Category Lead

About the role

As Category Lead at Koala, you'll own the US commercial strategy from pricing and promotions through to demand forecasting and inventory positioning. You'll sit at the intersection of marketing, planning, and commercial, using data and insight to drive revenue growth and protect margin.

Responsibilities

• P&L & Commercial Strategy
• Take shared accountability (with DTC Marketing) for the Category P&L, delivering against both revenue and profitability targets
• Own the commercial calendar in close collaboration with marketing — building the underlying outlook and planning processes that support commercial decision-making across the business
• Build and execute promotional strategies, owning the governance of promotional investment and setting guardrails around discount depth, frequency, and allocation to protect margin while driving volume
• Monitor the macro environment, tracking broader economic trends, category-level competitor shifts, and demand-side barriers that could impact category performance
• Conduct ongoing competitor analysis to identify threats and opportunities, translating findings into actionable commercial recommendations
• Assess product market fit using sales data, customer feedback, and market trends to inform ranging and investment decisions
• Partner with the Sydney-based Product team on range optimisation and positioning, and work closely with Ecommerce to ensure effective execution of range strategy online
• Provide consistent weekly and monthly category reporting that translates complex data into clear, actionable insights for the wider business
• Forecasting & Marketing Alignment
• Partner closely with the DTC marketing team to build unit volume forecasts aligned to campaign activity and channel plans
• Own the commercial calendar in collaboration with marketing, building the processes and outlook that drive commercial decision-making across the business
• Develop a deep understanding of the relationship between marketing investment and sales outcomes, using this to sharpen forecasting accuracy and maximise revenue impact
• Provide category-level insight to support media planning, launch sequencing, and promotional calendars
• Develop and evolve funnel analytics capability, building ways to track and interpret the website and customer journey to surface risks and opportunities early
• S&OP & Revenue Planning
• Play a leading role in the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process, ensuring category plans are grounded in demand signal and commercial reality
• Identify and bridge revenue gaps through proactive planning, scenario modelling, and cross-functional collaboration
• Surface and size commercial opportunities, building the case for investment and activation across the business
• Inventory & Supply Collaboration
• Work closely with inventory planning teams to align demand forecasts with stock positioning
• Recommend safety stock levels that flex with opportunity and risk, ensuring availability is never the ceiling on growth
• Flag category-level risks early and collaborate on mitigation strategies to protect both revenue and working capital

Requirements

• 7+ years experience in category management, or commercial roles within eCommerce or DTC environments, preferably with a strong knowledge of the furniture or home space in the US
• Strong analytical skills with experience using AI and data to drive pricing, assortment, and performance decisions
• Proven experience owning or influencing P&L outcomes
• Strong stakeholder management skills and experience working cross-functionally with global marketing, supply chain, and product teams
• Familiarity with inventory planning, demand forecasting, and supply constraints
• Experience in fast-paced startup or high-growth environments (comfortable with ambiguity and change)
• Strong business judgment and ability to balance growth vs. profitability trade-offs
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, or related field (or equivalent experience)

Qualifications

• Experience in fast-paced startup or high-growth environments (comfortable with ambiguity and change)
• Strong business judgment and ability to balance growth vs. profitability trade-offs
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, or related field (or equivalent experience)

Skills

• Strong analytical skills with experience using AI and data to drive pricing, assortment, and performance decisions
• Proven experience owning or influencing P&L outcomes
• Strong stakeholder management skills and experience working cross-functionally with global marketing, supply chain, and product teams
• Familiarity with inventory planning, demand forecasting, and supply constraints
• Experience in fast-paced startup or high-growth environments (comfortable with ambiguity and change)
• Strong business judgment and ability to balance growth vs. profitability trade-offs
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Economics, or related field (or equivalent experience)

Benefits

• Work From SofaBed (WFB) - Most of our team is located in LA and surrounding areas, but also happy for you to be fully remote.
• Generous time off - Koala life leave, volunteer, parental, and more to help keep your work-life balance, balanced.
• Free Koala products with ‘mates rates’ for your friends and fam.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - unlimited sessions for financial, work, relationship, family or wellbeing support.
• Competitive 401k matching and comprehensive Anthem private health insurance plans.
• Learning Management platform Juno, as well as individual and team growth budgets and dedicated days.
• Short-term incentive plans ensure you benefit as Koala succeeds!
• BCorp Certified, WWF Partnership, volunteer days, a member of SoftLanding, 1% and so much more.

Pay

• US Treehouse - Remote
• Remote status - Fully Remote

Schedule

• Not specified