The Senior Director of Category Management drives strategic direction, portfolio optimization, supplier relationships, and operational excellence to enhance profitability across Wesco's business segments.
As the Senior Director – Category Management, you will be responsible for the strategic direction of the category’s go-to market strategy, portfolio optimization, key supplier relationships and cross functional enablement. Your focus will be on sales growth, operational excellence, and profitability across Wesco business segments.
Responsibilities:
- Partner with key business leaders and critical cross-functional leaders to establish commercial priorities.
- Strategy and go-to-market focus ensuring product channels, pricing, sales approach, and value proposition are clear and aligned with stakeholders (e.g., sales).
- Portfolio optimization ensuring a customer centric, broad assortment of products, including private brand, while optimizing for growth and profit and leveraging digital tools.
- Identify customer needs and lead relationships with major suppliers; gathering insight on suppliers’ differentiations and setting strategy to improve the overall quality and pricing of products and services.
- Accountable for delivery and supplier rebate targets and other KPI’s.
- Establish aligned key metrics associated with assigned categories and hold team accountable to deliver on goals: cost savings and avoidance, quality, reliability and timely execution.
- Drive process improvement, best practices, and performance across the sourcing organization.
- Build, develop, and lead a strong and knowledgeable team in support of business objectives.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree – Engineering, Supply Chain or Business-Related Field required
- Master’s Degree - MBA, Supply Chain, Finance or Sourcing preferred
- 10+ years of experience leading category, product or merchandising functions, including strategy, organization, processes, and technology
- 10+ years of experience with ecommerce and other industry relevant digital platforms
- 10+ years of experience managing against budgets including sales and profit growth
- Ability to negotiate and knowledge of key contractual language
- Experienced people leader
- Experience leading change management
- Excellent communication and presentation skills
- Ability to influence individuals and teams with or without reporting relationships
- Financial acumen to develop complex financial models, including total cost of ownership models
- Practical problem-solving approach to business issues, business-minded, results-oriented, and a team player
- Excellent creative thinking skills with emphasis on developing innovative solutions to solve complex problems
- Ability to identify profitable business opportunities and work with leadership to review and convert strategic quotation opportunities
- Ability to travel 25% - 50%
About UsThis amount is what we reasonably believe we will pay for the position; however, offer amounts may vary based on factors such as geographic location, relevant education, experience, qualifications, skills, shift, or any collective bargaining agreements.
In addition, Wesco offers a benefits program for eligible employees, which may include paid time off, medical, dental, and vision coverage, and retirement savings plans. Additional details about benefits are available here.
This posting is for a current, active vacancy intended for immediate hire.
Top Skills
Digital Platforms
Ecommerce
Similar Jobs
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Information Technology • Machine Learning • Software • Big Data Analytics • Automation
Lead transformational enablement programs across global sales and customer success, focusing on technical certification, AI innovation, and measurable business impact.
Top Skills:
Ai ToolsChatgptGenerative Ai PlatformsHighspotLms TechnologiesSalesforceSeismicSynthesia
Cloud • Insurance • Payments • Software • Business Intelligence • App development • Big Data Analytics
The Senior Services Advisor will lead project scopes, collaborate with stakeholders, manage client expectations, and ensure project deliverables within budget and timelines in the insurance industry.
Cloud • Insurance • Payments • Software • Business Intelligence • App development • Big Data Analytics
The Software Engineer/Senior Software Engineer will design, develop, and deliver high-quality software while supporting team collaboration and continuous improvement. They will engage in code reviews and technical discussions.
Top Skills:
.Net/C#ApigeeDatadogGitlabJavaScriptKubernetesOpenapiReactSQL ServerTypescript
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
With vibrant neighborhoods, great food and more affordable housing than either coast, Chicago might be the most liveable major tech hub. It is the birthplace of modern commodities and futures trading, a national hub for logistics and commerce, and home to the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association. This diverse blend of industry influences has helped Chicago emerge as a major player in verticals like fintech, biotechnology, legal tech, e-commerce and logistics technology. It’s also a major hiring center for tech companies on both coasts.
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 245,800; 5.2% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: McDonald’s, John Deere, Boeing, Morningstar
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fintech, software, logistics technology
- Funding Landscape: $2.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Arch Venture Partners, MATH Venture Partners, Jump Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory


.png)