Category Marketing Specialist at Ace Hardware Corporation

The Category Marketing Specialist is primarily responsible for driving the sales growth of battery-powered outdoor power equipment and other sustainable product categories by implementing incentive programs resulting from gas outdoor equipment regulations. This includes cultivating external program relationships, fostering retailer engagement and participation, maximizing vendor partner contributions, facilitating internal cross-departmental collaboration, and developing operational efficiencies for these programs. The Specialist will lead initiatives that drive sales growth and elevate the market distinction of our Famous for Four categories. They will be instrumental in evolving strategic projects, executing marketing plans, advancing category positioning, and developing consumer activation plans.

What You'll Do

• Maintain proficiency of evolving state and regional outdoor power equipment regulatory and financial incentive programs impacting residential and commercial outdoor battery-power equipment and other sustainable categories. Leverage this expertise to anticipate legislative changes, reduce time-to-market, and develop strategies that create a competitive advantage.
• Manage and expand existing partnerships, while also cultivating new strategic alliances with vendors, municipalities, environmental agencies (EPA, AGZA, Energy Star), and stakeholders for green energy fairs and sustainability events. Identify differentiated growth opportunities for retailers and leverage vendor relationships to execute marketing plans for our best brands
• Champion Ace's value proposition, highlighting the strengths of its locally owned hardware stores, including product knowledge, diverse brand selection, vendor partnerships, deep community connections, successful participation in local events, local marketing campaigns, and ability to execute discounts in-store and online to secure program participation
• Manage all internal/external communications and facilitate cross-functional collaboration across marketing, merchandising, ecommerce, field staff, retailers, finance, accounting, inventory, store systems, retail distribution centers, and legal teams for new incentive programs and other Famous for Four (FF4) category activations. Proficiency to develop and execute each program to highest standards, resulting in Ace's continued engagement with key organizations and best brand partners
• Conduct in person and virtual presentations at retailer group meetings to engage train and on-board new retailers for incentive program participation and other FF4 strategic projects. Develop compelling presentations that generate enthusiasm and drive retailer interest. Provide internal reports and presentations on FF4 category success stories as necessary
• Oversee the end-to-end management and reporting of financial-related activities, including order reconciliation, invoicing, retailer credits, and sales reporting, ensuring timely and accurate completion. Drive process improvement to automate and streamline processes, enhancing scalability and operational efficiency to allow participation in a broader range of battery-powered equipment incentive programs.
• Contribute to the development of strategic projects and execution of marketing plans designed to increase sales within FF4 categories, including power tools and outdoor power equipment. These initiatives may include recycling programs, trade-in programs, in-store demo product programs, or projects relating to other FF4 categories that advance Ace's positioning
• Conduct thorough category research to gather consumer insights, analyze competitors and industry trends, track market growth and Ace's retail sales trends. Utilize these findings to progress Ace's marketing strategy to increase category market share
• Manage the execution of all experiential in-store events, including creative brief submissions, campaign proofing, retailer/field communication (articles and playbooks), vendor collaboration, retailer feedback collection, and future strategy development. Gather feedback and insights from best-in-class retailers and competitors to inform strategy
• Proofing all creative assets for FF4 categories across multiple marketing channels (circular, direct mail, email, and social media), ensuring accuracy of category messaging, seasonal messaging, and vendor branding elements (e.g., logos and imagery). Provide edits as needed to maintain accuracy across channels. Participate in key brand marketing strategy sessions as needed to develop brand expertise

Who You Are

You excel in building strategic partnerships, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and engaging with Ace retailers. You have a passion for executing marketing plans, local store events, and managing complex deadline driven programs.

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, AND COMPETENCIES:

• 5+ years professional business experience; bachelor's degree preferred
• Knowledge of gas outdoor power equipment regulations and battery equipment sales incentives, a plus
• Familiarity with the outdoor power equipment industry (brands, products, market dynamics)
• Proven ability to manage and execute complex programs
• Proficiency to collaborate and communicate effectively with cross-functional teams
• Exceptional customer service & relationship building skills
• Capability to manage financial processes & sales reporting
• Skilled at planning and executing in-store events
• Experience reviewing and proofreading creative assets
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines
• Ability to analyze data, identify problems, and develop effective solutions
• Ability to thrive in a challenging environment
• Presentation skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite

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Compensation Details:

$88400 - $110700.

Why should you join our team?

We live our values - W.E.L.I.G.H.T (Winning, Excellence, Love, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility, and Teamwork). Gratitude. Humility. Love. You don't often see values like these in most corporate statements, but Ace is different. These things are important to us. They represent our commitment to the company, our employees, to Ace retailers and to the Ace brand.

In addition to providing our employees a great culture, Ace also offers competitive benefits that address life's necessities and perks, many of which expand and improve year after year, including:

• Incentive opportunities, based on role/grade level (rapid company growth over the past 5 years resulted in incentives being paid out at an average of 122% of your target opportunity!)
• Generous 401(k) retirement savings plan with a fully vested matching contribution the first year in addition to quarterly contributions and annual discretionary contribution (once eligibility requirements have been met). Over the past 5 years, company contributions (matching, quarterly & discretionary) for fully eligible employees have averaged 10.4% of total eligible compensation.
• Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision and disability - up to 26 weeks short-term disability and long-term disability ) & life insurance benefits for you and your dependents
• 21 days of vacation immediately available (prorated in the first year) and up to 6 paid holidays depending on the month of hire
• Your career at Ace is more than just a job. It's a chance to be part of something meaningful. We help locally-owned businesses thrive and make an impact in their communities - and we support our employees in doing the same by offering an annual Ace Cares Week, 20 hours off work per year to volunteer at an organization of your choice, opportunities to help Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and the Ace Helpful Fund through the Ace Foundation
• Ace invests in every employee we hire, with a key focus on development and coaching. We offer on-site classes, facilitator-led courses, and a generous tuition assistance program, plus a performance management approach that goes beyond the typical annual review
• We know the work environment matters. That's why Ace holds frequent campus events like Employee Appreciation Week, vendor demos, cookouts, and merchandise sales
• We bring them to you! Services such as mobile spas, auto maintenance, car wash and detailing, dry cleaning, dentists, eye doctors, flu shots, recycling and more!
• Employee discounts on Ace merchandise (including top brands like Weber, Traeger, Yeti, Craftsman, DeWalt and more), travel, fitness, computers and thousands more
• Birth/Adoption bonding paid time off
• Adoption cost reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - access to free visits to therapists and lawyers, guidance on financial matters, elder and childcare, and assistance with tickets to entertainment events
• Identity theft protection

Benefits are provided in compliance with applicable plans and policies.

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We want to hear from you!
When most people think of career opportunities with Ace Hardware, they often think of the helpful cashiers and sales associates at their local store. However, have you also considered the people behind the scenes who select, promote, ship and process the invoices for more than 75,000 products? Maybe you haven't, but we'd like you to. Because together we help our customers take care of their homes . click apply for full job details