Job Description Director, Category Management
Job Title: Director Category Management
Reports to: Senior Management / CEO
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Role Purpose
The Director Category Management is responsible for leading the development and execution of retail category strategies to drive revenue growth, profitability, and customer engagement. This role ensures optimal product assortment, pricing, merchandising, and promotional strategies across multiple categories, while spearheading expansion initiatives such as store openings, redesigns, and digital projects. The position requires a balance of strategic vision and hands-on execution, with a strong focus on building partnerships, managing performance, and ensuring customer-first experiences.
Key Responsibilities
Category Strategy & Expansion
- Develop and implement category strategies aligned with business objectives, customer trends, and market opportunities.
- Lead category growth through product assortment planning, brand mix optimization, and pricing strategies.
- Drive retail expansion projects including new store openings, format redesigns, and category-focused rollouts.
- Collaborate with merchandising and design teams to ensure effective product placement and in-store visibility.
Coordination & Stakeholder Management
- Provide day-to-day support to senior management on retail category operations and strategy.
- Act as the central link between multiple departments (core retail, fashion, IT, logistics, accounting, and store design).
- Build and maintain strong partnerships with brand principals, suppliers, distributors, and internal stakeholders to maximize category performance.
- Coordinate with commercial teams on assortment planning, pricing models, and marketing activations.
Performance Monitoring & Governance
- Formalize and document decisions from governance and management meetings, ensuring alignment and follow-up.
- Monitor KPIs across sales, profitability, stock turnover, and customer engagement for assigned categories.
- Validate and ensure implementation of category strategies and service levels within defined frameworks.
- Identify performance gaps and lead corrective actions to deliver category targets.
Project & Digital Transformation
- Lead the planning and execution of store redevelopment, redesign, and category-specific projects.
- Oversee IT and digital initiatives related to category management, including ERP/WMS tools, dashboards, and customer engagement platforms.
- Drive innovation by introducing best practices, digital tools, and data-driven approaches to enhance category performance.
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelors degree in Business, Marketing, Retail Management, or related field (MBA preferred).
- 1015 years of experience in category management, merchandising, or retail operations, with exposure to luxury or travel retail brands strongly preferred.
- Proven track record in managing product categories, assortment, pricing, and promotions.
- Experience in retail expansion projects such as new store openings and redesigns.
- Strong commercial acumen with P&L accountability experience.
- Proficiency in data analysis, performance dashboards, and retail systems (ERP/WMS/SAP).
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
- Fluency in English required; Arabic or French is an advantage.
Core Competencies
- Strategic Category Planning & Execution
- Assortment Management & Merchandising
- Expansion & Store Development
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Stakeholder Relationship Management
- Governance & Performance Monitoring
- Data-Driven Decision Making
- Customer-Centric Approach
Work Environment
This position is based in Riyadh, with frequent interaction across retail stores, regional offices, and brand partners. Occasional travel may be required across the GCC for brand coordination, store openings, or regional projects.
