.The JobThe Category Management Strategy Associate will lead, motivate, oversee and direct the development of retail assortments by fully leveraging space and assortment optimization tools. The category management process determines and analyzes Ace's most successful retailers in conjunction with consumer research and industry trends to develop fact-based programs, which focuses on product selection, product/category placement, while partnering with retail pricing.The Category Management Strategy Associate is responsible for leading and developing the team of analysts that drive both analytical and space planning functions of assortment review and selection. This individual will be relied on to drive strategic initiatives, improve efficiencies among the team, improve processes and above all improve the profitability of planograms through retailer acceptance of our recommended assortments.What you'll do: Category Management- Integrate with Merchandising to influence the category review and strategic planning process- developing end-to-end strategies for assortments.- Support Merchant team with category performance analytics, consumer insights, key trends and root cause; communicate effectivelyacross all levels of Ace - Officer down to Retailer.- Partner with Merchandising and Field leadership to define and manage to corporate and retailer performance targets of key category metrics and improved Discovery Acceptance.- Develop critical retail execution plans for updated assortments and strategic plans with specific implementation guidance for New Stores, Remodels and Mult-Store chains.Macro & Micro Assortment Analytics & Space Management- Build, maintain and grow strategic and analytically driven approach to space optimization, including profitability analysis, competitive analysis, retail positioning, & inventory position.- Create locally relevant planograms, utilizing clustering and customer segmentation to identify regional, demographic or niche assortment opportunities.- Develop strategic approach to macro assortment strategies, including reduction of unproductive Discovery inventory across all categories.- Own, manage and communicate all assortment and space planning strategies, systems and processes.- Drive consistent, routine assortment maintenance to ensure planogram accuracy, SKU viability, correct images, dimensions and fixtures.Cross-Functional Relationships- Partner with the visual team (fixtures, décor and signage) to deliver retail ready planograms that maximize use of space yet remain shoppable for the consumer.- Work with analyst teams to ensure category, strategy, goals and KPIs are met and that we are considering all cluster/regional opportunities.- Partner with vendors to gain industry knowledge and access to customer data.- Connect cross-functionally to get analysts access to all relevant data points required for analysis