The Category Director for Automotive will act as the entrepreneurial general manager responsible for driving growth across Highline Warren’s go-to-market channels. The category directory is the owner of the P&L, and will champion a cross functional team from sales, finance, marketing, and supply chain to drive profitable growth and support ideal customer outcomes. The category director will be expected to be the resident expert of the multiple product categories in the automotive chemical market, developing short and long-term strategies to consistently increase our value proposition with our customers.

Typical Responsibilities may include but not limited to the following:

• Leads and oversees the development and execution of strategic direction for multiple product types across the automotive chemical categories, inclusive of an omnichannel merchandising strategy to drive growth and market share gains. As a leader there will also be a need to support any category management or organization initiatives across the automotive chemical portfolio.
• Conduct market research and analysis to identify trends, competitive landscape, and opportunities for growth within the automotive chemicals sector across all GTM channels. Understands the product life cycle of different chemical products ensuring we have a process for new product development and end of life disposition.
• Develop and implement category strategies to optimize product assortment, pricing, and promotional activities, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including global sourcing, inventory, marketing, and sales, to drive successful product launches and enhance market presence.
• Establish and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers, negotiating favorable terms and agreements to ensure a reliable and cost-effective supply chain.
• Develop, monitor, and analyze key performance indicators, identifying areas for improvement and implementing action plans to drive category performance across all channels.
• Stay abreast of industry developments, technological advancements, and regulatory changes affecting automotive chemicals, providing strategic insights to the executive team. Identify how innovation can be leveraged across the category to drive new product development and market share gains.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing category management team, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment.

Core Competences:

• Must demonstrate strong ownership with an entrepreneurial mind set, with the willingness to roll up your sleeves and get into the details. Must possess a strong Bias for Action.
• Comfortable in ambiguity, both in context of leading and decision making. Comfortable with determining that right data to evaluate to be confident to make decisions to move forward without always having all the data that would be desired.
• Enjoy working in fast paced environment, managing, and leading multiple priorities, and can effectively lead a cross functional team towards tight timelines.
• Effective communicator that can concisely deliver important updates with internal partners and comfortable communicating key elements of our value proposition to leadership at our most critical customers.
• Must be self-motivated and willing to dive headfirst into your work daily, often stepping back to ensure we are prioritizing the most critical opportunities and deliverables.
• You are curious about our customers and our business, always looking for new ideas and opportunities for growth. Brings a continuous improvement mindset to our team members and operations.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or a related field; MBA preferred.
• Proven experience in category management, preferably within the automotive chemcial industry.
• Strong financial and analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Excellent negotiation and vendor management skills.
• Strategic thinker with a demonstrated ability to develop and execute successful category strategies.
• Effective leadership and team management skills.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.
• Familiarity with automotive chemical products and market dynamics.