Category Advisor Walmart
Position Summary
The Category Advisor will support Walmart by turning category, shopper, sales, space and market data into clear recommendations while coordinating projects across Walmart stakeholders, manufacturers, brokers, data providers and internal Analyticsmart teams. This role combines strong category management capability with disciplined project coordination. The successful candidate will keep multiple vendor workstreams organized, ensure accurate and timely deliverables, and provide objective, fact-based recommendations that support Walmart category strategies and business priorities.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as a day-to-day category management partner supporting Walmart merchants and category stakeholders with timely, objective and actionable insights.
- Coordinate category projects involving multiple vendors, including project intake, scope confirmation, timelines, responsibilities, dependencies, meetings, status updates and final deliverables.
- Build and maintain detailed project plans, trackers, calendars and action logs; proactively identify risks, resolve gaps and escalate issues before deadlines are affected.
- Serve as a central point of coordination among Walmart, participating vendors, brokers, data providers and Analyticsmart teams while maintaining confidentiality and neutrality.
- Collect, validate and consolidate vendor inputs, ensuring submissions are complete, consistent, accurate and aligned with Walmart requirements.
- Lead recurring project calls and working sessions; prepare agendas, document decisions, assign actions and follow through to completion.
- Analyze POS, market, shopper, assortment, pricing, promotion and space data to identify category opportunities and support recommendations.
- Develop category reviews, modular or assortment analyses, scorecards, dashboards and executive-ready presentations.
- Support modular and planogram processes by coordinating item information, images, attributes, assortment decisions, space inputs and vendor feedback.
- Translate complex analysis into concise stories and recommendations tailored to merchants, vendors and senior stakeholders.
- Monitor project progress and category performance against agreed objectives, KPIs and milestones, and communicate changes clearly.
- Maintain strong documentation, version control and quality assurance across data files, presentations and final recommendations.
- Support continuous improvement by standardizing templates, workflows and communication practices across category projects.
Qualifications
- Two or more years of experience in category management, retail analytics, merchandising, CPG, supplier collaboration or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating projects with multiple external vendors and internal stakeholders.
- Strong knowledge of category management principles, retail KPIs and the Canadian grocery, mass, health and beauty, or general merchandise environment.
- Experience with retailer and syndicated data such as Walmart Retail Link or Luminate, Circana, NielsenIQ, Numerator or comparable platforms is an asset.
- Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint; experience with Power BI, Tableau, SQL, JDA, Blue Yonder or space-planning tools is an asset.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities, tight timelines and multiple workstreams without losing attention to detail.
- Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills, with the confidence to facilitate meetings and communicate with merchants, vendors and senior leaders.
- A collaborative, service-oriented approach combined with sound judgment, discretion and the ability to remain objective across competing vendor interests.
- Post-secondary education in business, analytics, marketing, retail management or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
Success in This Role
- Projects are delivered accurately, on time and with clear ownership across all participating vendors.
- Walmart stakeholders receive concise, objective insights and recommendations that are easy to act on.
- Vendor communication is organized, professional and consistent, with risks and decisions documented early.
- Category deliverables meet high standards for data quality, analytical rigor, storytelling and presentation readiness.
- Processes become more efficient through stronger planning, reusable tools and disciplined follow-up.
Core Competencies
Category Management | Project Coordination | Vendor Management | Retail Analytics | Stakeholder Communication | Data Quality | Presentation Development | Problem Solving | Accountability
