| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | E-commerce |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Category Manager (E-commerce) |
| Direct reports | None |
| Experience | 2 to 5 years in category or e-commerce |
Category Specialist job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Category Specialist
Department: E-commerce
Reports to: Category Manager (E-commerce)
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Category Specialist supports a category manager with the analysis and execution that keeps a category performing. They analyse sales and competition, execute pricing and promotion changes, maintain assortment and listings, and coordinate with vendors and operations. The role reports to the Category Manager. A good category specialist gives the category manager sharp analysis and reliable execution, keeps pricing, listings and stock in good shape, spots opportunities and risks in the data, and helps the category hit its sales and margin targets.
Key responsibilities
- Analyse category sales, margin, conversion and returns and share insights.
- Track competitor pricing and assortment and flag actions to the manager.
- Execute pricing and promotion changes accurately across the category.
- Maintain the assortment, listings and product content for the category.
- Coordinate with vendors on catalog, stock and promotion inputs.
- Monitor inventory availability and ageing and flag risks early.
- Prepare category reports and sale event plans for the manager.
- Set up new products and brands with correct data and content.
- Support promotion loading and checking before sale events go live.
- Follow up on operational issues affecting the category with the teams.
Requirements
- Graduate in any stream
- Strong Excel and analytical skills
- E-commerce experience is an advantage
- 2 to 5 years in category or e-commerce
KRAs and KPIs for a Category Specialist
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Analysis quality | Category insights delivered accurately on the reporting schedule |
| Execution accuracy | Pricing and promotion changes executed correctly with errors below target |
| Listing quality | Listing content and quality score above the target for the category |
| Availability | Stock risks flagged early so availability stays above the target |
| Sale event readiness | Promotions loaded and checked before every sale event goes live |
| New setup | New products and brands set up correctly within the agreed time |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: MS Excel and Power BI, Marketplace seller consoles, Pricing tools, Catalog systems, Competitor tracking tools.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Category Manager (E-commerce), Senior Category Specialist, E-commerce Manager
Interview questions for a Category Specialist
- How do you analyse why a category's sales dropped in a week?
- How do you track competitor pricing and decide what to change?
- How do you make sure pricing and promotion changes are error free?
- How do you prepare a category for a sale event?
- How do you keep listings and product content accurate?
- Tell me about an insight from data that helped your category.
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What does a category specialist do?
A category specialist supports a category manager with analysis and execution. They analyse sales and competition, execute pricing and promotion changes, maintain assortment and listings, and coordinate with vendors and operations. They give the manager sharp analysis and reliable execution and help the category hit its sales and margin targets.
What is the difference between a category specialist and a category manager?
A category manager owns the category's targets, strategy and vendor relationships and makes the decisions. A category specialist supports with analysis, execution and coordination, carrying out pricing and promotion changes and maintaining listings. The specialist is a strong support and analysis role, and a common step towards becoming a category manager.
What qualifications do you need to be a category specialist?
Most category specialists are graduates with strong Excel and analytical skills, and e-commerce experience is an advantage. Employers look for the ability to analyse category data, execute pricing and promotions accurately, maintain listings, and coordinate with vendors and operations. Attention to detail matters because pricing and promotion errors are costly.