What are the responsibilities and job description for the Category Manager position at The Barcode Group?
The Barcode Group is a full-service retail agency connecting brands and retailers across physical and digital marketplaces. Collectively, we have decades of experience working with retailers including Target, Walmart, Amazon, Sam’s Club, Costco, Kroger, and BJ’s in over 170 categories. We are accomplished because we are invested in meaningful relationships – both with our clients and our teams. We hire the best, focus on continued professional development, and empower employees so everyone can be a success. We provide our teams the opportunity to showcase their entrepreneurial spirit, shape strategy and impact results.
We are seeking a Category Manager to support our Target business, joining our exceptional team of individuals who are passionate about delivering outstanding customer service and driving growth for our vendors and retail partners. In this role, you will lead category growth and optimize distribution, merchandising, and pricing through strategic recommendations. The Category Manager is responsible for reporting, analyzing, and presenting key insights within a specific retail category to inform decisions, influence retailer strategies, and help achieve volume, market share, and profit targets.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:
- Work with Target's buying team to utilize category and consumer management insights to help drive overall product strategy
- Identify white space opportunities (vendors, product, or brands) for the category
- Provide additional context and insight on shopper behavior and trends
- Maintain promotional event calendar and assist with promotional planning and recapping
- Own all aspects of POG build process including assortment, merchandising, and capacity alignment with retailer’s team
- Execute key initiatives with acute attention to detail and collaboration with various teams
- Manage and leverage numerous data resources to help bring action and insight to the category to tell compelling stories with data and analytics
- Present key findings to a large audience and team both internally and externally to the customer in meaningful ways that are action-based and immediate
- Offer creative solutions and ideas that exercise “thinking outside the box” to drive category growth and action
- Provide a full spectrum of data analytics and reporting including weekly sales reporting, market share analysis, and trend reviews
REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- 2-3 years of experience as a category analyst or category manager
- Strong analytical skills with experience in analyzing and interpreting data, with strong ability to manage numerous data systems simultaneously, with intricate detail and acute organization
- Ability to manage multiple projects, demands and workloads across various businesses with a strong ability to demonstrate flexibility in prioritizing changing business demands and work within ambiguity
- High level of attention to detail, data integrity and quality and time management
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with strong presentation and storytelling skills
- Ability to offer an unbiased perspective and clear point of view
- Expertise in VIQ, JDA/Space Planning is preferred
- Familiarity with syndicated data; Nielsen, IRI, NPD
- Microsoft Office Suite
- BS/BA degree or relevant industry experience
This is a hybrid position based in Minneapolis, MN requiring employees to be present in the office 3 days per week with flexibility to work remotely on other days.