Category Specialist (Cloud Inventory)

Job Description

The Category Specialist (Cloud Inventory) is responsible for developing and executing strategic initiatives to manage and grow assigned product categories within a cloud-based inventory marketplace. The role focuses on product assortment, supplier collaboration, inventory management, and data-driven decision-making to ensure category growth, profitability, and an enhanced customer experience. Accountability & Responsibilities of Role: Marketplace Strategy Development: Develop and implement category strategies to optimize our marketplace's product mix, pricing, and promotion. Identify market opportunities and emerging trends to drive category growth and enhance customer engagement. Product Management: Curate and maintain an optimal assortment of products within assigned categories, ensuring alignment with customer preferences and market demand. Collaborate with suppliers and internal teams to source new products and manage inventory effectively. Listing Optimization: Ensure product listings are fully optimized for search visibility and conversion, including crafting compelling product descriptions, selecting high-quality images, and utilizing relevant keywords. Regularly review and update listings based on performance metrics and customer feedback. Performance Analysis: Monitor and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) for category performance, including sales, margins, inventory turnover, and customer satisfaction. Prepare reports on category performance and present insights and recommendations to stakeholders for continuous improvement. Promotional Planning: Develop and execute promotional strategies to drive traffic and sales within assigned categories, working closely with the marketing team to create targeted campaigns. Coordinate special offers, discounts, and bundled promotions to enhance category visibility and customer conversion. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with marketing, logistics, and customer service teams to ensure a seamless shopping experience and effective fulfilment processes. Provide category-related insights and recommendations to support overall marketplace strategy and product development. Position Requirements: Educational Background: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, E-commerce, or a related field. Work Experience: 3–5 years of experience in category management, merchandising, e-commerce, or inventory management, preferably in a cloud-based or digital marketplace environment. Proven experience in analyzing data, managing suppliers, and driving product and category performance. Familiarity with tools such as Google Analytics, Excel, ERP systems, and marketplace dashboards is advantageous. Key Competencies: Shaping Strategy: Ability to make sense of complex data, trends and dynamics on continually evolving basis, understand and anticipate the potential impact these may have, and use them to shape the direction of the business Driving Change: Recognizing and anticipating the need for change. Demonstrating openness, flexibility and support for change, aligning people to move in new and challenging directions. Dealing effectively with uncertainty, and adapting to new situations and ways of working while staying focused, organized and positive. Networking & Influencing Collaboratively: Developing rapport with a diverse range of people. Building and leveraging networks horizontally and vertically. Proactively influencing and persuading others to gain support for initiatives. Maintaining collaborative stakeholder relationships.