Associate Category Manager - Exclusive Brands
HybridBrugge, Flanders, Belgium
Job Summary
Own and deliver the Exclusive Brands category strategy, including growth plans, product roadmaps, and promotional programs to achieve budget objectives. Lead end-to-end stakeholder management for product development, sourcing, pricing, and go-to-market activity while growing profitably in line with gross margin targets. Manage working capital and inactive, obsolete, and surplus inventory, ensuring products meet all legal, safety, and regulatory standards. Partner with Marketing, Sales, Merchandising, and Supply Chain teams to drive awareness and sell-through, acting as the product and category SME for system enhancements and lifecycle management. Support sustainability initiatives including packaging reduction and responsible sourcing. This hybrid role (3 days office, 2 days remote) reports to the EMEA Head Office within a global market leader in Security, Fire, and Audio/Visual distribution.
Required Qualifications
- Experience as a product or category manager, or in a similar commercial role
- Strong product marketing and commercial category management experience
- Ability to set clear strategic direction while remaining hands-on and execution-focused
- Proven ability to support field sales with pricing, inventory positioning, and product expertise
- Strong relationship-building and influencing skills at all levels of the business
- Knowledge of product regulations, quality standards and packaging requirements
Desired Qualifications
- Experience building and executing category roadmaps, including annual and longer-term three to five year plans
- Experience improving inventory management processes, including SIOP, forecasting, and IOS control
- A track record of driving integrated growth across multiple product families or platforms
- Strong analytical capability, with confidence in Excel, PowerPoint, and reporting tools
- High levels of commercial judgement, curiosity, and critical thinking
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