CATEGORY MANAGER - AUTOMOTIVE

The Category Manager – Automotive Parts holds full end-to-end responsibility for the performance, profitability, and development of their assigned product categories.

The Category Manager – Automotive Parts holds full end-to-end responsibility for the performance, profitability, and development of their assigned product categories. This includes owning the lifecycle of the category from sourcing and pricing to merchandising and sell-through. The successful candidate will be expected to develop deep technical and market expertise in the parts they manage, ensuring LIG remains competitive, customer-focused, and profitable within Jamaica’s automotive aftermarket.

Key Responsibilities:

• Take full ownership of assigned categories, ensuring optimal performance across sourcing, pricing, inventory, sales, and product lifecycle.

• Learn and understand each product line in depth including technical specifications, OE/aftermarket fitment, vehicle applications, and competitive positioning.

• Conduct continuous market, supplier, and competitor research to refine category strategy.

• Lead the introduction, phasing-in, and phase-out of SKUs based on demand trends, vehicle population, and customer requirements.

• Develop and maintain strategic supplier relationships, including negotiating pricing, credit terms, rebates, and service levels.

• Ensure each product meets required quality standards, and manage product validations, warranties, and supplier performance.

• Identify white-label or exclusive opportunities to grow brand ownership within the category.

• Own the pricing strategy across the assigned category balancing competitiveness, profitability, and customer segmentation).

• Maintain margin discipline by monitoring cost fluctuations, FX impact, and supplier deals.

• Collaborate with Sales and Finance to set pricing by tier and customer type, enabling value-driven, profitable growth.

• Work closely with Inventory Control, Procurement and Warehousing to manage stock levels, turnover, and availability targets.

• Align demand forecasts with category strategies to prevent overstock, obsolescence, and stockouts.

• Drive product positioning, packaging standards, and merchandising concepts for branch and field sales.

• Serve as the internal expert on your category training sales teams on product fitment, applications, selling points, and competitive advantages.

• Provide technical data sheets, sales guides, and visuals to support in-field and in-branch sales efforts.

• Participate in joint customer visits or training where deep product expertise is required.

• Track and report on KPIs including category revenue, margin contribution, inventory turns, and SKU performance.

• Deliver monthly and quarterly business reviews with actionable insights and strategic proposals.