Associate Category Manager

The Role: Building assortments that help Americans build credit

We’re expanding into new product categories and looking for an Associate Category Manager who can pair sharp buying instincts with data-driven grit to scale a multi-billion-dollar marketplace. They will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive strategy to expand on assigned categories. As a member of the Merchandising team, you will be responsible for sourcing new vendors, growing assortments, and achieving total cost of ownership, revenue, and profit goals for assigned vendors/categories. You will own all aspects of our vendor relationships and will be responsible for negotiating the best total cost of ownership and level of inventory availability for all products offered on Perpay marketplace.

Our greatest strength is our people and we’d love for you to be one of them!

What You'll Do:

• Expand assortment: Identify whitespace, source new brands, and launch 500–1,000 SKUs in your first year
• Negotiate total cost of ownership: Reduce cost of goods sold by ≥ 5 % while minimizing inventory-unavailable rates through creative vendor programs
• Analyze to win: Pull marketplace data, analyze sales trends, and turn insights into action
• Represent Perpay externally: Attend trade shows and pitch our credit-building value prop to C-suite vendor contacts
• Collaborate cross-functionally:
  • Partner with Product to prioritize and implement site functionality that accelerates assortment growth
  • Work with Data Analytics to refine product pricing and cost decisions
  • Provide Marketing with brands and assortments that fuel customer acquisition and elevate the shopping experience
• Within your first 90 days:
  • Ramp quickly: Master our BI tools and deliver a 30-day category audit highlighting immediate wins and long-term opportunities
  • Own relationships: Begin leading weekly vendor meetings for your assigned category—setting agendas, driving action items, and reporting outcomes
  • Chart the future: Present a 12-month category growth roadmap (assortment, cost, and marketing levers) to leadership for approval

Why You'll Love This Role:

1. Own a multi-million-dollar P&L from day one
2. Shape category strategy at a company still growing 50%+ YoY
3. Work in a culture that values data over hierarchy and experimentation over status quo

What You'll Bring:

• 2–4 years in buying, category management, vendor management, or marketplace operations
• Advanced Excel/Sheets skills (pivot tables, INDEX-MATCH; basic SQL a plus)
• Comfort negotiating six-figure deals and balancing margin vs. growth
• Proven grit—you deliver when data is messy, suppliers are stubborn, or launch windows are tight
• Passion for Perpay’s social mission and curiosity for fintech-enabled retail.