Category Space Manager

About the role

This role plays a key role in driving category growth by transforming data into clear, compelling insights and recommendations for both internal teams and external retail customers. Working in a collaborative team environment, the Category Space Manager focuses on category analysis, space planning, and storytelling that influence retailer strategies and support long-term business growth. The ideal candidate takes ownership of their work, consistently seeks improvement, and brings a strong passion for the industry.

This is a remote role that primarily supports a customer base in the Seattle area. The position involves regular travel to customer sites, typically on a monthly basis and sometimes bi-weekly for short road trips. In addition, the role requires quarterly travel by plane to Phoenix and participation in summit events twice a year, which also involve travel. The work is highly collaborative and data-driven, with frequent interaction with internal teams and external retail partners through virtual and in-person meetings. The environment is fast-paced and results-oriented, offering autonomy, ownership of deliverables, and the opportunity to influence category strategy and in-store execution.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with retail partners as a category advisor across all areas of the business.
• Develop impactful category analyses and consumer insights using a variety of syndicated and non-syndicated data sources.
• Synthesize learnings from multiple data sources into clear, visually engaging selling stories using Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Effectively educate internal teammates and external customers on category growth opportunities through clear and persuasive communication.
• Partner closely with the Sales team to engage retailer buying teams in defined territories and identify opportunities to grow the category.
• Use space planning software to design and optimize merchandise layouts for the department in alignment with category and retailer strategies.
• Manipulate, organize, and interpret large data sets to uncover trends, insights, and opportunities.
• Translate complex findings and recommendations into concise, actionable selling stories tailored to different audiences.
• Confidently present insights, opportunities, and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders in a persuasive and professional manner.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to support category strategies, assortment decisions, and shelf management initiatives.
• Maintain a high level of attention to detail and organization in all analyses, presentations, and space planning deliverables.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, Information Management, Engineering, Mathematics, or a similar field.
• Moderate to advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel for data manipulation and organization.
• Moderate to advanced proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint for organizing and visualizing presentation storylines.
• Ability to understand complex information, develop insights, and identify opportunities when analyzing large data sets.
• Ability to translate analytical findings into concise, compelling, and commercially relevant selling stories.
• Confidence in presenting insights, opportunities, and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders in a persuasive manner.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills with high attention to detail.
• Self-starter mentality with a track record of taking ownership of work and driving results.
• Positive attitude and team-oriented mindset.

Skills

• Strong passion for the relevant industry and category.
• Category management or sales experience within the consumer packaged goods industry.
• Experience with shelf management and planogram creation tools such as JDA, Apollo, or similar space planning software.
• Strong familiarity with syndicated data, software, and measures (e.g., IRI, Nielsen).
• Strong familiarity with shopper panel information, data, software, and measures (e.g., IRI, Nielsen, Numerator, retailer loyalty data).
• Experience using dashboarding and data visualization tools such as Power BI, Qlik, or Spotfire.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively within a team environment.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $25.00 - $34.00/hr.

Benefits

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Schedule

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Seattle, WA. The role is fully remote but involves regular travel to customer sites, typically on a monthly basis and sometimes bi-weekly for short road trips. Quarterly travel by plane to Phoenix and participation in summit events twice a year are also required.