Sr. Category Analyst, Target (JLB)

About JLB

JLB is an award-winning retail consulting firm that is passionate about helping brands succeed at Target and Target win in the Marketplace. More than a traditional broker, we offer tailored solutions across Sales, Strategy, Category Management, Insights, Digital, Shopper Marketing, and more — helping brands thrive at one of the world’s most innovative retailers.

The Team

Our Category Management Service at Target serves as a pivotal resource for the Target buying team, offering flawless day-to-day support and is entrusted with direct access to Target’s internal systems. This role is exclusively dedicated to Target, representing a collaborative and strategic partnership that seamlessly integrates with the Target buying team. The Senior Category Analyst plays a key role in providing enhanced analytical findings paired with actionable insights that drive category growth and executional excellence.

The Role

The Senior Category Analyst will own a designated category(ies) with Target buyer(s). They own core reporting and analytics, translating data into actionable insights to support strategic decision-making. This role contributes to in-depth category reviews, delivering clear findings and recommendations. As the primary point of contact for Target and client partners, they manage key business relationships with support from senior team members. They lead portions of internal and external projects, manage the category transition and revision process with strong attention to detail, and begin creating custom reporting tools while deepening their expertise in business metrics and platforms.

Essential Responsibilities

· Client & Cross-Functional Relationships: Actively participates in client meetings and strategic discussions with guidance from senior leadership. Build relationships across merchants, inventory, and planning teams, ensuring clear communication and alignment.

· Reporting & Insights: Produces weekly reports with moderate customization. Begins identifying trends and business drivers, contributing to more strategic, insight-driven discussions.

· Competitive & Market Insights: Leads retail audits and marketplace assessments, integrating findings into category recommendations. Collaborates with cross-functional teams to inform strategy.

· Category & Seasonal Reviews: Executes data-driven reviews using established templates with some customization. Highlights key metrics, identifies assortment gaps, and presents findings with Associate Director support.

· Planogram Management: Supports end-to-end transition and revision planning, from confirming item details to writing planograms. Manages timelines and partners with mentors to ensure accuracy.

· Digital Analysis: Analyzes digital performance using prebuilt templates and tools. Assesses channel behavior and site experience, supporting the digital strategy with actionable insights.

· Trend Research: Assists in identifying macro and micro trends and applies insights to category planning with support from internal resources.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

· Excel & PowerPoint Proficiency: Comfortable working in Excel to analyze data, build and modify spreadsheets, use formulas, and explore pivot tables. Able to follow and adapt PowerPoint templates, incorporating visuals like charts and graphs to communicate insights effectively.

· Business Math Acumen: Understands key performance indicators and can interpret numerical data to evaluate business performance and inform decisions.

· Project Prioritization: Capable of managing multiple tasks simultaneously, assessing urgency, and organizing work to meet deadlines.

· Customer-Centric Mindset: Approaches work with a service orientation, focused on building trust, fostering positive relationships, and delivering high-quality support.

· Organizational Strength: Demonstrates strong planning and follow-through to manage complex responsibilities and anticipate business needs proactively.

· Attention to Detail: Maintains accuracy when working with large data sets, ensuring insights are built on reliable and clean data.

· Learning Agility: Eager to learn new tools, technologies, and processes to improve performance and efficiency.

· Communication & Collaboration: Confidently leading or contributing to meetings, listening actively, and identifying opportunities to support the team and business goals.

Travel and/or Driving Requirements

· Travel and Driving are not essential duties or functions of this job

Job Will Remain Open Until Filled

The Company is one of North America’s leading sales and marketing agencies specializing in outsourced sales, merchandising, category management and marketing services to manufacturers, suppliers and producers of food products and consumer packaged goods. The company services a variety of trade channels including grocery, mass merchandise, specialty, convenience, drug, dollar, club, hardware, consumer electronics and home centers. We bridge the gap between manufacturers and retailers, providing consumers access to the best products available in the marketplace today.

