JOB SUMMARY:
The Category Manager of Cigarettes will be accountable for developing & leading the strategic direction of, and advancing all aspects of Cigarettes in their assigned geographies, as part of a total Cigarette assortment and strategy led by the Senior Category Manager. The Category Manager will also support Sr. CM with additional tasks/needs of the Cigarette/Tobacco business unit as needed.
KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES:
Drive Sales/Traffic through Effective Planning & Category Management:
* Develop, manage and communicate sales plans for Cigarettes as requested/needed to support Senior CM in development of overall category sales plans.
* Complete entry of activity within national sales planning tool, including de-averaged costs/retail, and new/expanded items/offers. Validate, and implement monthly retail changes based on by state CSA using pricing system in collaboration with pricing team.
* Ensure marketing and POP are developed as determined by the Senior CM for the monthly sales plan; proof monthly solicitation for accuracy, make recommendations to support development of regional POP.
* Conduct vendor meetings and negotiate for geographies within span of control. Support Sr. Product Director and Sr. Category Manager on day-to-day activities that include Strategic Pricing and customer facing promos.
* Educate, support, and troubleshoot in support of Operations based on assortment, programs, and activations that are store facing. Communicate regularly w/ Operations and Field Merchandising based on CSA/marketplace understanding and opportunities
Vendor/Manufacturer Management:
* Own and manage vendor relationships for assigned geographies as the primary contact and assist Senior CM in vendor relationships for key national relationships. Collaborate with Logistics, Senior Category Manager to ensure stable supply within the demand chain including close collaboration with Logistics team/partners.
* Negotiate delegated category offers, costs, bill-backs, allowances, terms, co-op media and other related opportunities; coordinate / communicate with Senior Category Manager.
* Ensure proper information provided for suppliers including product costs, bill-back, allowances, discounts, LDU's, routing information, new item set up details and new vendor set up details.
* Provide forecasting information including initial committed inventories, historic sales, store turns, seasonality, past order frequency and cannibalization for all delegated categories and provide support for categories at request of the Senior CM in conjunction with Merchandiser and Category Specialist.
Assortment/Tactical Management:
* Launch assortment while maintaining and updating schematics to ensure set integrity.
* Track all key sales metrics (sales/group/unit/margin) for delegated categories and additional categories as requested. Analyze and share insights with Senior Category Manager, Product Director, Zone Leader and other Operations leadership to driving improved results and enhance understanding of the business.
* Support testing activity including preparation/delivering communication materials, tracking of results/feedback to Test areas/stores, verification in stores/Franchise feedback
* Rework and troubleshoot outputs (decisions on proposed items, item setup, etc) and handing requests from Operations, Field Merchandising, and other cross-functional stakeholders.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
EDUCATION: Bachelors/4 Yr Degree
YEARS OF RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE: 4+ years
YEARS OF MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE: NA
CERTIFICATIONS / LICENSES: NA
SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:
* Effective communication skill, both written and verbal. Position requires high degree of collaboration.
* Strong analytical skill/acumen. Role requires a high degree of excel reporting usage and interaction.
* Competency with both standard and custom Business Intelligence systems, such as Power BI, Circana.
* Negotiation experience or accreditation preferred, as well as familiarity with Sales Cycles.
* Position requires high school diploma plus 3 to 4 years experience with heavy PC usage.
* Previous Category Management / College education is also strongly preferred.
If an hourly or salary range is included in this ad it represents the range 7-Eleven in good faith believes is the range of compensation for this role at the time of this posting. The Company may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in this state. This range may be modified in the future. No amount is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable under the terms and conditions of the applicable policies and plans. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, long-term incentive compensation, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company's sole discretion, consistent with the law.
For a general description of all benefits 7-Eleven is offering in the US for the position, please visit this link.