Category Director - Remote

**Remote Opportunity**

SUMMARY:  The Category Director is responsible for owning the performance of the category, which entails planning and executing a strategy to increase sales and profitability for the selected product line(s). The category leader owns the Product Assortment Strategy, Merchandising and Sourcing/Supplier Management for the category for both national brands and BlackHawk private label.   We are seeking a category leader with a high degree of energy and capability to understand the landscape, build a plan, execute it, work through barriers, make decisions and drive results.   

BlackHawk is a growing industrial distributor with a leading position in the Cutting Tools & Abrasives space.  BlackHawk is rapidly expanding Fastener and Packaging product lines that complement our strength in Cutting Tools & Abrasives.  The category leader for Fasteners and Packaging will be responsible for continuing our momentum in these growth categories by selecting the products and suppliers for BlackHawk’s Core offer.  The Category Director will collaborate with other BlackHawk teams to ensure their categories are effectively merchandised, digitally and to customers and sellers in the field.  The category leader will directly manage our sourcing and supplier agreements to deliver best total cost for the category.

Category Directors at BlackHawk manage a COGS base of roughly $100MM+.  Higher growth categories, such as Fasteners are building rapidly on somewhat smaller existing COGS. 

ESSENTIAL COMPENTENCIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Personally exhibits, recruits and coaches associates consistent with Core Behaviors
• Responsible for promoting culture of safety
• Develop and execute a strategy to increase sales and profitability of the category.  This includes product selection for our Core offer and in turn supplier selection and partnership, rationalization if needed, product cost improvement, supplier terms and program negotiation, national pricing strategy, private label development where applicable, and driving field engagement and merchandising plans to drive growth.
• Responsible for improving margin rate for the category.   Optimize product cost position and rebates, negotiate and execute RFPs or Line Reviews as needed to develop the best possible combination of products and suppliers to execute the growth strategy at the best total cost.
• Build relationships with BlackHawk sales leaders and teams to promote, advise and enable the selling of the category to BlackHawk customers.  Facilitating, and advocating for, supplier support of our field sales teams is a critical element of enabling sales success.
• Oversee the BlackHawk private label program for the Packaging Category.  This includes managing the product portfolio, sourcing and pricing for two existing, mature brands.
• Own the entire relationship with the suppliers in the portfolio including creating sustainable supplier programs, promotions and product placement that supports company sales strategy.
• Present and position the selected products and supplier product information effectively to customers in our digital and print merchandising vehicles to drive revenue, gross profit dollars, customer acquisition, and overall financial performance. The category leader will partner with Marketing to ensure the category strategy is properly driven through the Marketing execution efforts. 
• Work closely with the inventory planning team and the respective Buyer to deliver on our excess and obsolete inventory targets, stocking strategies and supplier performance.
• Lead and develop two Category Managers who drive the Packaging Category execution.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Requires a strong balance of strategic, analytical, leadership and communication skills.
• The position also requires a commercial understanding to identify opportunities to drive growth and improve profitability through pricing, cost improvement and mix.
• Strong ethics and integrity.  The category leader will make decisions having significant impact on our business and will be the face of the organization to suppliers and other stakeholders.
• Outstanding communication skills, ability to influence sales, field and senior leaders and build relationships across functions, levels and geographies.
• Ability to work with a national sales and service organization; this role requires someone who is genuinely interested and believes that building a successful category starts with the understanding the field and the customer.  This individual wants to roll up their sleeves.
• Strong supplier management and negotiation skills are required.  Experience with the Fastener  category is strongly preferred, as is experience with global sourcing supply chains.
• Analytical skills in order to use data analysis to help identify opportunities and inform decisions.  A strong analytical mindset and capability that is balanced with the ability to get things done is a must.
• Strategic relationship building skills.  A prerequisite of a category leader is the ability to develop strategic and positive relationships with external stakeholders (suppliers, customers) and internal stakeholders across the business.   The category leader is the ‘business owner’ for the category and as such needs to possess the leadership skills to help the organization deliver against the category objectives.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: 

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Master’s degree preferred
• Previous experience in Supply Chain management required
• Minimum of 3 years of experience required, 5 years preferred

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS:

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• Employee is regularly required to speak and hear English, stand, walk, sit, use hand to finger, handle or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms. Employee is required to use computer and other equipment.
• Specific vision abilities include close vision and the ability to clearly focus vision.

*BlackHawk Industrial is an Equal Opportunity Employer

**BHID policy requires all potential employees to undergo pre-employment background and drug screening. This is a standard procedure we follow to ensure a safe and productive work environment.