Senior Category Manager

The Senior Category Manager is responsible for managing revenue and overall profits and losses (P&L) for the most complex and/or multiple groups categories. This role will own the end-to-end business performance for a significant portion of Walgreens' Food & Beverage portfolio, with accountability for sales, profitability, market share, and long-term category growth. Operating with a general manager mindset, this leader develops and executes customer-centric category strategies that drive revenue, EBITDA, and return on invested capital. The ideal candidate is customer-obsessed and commercially minded, with a proven ability to identify opportunities, close performance gaps, and drive growth through data-driven decision making. They excel at translating insights into compelling business stories that influence senior leaders, cross-functional partners, and suppliers, balancing near-term performance with long-term category growth and profitability.

Oversees development and determines merchandising, display, advertising, distribution, packaging and sales plans and programs for highly complex items and multiple merchandise departments. Negotiates buying contracts and obtains most advantageous pricing. Manages day-to-day vendor relationships and growth opportunities. Uses market, competitive, and customer perceptions analyses to set and adjust item price levels. Aggressively manages category performance by establishing category goals and building financial models to predict ROIC. Utilizes innovative methods to predict performance of more complex merchandise. Demonstrates category ownership by creating and defending all planogram category strategies and decisions with sound analytics. Delegates analytic tasks to key support functions and synthesizes results. Provides division leadership with business case for promotions/ROTO spots, including promotional productivity forecast and product performance sensitivity analyses. Manages the translation of marketing and consumer insights into innovative assortment merchandising decisions to drive return on most complex categories. Champions the weekly category meetings with merchant support to manage category performance. Maintains an understanding of Walgreens and WBA private brands, including assortment and projected sales forecasts, gross profit level, and merchandising and promotional programs. Works with the DMM to project sales forecases and gross profit levels within the assigned categories. Cultivates team moral, motivation, and loyalty through continuous training and mentorship, setting obtainable performance goals, providing clear communication and constructive feedback. About Walgreens Founded in 1901, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) proudly serves nearly 9 million customers and patients each day across its approximately 8,500 stores throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Walgreens has approximately 220,000 team members, including nearly 90,000 healthcare service providers, and is committed to being the first choice for pharmacy, retail and health services, building trusted relationships that create healthier futures for customers, patients, team members and communities.

Bachelor’s degree and at least 6 years’ experience in two or more of the following: retail, procurement/purchasing, merchandising, vendor relations, pharmacy operations, or retail marketing OR a high school diploma/GED and at least 9 years of experience in two or more of the following: retail, procurement/purchasing, merchandising, vendor relations, pharmacy operations, or retail marketing. At least 2 years’ experience working with P&L concepts – revenue, cogs, gross profit margin, operating expenses and income Knowledge of customer centric retailing principles and the analytics of customer purchase behavior. At least 4 years of experience developing strategic programs in merchandising, vendor relations, and marketing in the retail business. Knowledge of