Books Category Manager Jobs, Textbook Center Jobs

In this role, you are an entrepreneur, a head of business unit, a team-leader and an operator who both knows how to be scrappy while operating as part of a larger team and business. You are a strong leader who is analytical and data-driven, can prioritize well, communicate clearly and compellingly, and who understands how to drive a high level of focus and excellence.

Main Responsibilities and Accountabilities

  • Owns the Books category end-to-end across all our channels (wholesale, owned stores, franchised stores, e-commerce) and is responsible for the performance of the category: assortment, financials, merchandising, pricing and consumer experience
  • Leads the category from selection of the suppliers, sourcing of the products, definition and distribution of the assortment, inventory management, along with merchandising and marketing/promotional activities
  • Owns the commercial calendar for the books category in order to maximize each commercial opportunity to grow sales and visibility of TBC
  • Creates and develops a data-driven category business plan and strategy for development of the category and leads its execution
  • Builds and leads a team to execute on business area or category objectives
  • Coaches, drives and inspires team members and provides feedback to enhance skills, knowledge and work performance
  • Defines success for the category and engages team to deliver business results consistent with category strategy
  • Ensures premium merchandising standards across all channels to enhance consumer experience, including product presentation, content, customer reviews and enhancements
  • Evolves and elevates the category’s assortment strategy through in-market expertise and identifies assortment gaps and opportunities
  • Optimizes the product sourcing mix across manufacturers, distributors and third-party retailers
  • Works with planning and supply chain partners to manage owned inventory in the books category
  • Owns vendor relationships, including negotiating product costs and supplier funding
  • Ensures holistic price competitiveness and adherence
  • Collaborates with marketing and creative teams on category messaging
  • Leads category management projects to optimize ranges and related merchandising
  • Fosters trust relationships with vendors to achieve better pricing and quality of services and places appropriate orders to ensure product availability that meets consumer demands
  • Works alongside wholesale and retail teams to translate customer insights into strategies which drive performance
  •  Manages P&L and ensures achievement of category financial targets and identifies levers to achieve these targets

Experience

● Masters degree in Business, retail or related fields

● 8-10 years experience in business, retail or related fields in the FMCG sector

● 5 years non-food category management in an omnichannel retail environment

● Strong negotiator with proven experience in setting negotiation strategies and conducting negotiations

● Extremely customer-focused and takes the time to understand the evolution of the market and the needs of the business

● Deep expertise in inventory Management, Planning, and Merchandising both in physical and digital retail environments

● Strong analytical skills including the ability to quickly synthesize, distill and draw conclusions on large amounts of disparate data

● Ability to manage multiple simultaneous projects requiring frequent communication, organization, time management, and problem-solving skills

● Analytical thinking and the ability to analyze retail insights and break down the components but still be able to see the bigger picture

● Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills

How to apply

To apply, please submit a letter of interest clearly indicating “Books Category Manager” as your subject title together with your resume and three references on or before 20th January 2020 to recruitment@tbc.co.ke