Senior Manager, Category Marketing Note: This role requires 5 days onsite in Bentonville, AR. This is also for an LOA – assignment ends 11/2026.The Senior Manager, Category Marketing drives high-impact marketing programs that create meaningful customer connections and deliver measurable business results. This role partners closely with Category Strategists and merchants to activate campaigns rooted in category priorities and audience insights. By leading execution across creative, media, and channel activation, the Senior Manager accelerates speed-to-market, optimizes workflows, and ensures every program performs against strategic objectives.Divisions Supported: Multiple roles available supporting Grocery (Fresh), Health & Wellness, and General Merchandise divisions.Key Responsibilities Strategic Alignment & Merchant Partnership Translate & Partner: Partner with Category Strategists to deeply understand category business strategies, financial goals, and merchant priorities.Validate & Align: Collaborate with merchants to validate item details and promotional specs, ensuring strict alignment with overarching marketing objectives.Operational Leadership: Act as the operational lead for category-driven campaigns and events, collaborating cross-functionally with marketing operations, channel activation, and social teams.Manage Expectations: Drive clarity and reinforce deliverables and timeline expectations with merchant partners.Campaign Development & Execution Build Communications & Messaging Plans: Create detailed communications frameworks for merchandise campaigns, reinforcing brand value through insight-informed and merchandise-led storytelling.Drive Creative Alignment: Actively guide creative development by reviewing concepts and final assets to ensure they deliver on strategy, messaging priorities, and industry best practices.Lead Media Alignment: Partner with media and social teams to shape channel mix, flighting, and investment strategies that maximize impact.Process Optimization: Strive for execution excellence, leveraging modern tools, templates, and AI workflows to automate tasks and streamline activation.Transparency, Measurement & Operations Performance Reporting: Deliver pre- and post-activation communications in partnership with Marketing Intelligence, providing merchants and finance teams with clear visibility into performance and best practices.Project Ownership: Maintain accountability for project plans, marketing activation program schedules, item list ownership, and campaign testing plans.Required Skills & Qualifications Merchant-First Strategic Partnership Proven ability to translate category business goals into clear marketing direction.Experience pressure‑testing requests and confidently owning strategic trade‑offs with merchant partners.End-to-End Campaign Leadership Demonstrated experience orchestrating strategy through execution across creative, media, and multi-channel marketing.Ability to ensure speed-to-market, cross-functional alignment, and measurable impact.Performance & Operational Discipline Strong capability to drive ROI through precise measurement, budget ownership, and continuous process improvement.Team & Environment You will join a structured, collaborative marketing environment consisting of Directors who oversee each merchandise division, with dedicated direct reports supporting specific categories. As the operational lead for your assigned category campaigns, you will be the bridge connecting merchants, creative teams, and media activation squads to ensure seamless execution.Compensation The target hiring compensation range for this role is $66.00/hr to $74.00/hr. Compensation is based on several factors including, but not limited to education, relevant work experience, relevant certifications, and location.Benefits Aquent Talent connects the best talent in marketing, creative, and design with the world's biggest brands. Our eligible talent get access to amazing benefits like subsidized health, vision, and dental plans, paid sick leave, and retirement plans with a match. More information on our awesome benefits!Equal Opportunity Employer Aquent is an equal‑opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We're about creating an inclusive environment—one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.#J-18808-Ljbffr
Aquent is an Equal Opportunity Employer.