CVS Health

Assistant Category Manager – Consumables

CVS Health$54K — $145K *
Retail & Consumer Goods
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years managing general consumable categories
  • 5+ years of merchandising experience
  • 5+ years experience negotiating vendor contracts
  • 5+ years leading cross-functional teams
  • 5+ years developing innovative business strategies
  • 5+ years leveraging data for strategic plans
  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Responsibilities

  • Achieve revenue and margin goals through market share growth
  • Leverage data and insights to influence stakeholders
  • Manage and negotiate with vendors to meet strategic goals
  • Remove hurdles to sales and margin goals for long-term success
  • Forecast and manage P&L to drive optimal performance
  • Foster collaboration across departments to meet organizational goals
  • Shape and implement category strategies based on consumer trends

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision coverage
  • Paid time off
  • Retirement savings options
  • Wellness programs
  • Comprehensive benefits package supporting overall wellbeing
Full Job Description

Position Summary

Are you passionate about driving innovation with compelling assortments and experiences? If so, there is a great opportunity to join CVS as an Assistant Category Manager as part of the CVS Hispanic Strategy Consumables and General Merchandise Team. In this role, you will partner with your leadership to execute the strategy to drive these categories while amplifying the priorities for CVS Retail.

The purpose of the Assistant Category Manager 6 Consumables role in is to participate in shaping the category strategy, at the direction of your leader, to drive the P26L to achieve sales, profitability and margin growth, along with training and development of future leaders. In this role you will have ownership of the P26L driving optimal and intentional business towards your category in a creative way. You will use your negotiating skills to immerse yourself in your category, readily sharing best practices with your peers, Senior Category Manager Leader. You will use all available tactics including Assortment, Promotions, ExtraCare, Digital, Social, Marketing, Store Brand and Supplier Capabilities to reach or exceed goals.

To be successful in this role, you must be an excellent communicator (both written and verbal), have experience leading and influencing others (both directly and indirectly), and be able to clearly present to your Senior Category Manager and DMM leadership using your top-notch presentation skills. You must leverage your prior experience to build influential presentations about your categories with a clear narrative leaving everyone in the meeting clearly aligned to the path forwards. You will leverage your clearly defined prioritization skills to proactively anticipate the market and take calculated risks to grow your market share without risking profit on the P26L. If this sounds like the role for you, apply today.


Primary Job Duties 26 Responsibilities:

Drive Business Results (50%)

  • Achieves revenue and margin goals by accomplishing market share growth. Manages all profit and loss targets to include sales, contribution of margin, inventory turns, GMROI and DOS.

  • Leverages data, insights, and analytics to influence stakeholders and makes recommendations as appropriate.

  • Vendor management, collaborates and negotiates with manufacturers and vendors ensuring strategies are achieved.

  • Sales and margin goals to promote long-term success and partnership.

  • P26L management forecasting and pulling levers to drive P26L

Cross-Functional Stakeholder Relationship Building (35%)

  • At the direction of the Senior Category Manager or DMM, fully embraces organizational improvement initiatives, acting as a change agent with one27s own team and peers and partners.

  • Establishes and enforces policies and procedures that promote ethical behavior, compliance, and best practices.

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Facilitates collaboration between different departments to promote a cohesive and integrated approach to achieving organizational goals.

  • Drives change agility in self, team and network.

  • Measures retention and key performance indicator results on an ongoing basis and provides recurring readout to senior leadership in partnership with cross functional business leads.

  • Leverages a results-oriented mindset, using metrics to monitor improvements.

  • Develops and manages a standardized set of views that are used to internally monitor macro-level trends and key drivers of each.

  • Influences at all levels 6 up to and including cross-functional SVPs.

  • Excellent written and oral communication skills-strong presentation skills required.

  • Develops and cultivates collaborative teams within support areas of Marketing, Legal, Digital, Inventory, Pricing, Promotion, Finance, Store Brands, Store Design, Supply Chain, and Store Operations.

