Assistant Category Manager II

Company Name: Kroger General Office
Position Type: Employee
FLSA Status: Exempt

Serve as a buyer of a discrete, smaller category with ultimate sign-off from the category manager (CM). Own category management responsibilities for part of merchandise category. Assist category managers with the tactical work in building assortments, managing KOMPASS process, executing pricing/promotions, and gathering/analyzing data. Demonstrate the company's core values of respect, honesty, integrity, diversity, inclusion, and safety.

Essential Job Functions

• Make recommendations on assortment/plan-o-grams for a smaller category area of responsibility, including potential adds/deletes, and engage CM as needed for perspective and final sign-off
• Manage data analysis and day-to-day communication with vendors, 84.51 and Our Brands, and divisions for discrete area; ensure all inputs are gathered in a timely and comprehensive manner
• Validate local requests with data analysis and align on jointly-defined KPIs with the division
• Support plan-o-gram process, including organizing templates and PCOE communications
• Monitor SKU performance on an ongoing assortment to meet financial and strategic goals; establish feedback loop with CM to inform of potential adjustments
• Make recommendations on category budgets, forecasts, and plans; identify trends in business and competitive landscape that may affect health of business
• Support assortment work and testing process for CMs
• Assist with ad-hoc analysis to drive business forward, such as to evaluate decisions to deviate from pricing algorithm recommendations or react to competitor price moves or cost changes
• Be proficient across all systems (NEXT, Stratum, etc.)
• Support CM in driving promotional strategy to engage customers and drive excitement
• Review past ad performance and information on shelf capacity, store sales, and display locations to inform future promotional recommendations
• Assist in supply chain issue resolution with replenishment; update CMs before regular checkpoints and engage as needed to provide direction
• Organize and manage information sharing with vendor, including product lists /SKU information, directional forecast needs, etc
• Must be able to perform the essential job functions of this position with or without reasonable accommodation

Minimum Position Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience with replenishment buying/procurement, merchandising, store assistant leader, operations or brand management
• Excellent oral/written communication skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Intermediate knowledge of Excel, Word and Outlook

Desired Previous Experience/Education

• Bachelor's Degree
• Any exposure to Kroger Category Management Systems, Business Objects, Enterprise Sales Planning (ESP) and 84.51 sciences
• Any division store management experience
• Any replenishment buying/procurement experience
• Strong organization and multi-tasking skills

Education Level: Bachelor's Desired
Required Travel: Up to 25%
Required Certifications/Licenses: None
Position Type: Full-Time
Regions: General Office- Cincinnati

States: Ohio; Indiana; Kentucky
Keywords: Category Management

Jobs at Kroger: At Kroger, we hire people who have a passion for helping others and who want to build a relationship with our Customers. No matter what stage of your career, you can build your future at Kroger. We look for people who want more, aspire to be more and work hard to achieve their goals. Our focus on keeping the Customer first is what makes us successful. As the largest traditional grocery chain in the U.S. and one of the world's largest retailers, we employee more nearly half a million Associates across 35 states. We offer many opportunities not only in our stores, but in Manufacturing, Logistics, Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, and many other fields.

Company Overview: Kroger Family of Companies employs nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner names. At The Kroger Co., we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. Careers with The Kroger Co. and our family of companies offer competitive wages, flexible schedules, benefits and room for advancement.

Posting Notes: OH || Cincinnati || 1014 Vine Street || 45202 || Kroger General Office || [[mfield2]] || Category Management || Employee || Exempt || Full-Time || None