Director Category Management (Remote)

Position Summary:

The Director of Category Management is a high-impact leadership role responsible for defining and executing long-term strategic category plans across a portfolio of key product categories. This individual will serve as a trusted partner to Sales, Integrated Site Leadership, IT, Sourcing, and Supply Chain, with a mandate to optimize gross margin performance, drive profitable growth, build strategic supplier relationships, and align Vallen’s category strategies with evolving customer needs and market dynamics. Responsible for the end-to-end economics and performance for their aligned categories under management. 

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Assortment Optimization: Coaches product department team to define core vs. extended product assortment strategies using data-driven analysis of customer demand, market trends, and supplier performance with a focus on the customer.
• Strategic Planning: Leads the development of multi-year strategic category plans across the Director’s aligned portfolio leaders including customer segmentation, pricing strategy, competitive positioning, and value proposition development.
• Supplier Strategy: Develops and maintain top-to-top strategic supplier relationships; identify consolidation and partnership opportunities to improve profitability, service, and innovation.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Key, executive partner with Sales, Sourcing, Marketing, and Operations to ensure category strategy execution aligns with enterprise objectives.
• Innovation Pipeline: Challenges category leaders to identify emerging trends and new product opportunities; champion innovation in collaboration with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Financial Performance Management: Owns product department-level P&L and working capital performance, including margin optimization initiatives, cost management, and supplier program execution. Responsible for building department-level forecasts and budgets.
• Perform staff management duties for a team of 10 – 30 associates. Staff management responsibilities include but are not limited to interviewing, selecting, hiring, coaching, counseling, and disciplining associates while enforcing company policies, procedures, and productivity standards.  
• Assess current team and determine path to a Winning Team.
• Establish and execute criteria in support of Vallen’s business goals and objectives and evaluate vendor performance and compliance when considering contract renewals.
• Provide input into and/or formulate short term and long-term strategic marketing and communications plans.
• Other duties as assigned.

Staff Management Responsibilities:  

Direct management of a department, section, unit or group involving responsibility for results in terms of cost, methods and personnel. Full accountability for hiring, discipline, discharge, performance appraisals, salary administration, etc.

Job Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in a related field of study and at least 10 years applicable of experience.  Applicable experience should include:

• Experience curating product assortments with a focus on understanding the customer “jobs-to-be-done” and their needs
• Extensive understanding of sourcing and procurement operations, procedures, and best practices with demonstration of strong supplier negotiation and business planning skills to maximize supplier sales.
• Experience with developing supplier-focused programs (e.g., incentives, co-ops, rebates, etc.)
• Industrial distribution industry experience preferred.
• Strong presentation skills with professional presence to deliver materials to executive audience (internally and/or externally).
• Strong cross-functional program management experience
• Highly entrepreneurial- someone with experience in building organizations and driving change management.
• Demonstrated leadership, collaboration, and change management skills.

Work Environment & Physical Demands:

Reasonable accommodations will be evaluated and may be implemented to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions of this position.

• Routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets, etc.
• Regularly required to talk and hear.
• Frequently required to sit.
• Occasionally required to stand and walk.
• Must be able to get self to and from various work locations. This typically requires a valid driver’s license to operate a moving vehicle (personal, company, and/or rental).
• May be required to wear various forms of protective equipment (shoes, gloves, protective eyewear, etc.) when making sales calls and/or visiting warehouse, manufacturing, customer and/or supplier facilities.
• May be exposed to facilities subject to seasonal temperature fluctuations (hot in summer, cold in winter) and conditions (dirt, smoke, concrete surfaces, etc.) when viewing and/or demonstrating products.
• Occasionally required to lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and ability to adjust focus.
• Long periods of time working on a computer and performing repetitive key-boarding activities is required.