Senior Category Development Manager

• Permanent role
• Bella Vista based with WFH flexibility
• Work on a range of high-impact projects that blend category strategy, category management, data & analytics, and strong project management to improve Customer, sales and profit outcomes

Welcome to BIG W

For over 50 years, we've been helping Aussie families find those little wins. Who makes it all happen? Our team. They're our biggest asset, the heart of everything we do. From new ideas to big energy and genuine care, they bring it every day, on every shift, at every shelf and in every customer moment.

We're part of the largest Australian employer group, a community icon, and our scale opens the door to career possibilities as big as your ambition. Whether you're on the shop floor, in one of our dynamic support offices, or a bustling distribution centre, we'll back you to grow, make an impact, and feel proud to be part of something that truly matters.

If you have a passion for delivering great Customer and Team experience through hands-on strategic problem solving, commercial optimisation, data & analytics - and a desire to join a rapidly evolving retailer where we work collaboratively to unlock exciting opportunities, while creating opportunities for your career development and growth - then you could be the one who we're looking for.

What you'll do

The Senior Manager - Category Dev & Strategic Projects plays a critical leadership role in our Commercial Excellence team. You will be responsible for scoping and delivering highly strategic & value creating programs across category strategy, category planning & range definition, supplier negotiations, and more, to improve Customer, store experience, sales & profitability. Constantly curious about the needs of Customers and outcomes we see in our stores & online, the role also helps drive innovation to enhance capabilities, across AI, analytics, strategy, processes & tools. The role will lead a small, capable team of category development analysts and collaborate seamlessly end-to-end to enable strong outcomes.

• Collaborate directly with our Commercial Leadership, the category management teams, and across BIG W to identify, prioritise and deliver opportunities for Customer, Teams, sales and profitability
• Lead high-impact programs of work from idea to implementation - examples include championing Better Buying/supplier investment negotiations; embedding cost-to-serve insights to inform range build; enhancing, pragmatically, the way in which we consider category roles and strategies; scoping and delivering new analytics products to support key commercial processes such as range reviews; defining how we evaluate article productivity in the future - and more.
• Actively seek to identify opportunities to unlock incremental sales and gross margin, and consider deeply the store and Customer outcomes to identify ways in which we can collectively improve; while ensuring our work is pragmatic, co-created with affected stakeholders, and focused on the value we can unlock.
• Lead and build a team of highly capable category development analysts, consider how we deploy our flexible resources, and support them to deliver real value through their respective projects
• Drive innovation that enhances our capabilities, improves our ways of working and delivers great outcomes for our Customers, stores, teams and business - leveraging fit-for-purpose AI, analytics, strategic frameworks, processes and tools.
• Act as product owner for our analytics suite related to range and category development and work closely with our in-house Retail Analytics team to deliver new, fit-for-purpose solutions
• Ensure strong execution of in-flight projects, either directly in a leading role or via embedded analyst team members, and that we always scope and structure new efforts well, with robust program management, governance, planning and stakeholder engagement
• Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders across all levels of the Commercial team and the broader organisation to influence and achieve the best possible outcome

This role will be reporting into our General Manager - Commercial Excellence and sit within the broader BIG W Commercial function. The Commercial Excellence team acts as our 'commercial engine room' - operating the core processes that enable our buying teams to trade effectively, while seeking ways to make the 'engine' work better and activate the highest-value opportunities and projects.

What you'll bring

• 5+ years of experience from management consulting and/or retail category, strategy or business development
• A strong core toolbox across effective problem solving, analysis, effective written and verbal communication, influencing, and experience in scoping & leading delivery of major transformation initiatives
• Proven track record of strong value creation & stakeholder engagement in a retail setting
• Customer first, team first mindset
• Humility and willingness to lean in to support others to deliver on their strategies and ambitions; bias towards action, not letting perfect get in the way of good
• Curious about outcomes; a problem solver, looking for ways to improve
• An enabler and strong influencer of change through others
• Fact based, data driven

What you'll experience

Our Team Members are at the heart of everything we do and we're always looking for ways to support your career journey and reward great work:

• Team discounts across our range of Woolworths Group brands you know and love and a robust rewards program that celebrates and incentivises purpose-driven work.
• A global business with endless career possibilities around every corner and across every discipline – with valuable exposure to a vast and exciting business network.
• High impact role supporting our teams who enrich our communities.
• A range of programs to help you prioritise and manage your wellbeing, including 24/7 access to the Sonder app.
• A progressive and competitive leave policy that gives you more space for what matters to you.

Endless possibilities with Woolworths Group

We're a proud part of the Woolworths Group – 200,000+ bright minds, passionate hearts and unique perspectives working together connected by a shared Purpose – 'to create better experiences together for a better tomorrow.'

Here you'll be supported and empowered to explore new ideas, make brave commitments and innovate better ways to meet the food and everyday needs of more than 24 million customers every week. Backed by a culture of genuine care, a flexible approach to work and the support to grow your career and make a meaningful impact, the possibilities for what we can achieve together are endless.

Everyone belongs at Woolworths Group

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are key to realising our purpose of better together for a better tomorrow. We recognise the value our team's diversity brings to our business, customers, and communities and that teams with diverse experiences and backgrounds enrich our group and are better able to innovate and solve problems. As one of the largest employers in Australia and New Zealand, we aim to create a truly inclusive workplace where everyone feels that they belong, can be their best selves, and reach their full potential.

We encourage all candidates to apply; please let us know in your application if we can support you with any adjustments in the hiring process.