Department Manager - Category Management - Ace Hardware Corporation

The Job

The principal function of the Department Manager – Category Management is to lead, motivate, oversee and direct the development of consumer centric, localized, highly productive retail assortments that drive category growth, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

The Category Management process determines and analyzes Ace’s most successful retailers in conjunction with consumer research and industry trends to develop fact-based programs, which focuses on product selection, product/category placement, while partnering with other cross functional teams to optimize category growth and planogram development. The Department Manager is responsible for leading and developing the team of analysts that drive both analytical and space planning functions of assortment review and selection. This individual will be relied on to drive strategic initiatives, improve efficiencies and processes, and above all improve the profitability of planograms through retailer acceptance of our recommended assortments.

What you’ll do

Category Management

• Integrate with Merchandising to influence the category review and strategic planning process- developing end-to-end strategies for assortments
• Support Merchant team with category performance analytics, consumer insights, key trends and root cause; communicate effectively across all levels of Ace – Officer down to Retailer 
• Partner with Merchandising and Field leadership to define and manage to corporate and retailer performance targets of key category metrics and improved Discovery Acceptance 
• Develop critical retail execution plans for updated assortments and strategic plans with specific implementation guidance for New Stores, Remodels and Mult-Store chains

Macro & Micro Assortment Analytics & Space Management 

• Build, maintain and grow strategic and analytically driven approach to space optimization, including profitability analysis, competitive analysis, retail positioning, & inventory position
• Create locally relevant planograms, utilizing clustering and customer segmentation to identify regional, demographic or niche assortment opportunities
• Develop strategic approach to macro assortment strategies, including reduction of unproductive Discovery inventory across all categories
• Own, manage and communicate all assortment and space planning strategies, systems and processes 

Cross-functional Relationships

• Partner with the visual team (fixtures, décor and signage) to deliver retail ready planograms that maximize use of space yet remain shoppable for the consumer
• In conjunction with Merchandising manage the yearly Category Review schedule and process and determine category review candidates
• Work with analyst teams to ensure category, strategy, goals and KPIs are met and that we are considering all cluster/regional opportunities
• Partner with vendors to gain industry knowledge and access to customer data
• Connect cross-functionally to get analysts access to all relevant data points required for analysis
• The development and implementation of our programs requires buy in, support and substantial teamwork between numerous departments; including IT, Retail Dev, Store Systems and Ops, Marketing, Merchandising, Order Entry, Inventory, Distribution and Credit.  A considerable amount of communication, networking and understanding is necessary.  A consistent appeal to the mission and vision of the company and group is required to impede department barriers

Consumer Trends/Merchandising Trends/Techniques

• Leverage internal and external data sources, including rich Ace Rewards customer data, to identify emerging consumer trends and opportunities within various customer segments
• Study competitors & industry best practices to stay on top of trending merchandising techniques and visual merchandising opportunities
• Work closely with the Store Environment team to identify space saving fixtures/alternatives to improve linear foot productivity

Convention Readiness

• Ace has two Retailer conventions every year and the planning and execution of the Discovery Edge Booth will require considerable leadership and involvement from the Department Manager
• The coordination of show efforts is a shared responsibility, but the Department Manager will play a key role in the planning, space allocation and launch of the assortments in the Discovery Edge booth
• Lead the development of tools to execute and market all planogram resets to aide planogram changes for retailers.

Team Leadership & People Development 

• Lead team to support vision of strategic and dynamic management of assortment, space and visual communications across Ace 
• Enforce a culture of creative curiosity that will drive actionable insights based on robust analytics 
• Grow top talent within the team and feed other Ace Corporate teams 

What you need to succeed

Experience and Technical Requirements

• 10 plus years of retail product and assortment experience.  Deep understanding of the 5 P’s (product, pricing, placement, promotion and people). 
• Bachelor’s Degree in Business or related field (Master’s Degree a plus)
• Strong visionary and strategic leadership skills
• Proven ability to lead and manage team members
• Ability to develop relationships and credibility with individuals at all organizational levels
• Strong research and analytical skills.  Proven experience of turning data into actionable insights with clear articulation and influence
• Proven project management experience
• Demonstrate proficiency with MS Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• A broad scale understanding of business, finance and the retail marketplace. 
• Experience uncovering performance and profit drivers based on primary or secondary research and understanding the efficient practices necessary to achieve or maintain sustained competitive advantage
• Ability to discover category performance and sales and profit drivers in view of the entire store operation is paramount to a successful retail program. 
• Experience or understanding of Ace’s cooperative structure and field staff organization

Compensation Details:

$135000-$172200 per year

Why should you join our team?

