Category Manager

**About Us**:
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (API) is one of Australia's leading pharmaceutical distributors and fastest growing health and beauty retailers. API is the foundational asset of the Wesfarmers Health Division, and is the parent company of Priceline Pharmacy, Soul Pattinson Chemist, Pharmacist Advice and Clear Skincare Clinics. Our services include wholesale product delivery, retail services, marketing programs and business advisory services.

We currently have an opportunity for a Category Manager to join the Priceline Merchandise Team at our Camberwell Support office. Reporting to the Business Category Manager, this role is accountable for leading their team in setting and achieving the KPIs and ROI on their category through their strategic thought leadership, innovative design & leadership in executing the strategy.

**About the Role**:
**The responsibilities for this role include:
- Closely collaborate with the Digital and Loyalty teams to understand complex customer insights
- Analyse and interpret complex internal and external data sources to define the category and draw a direct lineage between the category definition and the purpose, products, and services it delivers to all customers in the customer segmentation
- Recognise innovative opportunities to incorporate technology into the category to drive the customer interest, experience and spend
- Strategic thought leadership resulting in a category strategy surmising the story behind the range, the overall product and service.
- Present and project manage the implementation of the category strategy to internal and external key stakeholders, using influencing skills to ensure their engagement and shared ownership
- Drive positive disruption to ensure a range of inspired ideas
- Lead the value stream, and end-to-end execution from insights to procurement, to distribution, to productive inventory, to instore and online to stock resolution
- Develop and implement a strategy to ensure the category is operating in line with the objectives of the business to add value, mitigate supply chain risk and deliver cost savings.
- Account for the ongoing purchasing strategy and activity and ensuring optimal supplier performance and price.

**About you**:

- Melbourne based
- Tertiary qualification (Business, Finance / Procurement, Marketing or Retail)
- Minimum 5 years’ experience as a Category Manager, Buying/Merchandise Manager or Account Manager
- Excellent analytical skills to draw insights from complex customer data and present these alongside creative solutions
- Superior category commercial and financial knowledge and skills
- Extensive procurement / category management background and knowledge of best practice
- A strong understanding of inventory management processes, including demand planning & forecasting and supplier management
- Lead by example and develop the knowledge and skills of others
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to lead through influence and develop high-performing teams
- Exemplary multi-tasking and organisation skills
- Proficient in using Microsoft suite and common systems
- Understanding of compliance and regulatory

**We value our employees by offering**:

- Ongoing professional development and career opportunities across the Wesfarmers Health Division and the broader Wesfarmers Group
- Access to employee benefits across Wesfarmers including staff discounts at Bunnings, Kmart, Target, and Officeworks