Reporting to the General Manager, Merchandise & Planning, the Senior Category Manager is responsible for the end-to-end performance of key product categories, with a strong focus on supplier partnerships, commercial outcomes, and sustainable growth.

This role plays a critical part in shaping category strategy, driving supplier performance, and delivering value to customers through well-executed ranging, pricing, and trading decisions.

This is a commercially focused position centred on supplier management, negotiation, and category performance.

Key accountabilities

Category strategy & performance

- Develop and execute category strategies that deliver sales growth, margin targets, and market competitiveness
- Monitor category performance, identifying risks and opportunities to optimise range, pricing, and promotions
- Use data and insights to make informed, commercially sound decisions

Supplier relationship management

- Build and maintain strong, strategic relationships with key suppliers and brand partners
- Lead regular supplier reviews, performance tracking, and joint business planning
- Drive accountability through clear KPIs, service levels, and commercial outcomes

Commercial negotiation & sourcing

- Lead commercial negotiations including pricing, rebates, trading terms, and long-term agreements
- Identify opportunities to improve margin, reduce costs, and enhance overall category profitability
- Source new suppliers and products to strengthen the category offer and mitigate risk

Range planning & execution

- Develop customer-led assortments aligned to category strategy and brand positioning
- Continuously review and optimise range performance, balancing innovation with core lines




- Partner with Planning to ensure the right stock levels, forecasting accuracy, and availability

Cross-functional collaboration

- Work closely with Planning, Supply Chain, Finance, Digital, and Store Operations to deliver category outcomes
- Provide clear commercial insights and recommendations to senior stakeholders
- Support execution of category plans across all channels

Risk, compliance & governance

- Ensure supplier compliance with ethical sourcing standards, regulatory requirements, and company policies
- Proactively identify and manage supply chain risks
- Maintain accurate systems, pricing, and product data integrity

Leadership & continuous improvement

- Mentor and develop a buyer and buying assistant, promoting best‑practice buying
- Champion process improvement, data‑driven decision‑making, and strategic capability‑building initiatives

About you

You’re a commercially driven Category Manager who thrives on building strong supplier partnerships and delivering measurable results.

You’ll bring:

- Proven experience in category management, buying, or commercial roles within retail
- Strong supplier management and negotiation capability, with a track record of delivering commercial outcomes
- Highly developed commercial acumen with experience managing sales, margin, and category performance
- Analytical mindset with the ability to turn data into actionable insights
- Ability to influence and collaborate across cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders
- Strong planning and prioritisation skills in a fast-paced workplace
- A customer-first mindset, with an understanding of retail trends and behaviours

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Required Skill Profession

Operations Specialties Managers

📌 Senior Category Manager (Dandenong South)
🏢 Baby Bunting
📍 Dandenong South