Job Description: Director / Associate Director - Category Management

Category: FMCG / Grocery / Staples

Location: Bangalore, Karnataka

Experience: 7 - 14 years

Education: IIT or another reputed top-tier institution

Preferred Consulting Background: McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, or Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

About the Company:

Our client is a technology-driven B2B marketplace transforming India's food and grocery ecosystem. The company enables retailers and businesses to access a wide range of products through an integrated platform combining technology, supply chain, procurement, and distribution capabilities.

Role Overview:

We are looking for a high-calibre Director / Associate Director - Category Management to lead and scale key FMCG, grocery, and staples categories. The ideal candidate will combine strong strategic and analytical capabilities, relevant experience with a leading management consulting firm, and hands-on experience managing categories in a senior industry role. The role requires a commercially driven leader who can translate business insights into actionable category strategies, drive profitable growth, strengthen supplier partnerships, optimise pricing and assortment, and build a competitive category portfolio in a dynamic B2B commerce environment.

Key Responsibilities:

- Develop and execute category strategies for FMCG, grocery, and staples.

- Drive revenue growth, market share, profitability, and long-term business expansion.

- Identify new growth opportunities through market analysis and customer insights.

- Own category-level business performance, including revenue, gross margins, contribution margins, and other key commercial metrics.

- Identify and execute initiatives to improve category profitability and unit economics.

- Optimise product assortment, category mix, SKU productivity, availability, and selection.

- Develop pricing strategies and promotional frameworks.

- Build strategic relationships with FMCG brands, manufacturers, and distributors.

- Leverage market intelligence, customer behaviour, competitive analysis, and data-driven insights.

- Collaborate with sales, supply chain, procurement, finance, marketing, and technology teams to deliver category objectives.

- Lead, mentor, and develop category management teams.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

- Graduate or postgraduate degree from an IIT or another reputed top-tier institution.

- An MBA from a premier business school is an added advantage.

- 7 - 14 years of total professional experience.

- Prior experience at McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, or Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

- Demonstrable consulting exposure to grocery, FMCG, staples, retail, consumer businesses, or marketplace-related engagements.

- Current or recent experience in a senior category management, category strategy, commercial, or business leadership role within FMCG, grocery, food, retail, e-commerce, or B2B commerce.

Mandatory Selection Criteria:

- Experience: Minimum 7 years and maximum 14 years of total experience.

- Education: IIT or another reputed top-tier educational background.

- Consulting: Previous experience at McKinsey, Bain, or BCG, including hands-on involvement in relevant grocery, FMCG, retail, consumer, or marketplace engagements.

- Industry experience: Current or recent senior-level category management or category strategy experience in FMCG, grocery, food, or staples.

- Commercial expertise: Demonstrated understanding of category economics, pricing, margins, assortment, supplier management, and business performance.

- Business impact: Evidence of translating strategy into measurable commercial and operational outcomes.

- Location: Willingness to work from Bangalore.

What Makes This Opportunity Exciting?:

- Opportunity to shape and scale important categories in India's evolving B2B grocery ecosystem.

- Ownership of strategic and commercial initiatives with direct business impact.

- Exposure to a technology-led business at the intersection of FMCG, retail, and supply chain.

- Opportunity to work closely with senior leadership and drive category transformation at scale.