Position Purpose

The Category Director is responsible for the strategy and performance of the Skincare & Haircare Category for both B&M and E-Commerce. He/She will be driving the sales and growth of the category by implementing successful merchandizing, activation and launch strategies.

OUR Manifesto

Our Manifesto At Sephora, we stand together and we stand for something more. For empowerment, for exploration, for the opportunity to impact people’s lives through the unlimited power of beauty. We embrace uniqueness, unleash creativity, and pursue progress every day. Sparked by energy and excitement, our passion is contagious. We are united by a common goal – to reimagine the future of beauty.

Reimagine your future, with Sephora.

Our Value Proposition:

We have a powerful culture that fuses aspirations, uniqueness , authenticity and valued by each and every Sephora member:

These are the values:

Beauty & Beyond: We reimagine beauty by inspiring our customers, empowering people and helping them become the best versions of themselves.
Creativity Unleashed: We encourage exploration, innovation and having fun.
Endless Evolution: At Sephora you are empowered to choose your own path and accelerate your growth.
Boldly Authentic: We celebrate diversity and embrace your unique and winning spirit.

Key Accountabilities

Category Management

• Develop and execute the overall strategy for growth, including new brand selection, product selections, and strategic expansion of current brands.
• Develop and manage brand relationships, terms negotiations, including margin, tester/damages, training support, co-op, RTV’s and samples
• Develop and manage accurate assortments
• Plan launches, animations and marketing campaigns for brands within category strategy. Lead the assortment planning.
• Analyze and manage all elements of the categories to identify areas of opportunity
• Source and develop new brands that fill an important need gap within the category
• Interpret and communicate management direction to team members within the business unit to ensure that each initiative is developed within the desired timeline
• Communicate brand and business opportunities to stores and cross-functional teams.
• Manage fixture / planogram planning and implementation on Hair Play and Skin Care Buzz to internal stakeholders
• Communicate brand training needs to brands and the education team
• Manage brand fill rate and PO fulfillment with the Demand Planning team
• Overview registration process for color category launches and ensure timely coordination between the two departments
• Ensure brand activation calendars are created and actioned on timely basis

Omnichannel and Marketing

• Drive Share of Voice in Care by partnering up with brands fueling differentiation
• Agree with brands on yearly co branding budget and establish yearly calendar in alignment with Marketing Department.
• Build a strong offer for KCPs and Trend Animations and oversee the 360 implementation
• Define brand and product relevant CRM activation calendar and secure participation from brands.
• Establish yearly PR Strategy for care in close collaboration with brands and PR team
• Define Trade Activation Calendar for Ecom platforms (in alignment with Brand strategy, and secure support for all Ecommerce activations)

Communication & Reporting

• Performance tracking on achievements vs budgets for category and by brand
• Develop KPI reports to keep management up to date on the category development
• Develop strong working relationship with all other cross functional departments

People Management

• Develop and coach the team
• Foster an engagement work environment that embodies the Sephora EVP.

• Ensure that they are appropriately motivated and trained and are working towards the achievement of the company and category corporate objectives.
• Develop and elevate the team through coaching, mentoring and performance management in order to be able to sustain the pace of the retailer

Skills, Experience and Personality

• 5+ years of experience in retail buying, merchandizing and / or planning and leading a team
• Ability to focus on the big picture – thinking ahead and developing plans to achieve business results
• Lead-by-example, results oriented, and proven ability to take leadership position, executing plans by leveraging their team and resources
• A strong track record of building organizational relationships cross-functionally with the courage and willingness to challenge others to develop breakthrough solutions
• Experience in the beauty industry or a keen passion for cosmetics is a bonus