  • Maintains a supplier relationship for JBP yearly planning, new item reviews and negotiations

Strategic Planning (15%)

  • Fosters and shape innovation by bringing ideas to market in an agile way, while balancing growth potential against financial risk for the broader team

  • Drives the team to deliver best-in-class merchandising experiences across in-store channel for consumables and lead strategy for consumables catalog, including leading negotiations with all suppliers.

  • Develops growth and oversee category strategies rooted in an understanding of the customer and trends.

  • Assigns appropriate timelines and accountabilities for items, empowering the team to drive action steps to completion.

  • Leverages thought partners (Senior leaders, corporate partners, peers, team, etc.) as needed to create and revisit the strategy.

  • Navigates ambiguity and change to achieve goals despite potential obstacles.

  • Follows up on strategic initiatives and KPI performance.

  • Drives assortment decisions through planograms and features.

  • Drives promotional activity strategy, slotting, forecasting and negotiations

Essential Qualifications and Functions

The successful candidate will have a strong work ethic, be a self-starter, and able to be highly productive in a dynamic, collaborative environment. The ideal candidate will have the following knowledge / skill / ability:

  • 5+ years of proven experience in managing general consumable categories

  • 5+ years of total merchandising experience

  • 5+ years27 experience negotiating contracts with vendors in similar business models

  • 5+ years27 experience leading cross-functional teams and initiatives with a high degree of complexity

  • 5+ years developing strategies to mobilize the business to achieve goals and outcomes using innovative solutions

  • 5+ years influencing with and without authority

  • 5+ years leveraging data to support strategic plans and return on investment

  • 5+ years27 experience working with a team to prioritize work based on skills, needs, timelines, et.

  • 5+ years27 experience engaging and inspiring a cross-functional team to reach optimal business outcomes together

  • Highly responsible and accountable for building strong business value

  • Consistently leads by example and contributes to overall team success through a positive mindset and resiliency

  • Expertise leveraging MS Office Suite, including advanced Excel and PowerPoint capabilities

  • Extensive knowledge of retail business operations, including front store merchandising

  • Proven track record of the ability to work collaboratively with internal and external business partners to deliver ROI from effective targeting and communication strategies

  • Regular and reliable attendance during normal working hours, as established by the leader

  • Any additional tasks as directed by supervisor or manager.

  • Bachelor27s degree, OR equivalent experience

  • Travel requirements 6 up to 20% travel expected

Skilled In:

  • Strong executive presence and business acumen.

  • Superior ability to influence without authority and build relationships quickly.

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including presenting to large audiences and senior leaders.

  • Balancing, coordinating, and executing multiple competing priorities across multiple stakeholders.

  • Delegation and assignment of responsibilities within a project to appropriate stakeholders

  • Influencing without authority to align multiple stakeholders to a common goal and hold teams accountable for delivering results.

  • Framing complex problems and developing solutions that address multiple interests with minimal guidance or direction.

  • Identifying risk and mitigation strategies to ensure success.

  • Using critical thinking and strategy to balance multiple stakeholders needs (e.g. patient, customer, executives, business owners, enterprise)

  • Demonstrating strong attention to detail and follow through with commitments.

Ability to:

  • Pivot priorities quickly to adapt to and meet changing business needs.

  • Exhibit/model professional behaviors that are consistent with collaborating with senior leadership and that demonstrate a strong bias for inclusion, collaboration, building trust, driving for and delivering results as well as supporting innovation and change.

  • Continuously accept feedback and where appropriate, create thoughtful recommendations to adapt governance strategy, involving appropriate stakeholders where needed for alignment.

  • Deliver high quality professional communications, presentations, responses, and analyses on a wide range of requests by working quickly, independently and with minimal direction.

  • Communicate clearly to small and large groups internally and externally to lead complex projects to completion.