We live our values - W.E.L.I.G.H.T (Winning, Excellence, Love, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility, and Teamwork). Gratitude. Humility. Love. You don’t often see values like these in most corporate statements, but Ace is different. These things are important to us. They represent our commitment to the company, our employees, to Ace retailers and to the Ace brand.

In addition to providing our employees a great culture, Ace also offers competitive benefits* that address life’s necessities and perks, many of which expand and improve year after year, including:

• Incentive opportunities, based on role/grade level (rapid company growth over the past 5 years resulted in incentives being paid out at an average of 122% of your target opportunity!)
• Generous 401(k) retirement savings plan with a fully vested matching contribution the first year in addition to quarterly contributions and annual discretionary contribution (once eligibility requirements have been met).  Over the past 5 years, company contributions (matching, quarterly & discretionary) for fully eligible employees have averaged 9.6% of total eligible compensation
• Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision and disability – up to 26 weeks short-term disability and long-term disability) & life insurance benefits for you and your dependents
• 21 days of vacation immediately available (prorated in the first year) and up to 6 paid holidaysdepending on the month of hire
• Company Car, phone and fuel card are provided for field-based positions
• Your career at Ace is more than just a job. It’s a chance to be part of something meaningful. We help locally-owned businesses thrive and make an impact in their communities – and we support our employees in doing the same by offering an annual Ace Cares Week, 20 hours off work per year to volunteer at an organization of your choice, opportunities to help Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the Ace Helpful Fund through the Ace Foundation
• Ace invests in every employee we hire, with a key focus on development and coaching. We offer on-site classes, facilitator-led courses, and a generous tuition assistance program, plus a performance management approach that goes beyond the typical annual review
• We know the work environment matters. That’s why Ace holds frequent campus events like Employee Appreciation Week, vendor demos, cookouts, and merchandise sales
• We bring them to you! Services such as mobile spas, auto maintenance, car wash and detailing, dry cleaning, dentists, eye doctors, flu shots, recycling and more!
• Employee discounts on Ace merchandise (including top brands like Weber, Traeger, Yeti, Craftsman, DeWalt and more), travel, fitness, computers and thousands more
• Birth/Adoption bonding paid time off
• Adoption cost reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – access to free visits to therapists and lawyers, guidance on financial matters, elder and childcare, and assistance with tickets to entertainment events
• Identity theft protection

* Benefits are provided in compliance with applicable plans and policies.

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We want to hear from you!
When most people think of career opportunities with Ace Hardware, they often think of the helpful cashiers and sales associates at their local store. However, have you also considered the people behind the scenes who select, promote, ship and process the invoices for more than 75,000 products? Maybe you haven't, but we'd like you to. Because together we help our customers take care of their homes. Come find out why a career with the Ace Hardware Corporation is one of America's best kept secrets.

Equal Opportunity Employer
Ace Hardware Corporation is committed to a policy of promoting equal employment opportunities. The company recognizes the importance of diversity and leveraging the skills and talents of all people to the mutual advantage of each individual and the organization. The company is committed to the prevention of employment discrimination related to race, religion, color, sex (including sexual harassment), gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, disability and military or veteran status, sexual orientation or any other action covered by federal or applicable state/local laws.

Disclaimer

The pay range for this position starts as listed in the job posting, but could be higher based on education and experience. Please note, compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each opening. We take into consideration the minimum requirements outlined in the job description, such as an individual’s education, training and experience, the position’s work location, required travel (if any), and external market conditions when determining the final salary for potential new hires.

Be aware that salary estimates published via alternate online job boards may not be a true representation of the actual pay range offered for this position. Please refer to the Ace position description for the accurate starting pay range information and feel free to discuss this with a Talent Acquisition professional if you are chosen to move forward with an interview.

This written “Position Description” is not intended to cover all aspects of the position listed. It is meant to cover the basic/general essential job functions of a particular position. Ace Hardware Corporation reserves the right to change job duties, including essential job functions, according to business necessity.