Category Manager - Beauty & Personal Care

The Category Manager will be responsible for driving sales growth, profitability and operational performance across the Beauty & Personal Care category. The role involves category strategy, supplier relationships, commercial negotiations, assortment planning, pricing, promotions and inventory management, with a focus on profitable growth and an improved customer experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies to drive sales, GMV, gross margin and profitability.
• Identify market trends, high-demand products and new brands to expand and optimise the product assortment.
• Build and manage relationships with beauty brands, authorised distributors, importers and suppliers.
• Negotiate supplier pricing, margins, credit terms, promotional funding, minimum order quantities and replenishment commitments.
• Monitor category performance, SKU-level profitability, pricing and promotional effectiveness.
• Ensure accurate product listings, descriptions, images, variants, pricing and availability.
• Forecast demand and improve stock availability, supplier fulfilment and replenishment.
• Plan seasonal campaigns, brand launches, bundles and promotional activities in collaboration with Marketing.
• Analyse product complaints, returns and cancellations to identify root causes and implement corrective actions.
• Ensure appropriate product authenticity, traceability, expiry and compliance with applicable UAE requirements.
• Prepare performance reports and use sales, margin, inventory and competitor data to guide decisions.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Finance, Operations, Catalogue, Technology and Customer Service teams to improve category performance.

Requirements

• 5–10+ years of relevant UAE/GCC experience in Beauty & Personal Care, retail or e-commerce, with substantial category management responsibility.
• Proven ownership of category sales, GMV, gross margin, commercial negotiations and profitability.
• Established relationships with beauty brands, authorised distributors, importers and suppliers in the UAE.
• Hands-on experience in e-commerce or marketplace category management, including assortment, catalogue, pricing and promotions.
• Demonstrated success in improving sales, margins, stock availability, supplier performance or operational efficiency.
• Strong understanding of beauty products, market trends, brand positioning and competitive pricing.
• Advanced Excel skills, including Pivot Tables and XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP. SQL or BI tools are an advantage.
• Knowledge of product authenticity, traceability, expiry, labelling and applicable UAE product requirements.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Commerce or a related field. An MBA or postgraduate qualification is preferred.
• Strong negotiation, analytical, communication and problem-solving skills.
• UAE-based candidates with local market knowledge are preferred.

Role expectation: This is an end-to-end commercial category management role requiring demonstrable ownership of growth, profitability, supplier relationships and operational performance.