  • Collaborate cross functionally with leaders and colleagues27 enterprise wide to solution, implement, and drive results, including execution support where required.

  • Plan, develop, and execute short- and long-term goals.


Education

  • Bachelor27s degree, OR equivalent experience

Anticipated Weekly Hours

40

Time Type

Full time

Pay Range

The typical pay range for this role is:

$54,300.00 - $145,860.00

This pay range represents the base hourly rate or base annual full-time salary for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual base salary offer will depend on a variety of factors including experience, education, geography and other relevant factors. This position is eligible for a CVS Health bonus, commission or short-term incentive program in addition to the base pay range listed above.

Great benefits for great people

We take pride in offering a comprehensive and competitive mix of pay and benefits that reflects our commitment to our colleagues and their families.

This full9time position is eligible for a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the physical, emotional, and financial well9being of colleagues and their families. The benefits for this position include medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, retirement savings options, wellness programs, and other resources, based on eligibility.


Additional details about available benefits are provided during the application process and on .

We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on: 09/30/2026

About CVS Health

Omnicare provides comprehensive pharmaceutical services to patients and providers across the United States. As the market-leader in professional pharmacy, related consulting and data management services for skilled nursing, assisted living and other chronic care settings, Omnicare leverages its unparalleled clinical insight into the geriatric market along with some of the industry's most innovative technological capabilities to the benefit of its long-term care customers. Omnicare also provides key commercialization services for the bio-pharmaceutical industry through its Specialty Care Group.

CVS Health Careers

Joining CVS Health presents a unique opportunity to advance your career in a company where innovation, leadership, and growth go hand in hand. As a leader in the healthcare industry, CVS Health is more than just a pharmacy. We are a team of professionals dedicated to improving lives and optimizing health outcomes.

Work You’ll Do

At CVS Health, you will be part of a culture that values diversity and inclusivity, fostering an environment where every team member’s contribution is valued. Engage in meaningful work that directly impacts lives, driving innovation in healthcare services and solutions.

Explore Job Opportunities

Whether you’re looking for a position in pharmacy services, corporate leadership, or in-store management, CVS Health offers a variety of employment opportunities that will help you harness your skills and thrive professionally. Our job opportunities span across a wide range of professional fields and geographic locations, ensuring that your career at CVS Health aligns with your professional goals and lifestyle.

Internship Programs

Kickstart your career with CVS Health through our internship programs. These opportunities are designed for ambitious students eager to develop their skills in a real-world setting. Internships at CVS Health are not only about gaining work experience but also about making meaningful contributions to our ongoing projects.

Professional Growth and Development

CVS Health is committed to the professional growth of our employees. With access to cutting-edge technology, industry-leading experts, and comprehensive diversity training, our team members are equipped to lead and innovate. We support career advancement through professional development programs, leadership training, and opportunities for networking and internal mobility.

Benefits and Culture

Our employees enjoy a range of benefits that reflect our commitment to their well-being and success. From health and wellness benefits to professional development programs, CVS Health is dedicated to ensuring our team members have the resources they need. Our inclusive culture encourages collaboration and continuous learning, making CVS Health a place where you can grow and succeed.

Join Our Team

Ready to take the next step in your career? Explore the open positions at CVS Health that match your skills and interests. We are continuously hiring and looking for passionate, curious, and solution-driven team players.

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Don’t just look for a job. Look for a place where you can be a part of something bigger. Visit our careers page to find the position that’s right for you and join a team that values innovation and leadership in healthcare.

READ CAREERS BLOG

Stay ahead in your career with insights from those who know CVS Health best – our team. Learn from their experiences and get insider tips that can help you succeed in your next interview, craft a standout resume, and build a career you’re proud of at CVS Health.
Learn more about CVS Health
Size
300,000 employees
Market Cap
$122 billion
Industry
Net Income
$7.1 billion
Founded
1963
5 Year Trend
+10.5%
Revenue
$268.7 billion
NASDAQ

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