Category Analyst IPikesville, MD (Hybrid after onboarding)
Compensation:
$65K–$80KPosition Summary Our recruiting agency is supporting a confidential distribution client seeking an early‑career Category Analyst who is curious, detail‑oriented, and excited to grow in a fast‑moving product and merchandising environment. This role is ideal for someone with strong analytical fundamentals and excellent communication skills who wants to learn a specialized industry and support smarter assortment, pricing, and product data decisions. Soft skills, potential, and coachability matter more than deep industry experience. Training provided.
Responsibilities:- Support product data accuracy across categories and customer segments
- Identify SKU gaps, competitive assortment differences, and pricing opportunities
- Analyze sales trends, customer behavior, and market signals
- Collaborate with marketing, purchasing, supply chain, and operations
- Assist with product launches, updates, and lifecycle management
- Build simple dashboards and reports to support decision‑making
- Engage with internal teams to understand product needs and unmet demand
- Learn the industry and grow into a category expert over time
Required Qualifications:- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
- 1+ years in analytics, merchandising, product data, or business analysis
- Strong communication and relationship‑building skills
- High attention to detail and comfort working with large SKU sets
- Proficiency in Excel; familiarity with BI tools is a plus
- Curiosity, eagerness to learn, and a growth mindset
Preferred Qualifications:- Experience with product data, pricing, or competitive research
- Exposure to SQL, Power BI, or automation tools (not required)
- Experience in distribution, wholesale, or medical/dental products (not required)
