbiased partner to Walmart merchants, connecting data, shopper behavior, and merchandising execution to improve total category performance. You will own a category end-to-end, from insights and storytelling to modular execution, reporting directly to the Director of Category Leadership and working closely with both internal teammates and supplier partners. Success in this role requires strong attention to detail and a balance of analytical, storytelling, and executional skills.

Candidates must be currently located in the Bentonville, AR area or willing to relocate at their own expense, as relocation assistance is not available for this role. This position requires the ability to work in a hybrid environment, including working in-office and/or at the Walmart corporate office multiple days per week.

Key Responsibilities

• Category Leadership & Advisory
• Serve as a primary category advisor to Walmart merchants, delivering insight-led recommendations that align to Walmart’s strategy
• Build a deep understanding of the category, shopper, and competitive landscape to identify growth opportunities
• Influence key decisions across assortment, shelving, and category organization Translate complex data into clear, actionable recommendations that drive results
• Support ongoing reporting, deep dives, and ad hoc merchant requests with a high standard of quality and consistency
• Insights ? Action
• Leverage multiple data sources (Scintilla, Circana/Nielsen, Mintel, etc.) to uncover trends and opportunities
• Develop compelling, merchant-ready storytelling that connects performance, shopper behavior, and strategic recommendations through clear, well-structured presentations and reporting Identify whitespace opportunities, productivity gaps, and emerging trends
• Bring a digital in-store perspective, ensuring category strategies reflect how customers shop today
• Connect digital discovery (search, social, content) to in-store and online conversion Identify opportunities to improve the end-to-end shopping experience, not just shelf performance
• Modular & Execution Ownership
• Lead the Walmart Relay process, including modular strategy, drawing, clustering, and execution
• Ensure best-in-class accuracy, attention to detail, and on-time delivery across all modular deliverables

Required Experience And Education

• 3 years of experience in category management, insights, or advisory (Walmart experience strongly preferred)
• Experience working with Walmart data tools (Scintilla, Retail Link, etc.)
• Strong analytical skills with ability to synthesize multiple data sources into clear insights
• Hands-on experience with modular development and space planning tools (JDA / Blue Yonder)
• Proven ability to build clear, structured, and visually compelling presentations and report
• Strong understanding of shopper behavior and retail drivers
• High attention to detail and commitment to accuracy across both analytics and execution
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality work with ownership

We recognize that candidates may be stronger in either insights or modular execution. We’re looking for individuals who bring strength in one area and a strong willingness to learn and grow in the other.

Benefits

MPG offers a generous package of health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, STD/LTD, paid maternity/paternity leave and life insurance. Our compensation program provides market industry base salary, bonuses, and 401K. In addition to paid holidays, we reward an employee’s extra efforts through unlimited paid time off.

Equity and Inclusion

We are committed to ensuring that Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) is a part of our DNA. We embrace the beauty in all of the unique qualities of our employees, communities and clients. MPG’s DEIB efforts empower us to collectively reach our full potential by fueling innovation, connection, and growth. We recognize the value of having a diverse and engaged team. We are an organization driven by PEOPLE. We believe that by leveraging the unique perspectives and experiences of our employees, MPG can unlock more comprehensive, innovative, and long-standing results for both our client and retailer partners. We will always strive for improvement and thus we have made intentional commitments to further champion DEIB. The foundation of our pledge starts with our promise to each other, our clients, and the community.

Equal Opportunity & Accommodation

It is MPG’s practice to provide and promote equal opportunity in employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination because of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, sex or gender, gender identity or gender expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, family medical history, genetic information or other protected medical condition, political affiliation, or any other characteristic protected by and in accordance with applicable laws. We are dedicated to creating an accessible and inclusive application and selection process. Should you require accommodation during the recruitment or hiring process, please contact our Talent Acquisition team at talent.acquisition@mpgllc.com and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs.