Associate Director - Category

Role Context

We are hiring an Associate Director - Category (Execution) to own the end-to-end execution of various categories. This role carries full category P&L responsibility and manages both supply-side and demand-side execution levers.

Key Responsibilities

Category Ownership & Execution

• Own end-to-end category execution for the perishables categories.
• Take day-to-day category decisions that directly impact revenue, margins, waste, and availability.
• Drive category performance across our primary operating model (daily fleet to villages).

Merchandising & Pricing Execution

• Decide assortment and SKU mix (including what SKUs run on which days).
• Execute pricing decisions as part of category performance management.
• Drive category penetration and introduction of new products based on on-ground performance.

Procurement & Vendor Management

• Own procurement execution for the category.
• Design and run hyperlocal, region-specific sourcing strategies (district/geography driven).
• Manage vendor relationships and sourcing outcomes for perishables.
• Balance BAU procurement with region-specific differentiation strategies.

Channel Partner Enablement

• Drive channel partner engagement and training from a category perspective.
• Ensure category execution aligns with the operating realities of ~1500 carts and ~2500 channel partners.

Business Ownership

• Own category-level P&L, managing both vendor-side and customer-side levers.
• Work closely with analytics counterparts to translate insights into execution.

Candidate Profile

• Experience: Strong preference for 4-5 years total experience
• Backgrounds that can fit:
• Category roles in FMCG with strong exposure to perishable categories.
• Modern trade setups with hands-on perishable category execution.
• Comfortable with ambiguity, field work, and non-traditional operating models.