Essential Responsibilities

• Client & Cross-Functional Relationships: Actively participates in client meetings and strategic discussions with guidance from senior leadership. Builds relationships across merchant, inventory, and planning teams, ensuring clear communication and alignment.
• Reporting & Insights: Produces weekly reports with moderate customization. Begins identifying trends and business drivers, contributing to more strategic, insight-driven discussions.
• Competitive & Market Insights: Leads retail audits and marketplace assessments, integrating findings into category recommendations. Collaborates with cross-functional teams to inform strategy.
• Category & Seasonal Reviews: Executes data-driven reviews using established templates with some customization. Highlights key metrics, identifies assortment gaps, and presents findings with Associate Director support.
• Planogram Management: Supports end-to-end transition and revision planning, from confirming item details to writing planograms. Manages timelines and partners with mentors to ensure accuracy.
• Digital Analysis: Analyzes digital performance using prebuilt templates and tools. Assesses channel behavior and site experience, supporting the digital strategy with actionable insights.
• Trend Research: Assists in identifying macro and micro trends and applies insights to category planning with support from internal resources.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Direct Reports
- This position does not have supervisory responsibilities for direct reports

Indirect Reports
- This position does not have guidance or mentoring responsibilities for indirect reports

Minimum Qualifications

Education Level: (Required):  Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field such as Business, Finance, Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, or a related discipline

Field of Study/Area of Experience:  systems analytics, reporting

2-4 years of related experience in a retail or brand background preferred but not required.

Microsoft programs: Outlook, Excel & Power Point required. JDA/Space Planning and POS systems is preferred but not required.

Target specific tools (Vendor IQ, Partners Online, Domo, CKS) are preferred but not required.

Kantar, Mintel, Numerator are a plus. Circana (IRI or NDP), Nielsen or other Syndicated Data is a plus.

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• Excel & PowerPoint Proficiency: Comfortable working in Excel to analyze data, build and modify spreadsheets, use formulas, and explore pivot tables. Able to follow and adapt PowerPoint templates, incorporating visuals like charts and graphs to communicate insights effectively.
• Business Math Acumen: Understands key performance indicators and can interpret numerical data to evaluate business performance and inform decisions.
• Project Prioritization: Capable of managing multiple tasks simultaneously, assessing urgency, and organizing work to meet deadlines.
• Customer-Centric Mindset: Approaches work with a service orientation, focused on building trust, fostering positive relationships, and delivering high-quality support.
• Organizational Strength: Demonstrates strong planning and follow-through to manage complex responsibilities and anticipate business needs proactively.
• Attention to Detail: Maintains accuracy when working with large data sets, ensuring insights are built on reliable and clean data.
• Learning Agility: Eager to learn new tools, technologies, and processes to improve performance and efficiency.
• Communication & Collaboration: Confident leading or contributing in meetings, listening actively, and identifying opportunities to support the team and business goals.

Travel and/or Driving Requirements

- Travel and Driving are not essential duties or functions of this job 

Environmental & Physical Requirements
Office / Sedentary Requirements: Incumbent must be able to perform the essential functions of the job. Work is performed primarily in an office environment. Typically, requires the ability to sit for extended periods of time (66%+ each day), ability to hear telephone, ability to enter data on a computer and may require the ability to lift up to 10lbs.

Additional Information Regarding Job Duties and Job Descriptions
Job duties include additional responsibilities as assigned by one’s supervisor or other manager related to the position/department. This job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the position. The Company reserves the right at any time with or without notice to alter or change job responsibilities, reassign or transfer job positions, or assign additional job responsibilities, subject to applicable law. The Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable a qualified applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by the law.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of associates so classified.

The Company is committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment practices without regard to age, race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental disability, or any other category protected by law. As part of this commitment, the Company shall provide reasonable accommodations of known disabilities to enable an applicant or employee to apply for employment, perform the essential functions of the job, or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment as required by law.