About the position
Environment
A leading Retailer seeks a hands-on Category Manager to own the Office Furniture & Specialised Filing portfolio end-to-end. You’ll shape range, pricing, suppliers and promotions, while partnering with Head of Procurement (stock optimisation) and the Furniture Warehouse Manager (delivery & installation scheduling) to ensure OTIF, customer delight and sustainable margin growth.
What you’ll do
- Own the category P&L: range architecture, pricing & margin, promo calendar, demand planning and stock turns.
- Supplier strategy: source, negotiate and contract with furniture and filing manufacturers/distributors; monitor SLAs, lead times, warranties and after-sales service.
- Specialised filing: specify, cost and deliver high-density/compact/mobile shelving, archive & records-management solutions, plan chests, tambour/steel cabinetry and fire-rated storage; oversee site surveys, BOQs and installation plans.
- Space planning & proposals: coordinate CAD/space plans (AutoCAD/SketchUp/2020 or similar), finishes boards, and customer presentations; train sales teams on ergonomics and product knowledge.
- Sales enablement: run pipeline reviews with sales; build bid packs/quotes (public & private sector), align with marketing on campaigns and assets.
- Operations & stock: balance demand vs inventory with Procurement; align with Warehouse on delivery & install schedules; manage returns, refurb, damages and warranties.
- Governance & reporting: maintain tender/quote registers, credit control within category, competitor tracking, and weekly KPIs (GP%, GMROI, DOS, fill rate, OTIF).
- What success looks like (KPIs)
- GM% and GMROI improvement; stock turn and days-of-supply within targets.
- RFQ/tender win rate growth in furniture & filing projects.
- OTIF delivery & installation > 95%; warranty/return rate reduction.
- Up-skilled sales force (space planning & product knowledge scores).
Must-have experience
- 5–7+ years in office furniture (systems/desking, ergonomic seating, storage) and specialised filing (high-density/compact/mobile shelving, archive solutions, plan/flat files, fire-rated cabinets).
- Proven category/range management, supplier negotiation, and margin ownership.
- Hands-on with site surveys, BOQs, installation coordination and after-sales.
- Comfort with space planning/CAD outputs and reading technical drawings.
- Strong commercial acumen: pricing, rebates, costings, and promo mechanics.
- Advanced MS Office; CRM/reporting discipline; excellent written & verbal comms.
Nice to have
- Public sector/tender exposure (bid packs, compliance, portal submissions).
- Ergonomics and H&S familiarity (basic OHSA/SANS/ISO 9241 principles).
- Experience selling into Property/Facilities, HOAs, Education & Government.
- Team leadership (merchandisers, planners, or project/install coordinators).
Attributes
- Strategic yet hands-on; decisive negotiator; detail-driven; superb stakeholder management; thrives in a fast, project-based environment; integrity and accountability.
While we would really like to respond to every application, should you not be contacted for this position within 10 working days please consider your application unsuccessful.
COMMENTS:
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Desired Skills:
