Senior National Director, Category Management

About the role

The Senior National Director, Category Management serves as the single point of accountability for the business performance of one or more product categories, owning category strategy and integrated P&L performance across all states and products. This role is responsible for driving revenue growth, gross margin expansion, net pricing optimization, and trade investment decisions while aligning cross-functional teams around a unified category strategy.

Responsibilities

• Own and defend the category's financial performance against plan, including: Revenue, Gross Margin, Net Price, Trade Spend
• Deliver monthly variance analyses and performance commentary.
• Lead quarterly portfolio and business reviews with executive leadership.
• Serve as the single accountable owner for all significant category recommendations.
• Integrate input from Sales, Marketing, Finance, Supply & Demand Planning, and Pricing/RGM into one unified recommendation.
• Ensure every recommendation clearly demonstrates the impact on revenue, margin, and profitability.
• Lead the monthly category planning and forecasting process.
• Secure cross-functional alignment and sign-off on category forecasts.
• Present the official category forecast used by leadership for business planning.
• Maintain accountability for forecast accuracy and business performance results.
• Develop growth plans built on clearly defined opportunities, including: Specific products, Target markets, Key customer accounts, Timelines, Accountable owners.
• Ensure growth initiatives are measurable, evidence-based, and free of overlap or double-counting.
• Identify root causes of revenue, margin, volume, or share variances.
• Develop corrective action plans and recovery recommendations.
• Escalate key decisions through appropriate governance forums.
• Drive issues to resolution, ensuring performance gaps result in actionable decisions.
• Partner with Product Development to manage the category portfolio.
• Make launch, expansion, maintenance, and discontinuation recommendations based on: Velocity, Distribution, Margin performance, Market opportunity.
• Optimize portfolio effectiveness and overall category profitability.
• Partner with Pricing and Revenue Growth Management (RGM) to evaluate pricing and promotional strategies.
• Approve promotions based on financial and P&L impact.
• Maintain pricing integrity and trade-spend guardrails.
• Escalate pricing and investment exceptions through established approval channels.

Requirements

Required Education: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Economics, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Data Analytics, or a related field required.

Required Experience: 10+ years of progressive experience in Category Management, Brand Management, Product Management, Commercial Strategy, Revenue Growth Management, or related commercial leadership functions. Experience within consumer packaged goods (CPG), beverage, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, or other highly regulated consumer product industries. Demonstrated ownership of a product category, portfolio, business unit, or commercial P&L with accountability for revenue growth, profitability, pricing, and investment decisions. Experience leading cross-functional business planning, forecasting, portfolio optimization, and commercial strategy initiatives. Proven ability to influence senior leadership and drive alignment across Sales, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, Product Development, and other cross-functional stakeholders. Experience utilizing data, analytics, market intelligence, and consumer insights to support strategic business decisions. Must be at least 21 years of age.

Preferred Qualifications

• Preferred Education: Master of Business Administration (MBA) or other advanced business-related degree.
• Preferred Industry Experience: Cannabis, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Beverage, Alcohol, Tobacco, Other highly regulated consumer products industries.
• Preferred Areas Of Expertise: Category Management, Revenue Growth Management (RGM), Product Management and Portfolio Optimization, Commercial Strategy Development, Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Integrated Business Planning (IBP), Demand Forecasting and Forecast Accuracy Management, Pricing Strategy and Trade Promotion Management, Consumer Insights and Retail Analytics, Data Analytics and Business Intelligence.
• Preferred Certifications: Category Management Certification, Revenue Growth Management (RGM) Certification, APICS Certifications, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt, Advanced training in Business Analytics, Strategic Planning, or Commercial Leadership.

Benefits

Company benefits may include health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and other perks. Please refer to the company's employee handbook for details.

Pay

Salary range: $150,000 - $200,000 annually, commensurate with experience.

Schedule

This is a full-time, exempt position. The role requires the flexibility to work the hours necessary to meet business needs, which may include extended hours, evenings, weekends, and holidays. Work schedules and expectations may be adjusted based on operational priorities and organizational demands. On-site presence may be required for team meetings, cross-functional initiatives, business reviews, and other collaborative activities.