Category Manager JLB

About the role

JLB is an award-winning retail consulting firm specializing in tailored solutions for brands at Target, covering Sales, Strategy, Category Management, Insights, Digital, and Shopper Marketing. The Category Management Service team provides day-to-day support to Target’s buying team, with direct access to Target’s internal systems. This role is exclusively dedicated to Target, acting as a trusted advisor to deliver thought leadership, strategy direction, and analytically driven insights to address business goals and challenges.

The Category Manager leads complex category work, analyzing data from multiple sources to deliver clear, tailored presentations. This role combines analytics, presentation, and leadership skills to guide both short- and long-term initiatives, anticipating business needs and proactively identifying challenges and opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Relationships: Independently manage day-to-day relationships with Target and cross-functional teams, including merchant, business analyst, inventory analyst, space & transition planning, pricing, and promo teams. Develop relationships with the Director merchant.
• Lead preparation and execution of client meetings, including weekly updates and ad hoc sessions, driving collaborative problem-solving discussions.
• Provide strategic recommendations grounded in a deep understanding of category trends and client needs.
• Reporting: Own the end-to-end reporting process, combining advanced data analytics with a deep understanding of business drivers. Integrate multiple data sources to deliver detailed weekly reports and strategic insights on performance trends, opportunities, and risks.
• Analyze sales, promotions, and inventory across multiple roll-ups (brand, vendor, subcategory, item).
• Develop and manage custom attributes for deeper analysis and actionable insights.
• Support ad hoc reporting needs, proactively identifying relevant data points to guide decisions.
• Marketplace Insights/Competitive Shops: Conduct in-depth analyses of competitive marketplace and retailer trends, including merchandising, pricing, brand, and SKU selection.
• Produce comprehensive reports on market share, competitive retailer performance, and industry trends.
• Identify and capitalize on emerging trends, opportunity items, promotional themes, and merchandising strategies.
• Provide strategic recommendations to the Target merchant team.
• Category & Seasonal Reviews: Execute category and seasonal reviews using pre-established templates and custom outputs.
• Analyze sales, space-to-sales, consumer behavior, basket drivers, segmentation, pricing tiers, assortment gaps, white space, and merchandising.
• Provide actionable insights and strategic recommendations to enhance category performance and productivity.
• Synthesize data into executive summaries and key recommendations, presenting complex insights effectively to foster client understanding and buy-in.
• Planogram Process: Own the transition and revision planogram process from start to finish, including managing T&A, confirming item images and attributes, merchandise planning, SVP walk-through support, and planogram optimization.
• Analyze merchandising and assortment to influence strategy.
• Develop strategic planograms aligned with business objectives and customer experience.
• Efficiently write up to 1,000 planograms, store ties, fixture placement, signage, and proofing.
• Digital Support: Manage the development of comprehensive digital performance reports and seasonal analyses.
• Conduct in-depth analysis of channel sales performance, search behavior, purchasability, and site content and experience.
• Collaborate with internal digital category experts to identify the right tools for business questions and develop custom outputs.
• Present strategic recommendations based on data analysis to support business objectives and improve digital performance.
• Macro & Micro Trends: Research trends and utilize internal resources to gain comprehensive insights.
• Identify emerging trends and apply them to current and forward-thinking category initiatives.
• Share insights and presentations across JLB to create efficiency and knowledge sharing.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field such as Business, Finance, Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, or a related discipline.
• Experience: 6+ years in retail or brand background; 3+ years of relatable Category Advisor or Captainship experience preferred. Target-specific Category Management experience is a plus.
• Proficient in reporting and analytics, planogram writing, creating presentations, and delivering compelling presentations.
• Skilled in synthesizing extensive resources to craft actionable insights and narratives, with a deep understanding of merchandising strategies.

Skills

• Strategic Thinker: Deep understanding of business strategy with the ability to synthesize data, trends, and insights into actionable recommendations aligned with long-term growth.
• Highly Organized: Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and coordinate across teams with precision and efficiency.
• Advanced Analytical Skills: Expert in evaluating complex data sets and using tools to generate clear, actionable insights.
• Detail-Oriented: Strong attention to data accuracy and integrity, especially in tools like JDA and other planning systems.
• Tool Proficiency: Skilled in Excel, PowerPoint, JDA, POS systems, and market insights platforms (e.g., Kantar, Mintel, Numerator), as well as Target-specific tools.
• Customer Service Focused: Prioritizes clear communication and responsiveness to drive customer satisfaction.
• Self-Starter: Proactive, results-driven, and solutions-oriented with a strong commitment to continuous improvement.