Senior Category Manager (Fragrance)

At Sephora we inspire our customers, empower our teams, and help them become the best versions of themselves.  We create an environment where people are valued, and differences are celebrated. Every day, our teams across the world bring to life our purpose: to expand the way the world sees beauty by empowering the ExtraOrdinary in each of us. We are united by a common goal - to reimagine the future of beauty.

The Opportunity:

The Fragrance Category Manager / Senior Category Manager reports into the Head of Category, playing a pivotal role in business performance and strategic direction during this exciting time of expansion for Sephora UK. You will be responsible the day-to-day management and key decision making for a named category. 

As an established and senior member of the category team, you will have absolute ownership of the category, closely managing the P&L, working in a fast-paced environment, you will deliver against stretching sales and margin budgets through use of strong analytical, negotiation and communication skillsets, underpinned by a proactive strategic mindset. This role is a pivotal part of the long-term strategy of Sephora UK. As the face of the business for all Fragrance brands, you will build strong relationships with all suppliers old and new, negotiating, owning and managing all terms, business plans and assortments within Fragrance in order to hit the business targets.

What You’ll Do:

• Drive sales and profitability of the designated beauty category through strategic planning and execution.
• Successfully manage supplier database and focus on building strong relationships with all brand partners.
• Arrange and attend supplier meetings to analyse and discuss supplier performance, gain insight from supplier where available and collaboratively build a strategic plan together.
• Negotiate favourable terms with key suppliers to extract maximum value.
• Create business plans with key suppliers which animate their specific marketing plans and with inclusion within the Sephora marketing, promotional & loyalty plans, communicating requirements to internal teams in a timely manner.
• Arrange regular supplier reviews, presenting brand performance/analysis and identifying opportunities drive sales and profit.
• Regularly monitor sales and margin metrics, identifying risks, areas for improvement and implementing corrective actions.
• Develop the category strategy by conducting comprehensive market analysis, including customer trends, competitor landscape, and emerging product innovations. 
• Lead on new brand contracts and develop 360 launch plans.
• Assess proposed new lines from suppliers and update both online and in-store ranges accordingly and oversee the setup, VM and order delivery on time to hit market launch dates.
• Confirm brand ranges and opening order quantities for new store openings.
• Work closely with the Demand Planning Team to maintain strong availability chasing brands for delivery and escalating when appropriate and advising on stock ordering and delivery arrangements.
• Work collaboratively with international teams to ensure alignment on brand positioning and messaging.
• Work cross-functionally with Marketing teams to deliver the very best execution for all in-store and online activations.
• Oversee the workload of the Assistant Category Manager(s) and Category Administrator(s), ensuring they are aligned to the business priorities. Support and develop them to be able to achieve their objectives.
• Deputise for Head of Category Management in Monday Trade / Business Review / Commercial Review Meetings and brand meetings where relevant.
• Support the Merchandising Director ahead of senior level meetings as well as other ad hoc requests.
• Support the wider Category Management Team and Junior members of the team in absence of Head of Category Management.

What You’ll Bring:

• Strong established Premium Fragrance buying experience within the Premium Fragrance industry
• Experience in strategic planning and delivery within the beauty industry.
• Outstanding organisational, accuracy and prioritisation skills including the ability to work to tight deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills as well as a strong work ethic.
• Ability to analyse data and provide detailed, thought through conclusions and suggestions.
• Comfortable with change and working with a high level of ambiguity.
• Enthusiastic and self-motivated, with the ability to lead projects proactively and influence decision making.
• Innovative and creative, with a logical and methodical approach to problem solving.

While at Sephora, you’ll enjoy...

• The people. You will be surrounded by some of the most talented leaders and teams – people you can be proud to work with.

• The learning. We invest in training and developing our teams, and you will continue evolving and building your skills through personalized career plans.

• The culture. As a leading beauty retailer within the LVMH family, our reach is broad, and our impact is global. It is in our DNA to innovate and, at Sephora, all 40,000 passionate team members across 35 markets and 3,000 stores, are united by a common goal - to reimagine the future of beauty.

You can unleash your creativity, because we’ve got disruptive spirit. You can learn and evolve, because we empower you to be your best. You can be yourself, because you are what sets us apart. This, is the future of beauty. Reimagine your future, at Sephora. Sephora is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace for all. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, advancement, or other employment practices. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating and fostering an inclusive environment for all employees.