Buying & Category Manager

Join the Haircare Group Family

Haircare Group is a proudly Australian, family-owned business with over 50 years’ experience in the professional hair industry. Founded by a hairdresser for hairdressers, we are a leading distributor of premium haircare brands and services across Australia and New Zealand, supporting customers across wholesale, retail, and eCommerce channels.

We’re more than a business — we’re a community. Our people are passionate about what they do and committed to excellence, innovation, and integrity. We build long-term partnerships with our customers and proudly represent brands that inspire creativity and quality.

For us, it’s more than hair.

The Role

We're looking for a Buying & Category Manager to lead our buying and category management function.

Reporting to the General Manager, this role is responsible for driving profitable growth through strategic sourcing, supplier partnerships, commercial negotiations, pricing management, and category planning. You will own the commercial performance of assigned categories and play a critical role in delivering sales growth, margin improvement, supplier value, and market competitiveness.

Managing the Promotions Lead, you will develop and execute category strategies, oversee pricing and promotional activity, drive product portfolio decisions, and provide commercial insights that support business performance and growth.

Why This Role Stands Out

• Own category performance, growth, profitability and market competitiveness
• Lead strategic supplier partnerships and commercial negotiations
• Influence pricing, promotions, product portfolio and category strategy
• Partner closely with Supply Planning, Sales, Marketing and Finance
• Lead new product opportunities and range optimisation initiatives
• Build commercial value across a portfolio of premium industry brands

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute buying strategies that support business growth, profitability and competitiveness
• Build and manage strategic supplier relationships, negotiating pricing, rebates, trading terms and promotional support
• Identify, evaluate and onboard new brands, suppliers and product opportunities
• Own category sales, margin, profitability and commercial performance outcomes
• Develop and implement category plans that drive revenue growth, market share and customer value
• Monitor market trends, customer demand and competitor activity to identify opportunities and risks
• Lead range reviews, SKU rationalisation and product lifecycle decisions
• Develop and manage pricing strategies to maximise profitability while maintaining competitiveness
• Lead promotional planning and trading initiatives in collaboration with suppliers, Sales and Marketing
• Assess new product opportunities and develop business cases for investment
• Partner with Supply Planning to align category plans, inventory investment and demand forecasts
• Analyse sales, margin and market data to deliver actionable commercial insights
• Present recommendations and category performance updates to senior leadership
• Lead and develop the Promotions Lead while fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement

What You’ll Bring

• Proven experience in Buying, Category Management or Commercial Management
• Strong commercial negotiation and supplier management experience
• Demonstrated success driving category sales, margin and profitability outcomes
• Strong understanding of pricing strategy, promotional planning and category performance
• Experience managing product portfolios and product lifecycle decisions
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to identify growth opportunities
• Advanced ERP, Microsoft Excel and reporting capability
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, negotiation and influencing skills
• Leadership experience and a passion for developing people
• Experience in wholesale, retail or distribution environments
• Degree in Business, Marketing, Commerce or a related field (preferred)

What We Offer

• Leadership opportunity within a respected Australian-owned business
• Collaborative and values-driven culture
• Generous staff discounts on premium haircare products
• Exposure to senior leadership and strategic decision-making

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you're a commercially minded category or buying professional passionate about driving growth, building supplier partnerships and delivering commercial results, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply now and help shape the future of category performance at Haircare Group.

Please note: You must have full Australian work rights to apply