Supervisory Commissary Management Specialist (Category Mgr)

Duties
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Performs commercial retail like category management functions in an extremely fast-paced environment that drives the Agency's product assortments. Consistently executes category management strategies across a portfolio of categories and brands. Effectively balances patron savings with revenue growth. Achieves sales goals and margin targets, while providing patron savings. Anticipates and meets the needs of both internal and external customers. Delivers high quality products and services and is committed to continuous improvement.

• SAVINGS: Constantly seeks to provide grocery items at significant savings while enhancing quality of life and readiness to our military and their dependents. Must be keenly aware of competitive trends and changes in the retail grocery sector to provide grocery items at significant savings. Ensures the commissary items meet or exceed the overall savings objective compared against local market baskets.
• REVENUE: Continuously seeks opportunities to capitalize on demand creation and increase customer base to drive incremental revenue. Seeks outs cutting edge product innovation and incentives to grow, expand, and increase DeCA's revenue share.
• MARGIN: Consistently delivers the target margin by executing competitive pricing strategies and increasing demand. Achieves cutting edge strategies for increasing gross margin.
• COST OF GOODS: Research market prices, leverage data analysis/sources, and use strategic negotiation skills to achieve the best cost of goods to ensure the most cost effective posture to meet the savings, revenue and margin objectives.
• Directly responsible for establishing a business partnership with Pricing and Promotions Chief to quantify and execute retail pricing strategies in all stores. Responsibility includes executing advanced analytical techniques, tools, and scorecards to drive business results.
• Requires mastery of the retail grocery industry, the retail grocery macro trends that impact category performance, how the industry identifies and manages category assortments.
• Performs competitive analyses and evaluates retail and military demographic profiles and consumer purchasing behavior in individual categories and groups of categories, in order to execute successful category strategies.
• Conducts meetings with suppliers, agents/brokers and distributors to identify new technologies, strategies and enhanced category ideas and initiatives.

Responsible for administering a broad array of category management activities including, but are not limited to:

• Manage the product mix, including adding or removing products, and plan in-store and online displays (Planograms).
• Developing and executing plans for the assigned categories to exceed savings, revenue, and margin goals.
• Analyzing market trends, consumer behavior and competitor activities in order to identify growth opportunities and market gaps.
• Managing product assortment and promotions to maximize category performance.
• Evaluating customer feedback and implementing changes to enhance the overall customer experience and drive customer loyalty.
• Developing relationships with key suppliers and brokers focused on integrated customer focused business planning Assesses employees' developmental and training needs, providing or arranging necessary training; works with staff to resolve customer complaints and implement effective solutions; evaluates subordinates' performance, develops performance standards, and participates in hiring processed by interviewing candidates and recommending appointments, promotions, or reassignments.

Supervisory Duties:

• Supervises specialists performing category management support functions, providing leadership and guidance to ensure effective execution of strategies, managing work assignments, overseeing personnel at the GS-13 level.
• Guides and leads subordinates in devising and implementing visionary plans, programs, and procedures to enable the Sales Directorate to operate with optimum efficiency, economy, and customer service. Identify developmental and training needs of employees, providing or arranging for needed development and training. Works with staff members to resolve customer complaints and implement viable resolutions. Evaluates the work performance of subordinates and develops performance standards. Interview candidates for positions in the unit; recommend appointment, promotion, or reassignment to such positions.
• Acts as the Agency spokesman and recognized subject matter expert in category management, covering visual merchandising, pricing, management, and sales.
• Personally executes complex category management assignments, ensuring optimal product performance and placement.
• Guides the plano-grammer and reset team on changes/additions in placement and facings of new and existing products to maintain adequate space for all items in the section.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. citizen or national.
• Males born after 12-31-1959 must be registered with or exempt from Selective Service.
• Appointment is subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain security clearance eligibility based on an appropriate background investigation.
• May be subject to a probationary/trial period.
• May be subject to one year supervisory probationary period.
• Must complete a Conflict of Interest Questionnaire.
• Must sign a Mobility Agreement upon accepting a job offer from HR.
• Direct deposit of pay is required.
• Required to complete the certification program for category management professionals within 18 months of appointment to this position.
• Required to file an OGE Form 450, Confidential Statement of Affiliations and Financial Interest.

Qualifications

You must meet qualifications and requirements by the announcement closing date. Your resume must clearly show that you meet the qualifications (i.e., specialized experience requirements) for the below grade level.

• At the GS-14 grade level, one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level. You can meet minimum qualifications only through having the required specialized experience.

Specialized experience is demonstrated knowledge of retail procurement and distribution methods; principles, procedures, and techniques of retail food merchandising and retail food store management, and developments in commercial retail food store items, equipment, and practices. Examples of creditable qualifying specialized experience include:

• Managing a commissary store, supermarket, or similar type of commercial retail food store.
• Managing a department in a retail food store.
• Planning, standardizing, or controlling operations in an assigned group of retail food stores.
• Developing, interpreting, or applying policies, procedures, and operating standards for use in a retail food store.
• Providing technical advice on merchandising and operational matters pertaining to grocery, meats, and produce supplies, as well as front-end operations.

AND

• Driving category/brand management principles and practices through the application of strong data analytics and compelling business plans and other information in support of sales growth and patron savings.
• Executing retail category strategies, merchandising rules, standards, and guidelines that deliver on financial goals.
• Work consisting of project, studies, and assignments that require the analysis of interrelated issues and involves executing predictive models, gathering information, identifying and analyzing issues, and executing recommendations to resolve substantive problems of category management operations.
• Performing assignment involving various project, studies, or evaluations requiring the application of many different and unrelated processes, differing regulatory criteria and procedures, and significant departures from established practices.
• Making decisions, or executes and implements new methods and techniques to optimize retail category assortments to achieve a desired outcome.
• Executing long-range sales plans, goals, and objectives and provides continuous evaluation to ensure sales growth and patron savings.
• Providing solutions to category operational problems and questions.

You will receive credit for all relevant qualifying experience (paid and unpaid), including volunteer work done through National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social).

Qualifications
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level.

Time after competitive appointment . Current federal civilian employees must have completed at least 90 days of federal civilian service since being selected for a non-temporary appointment from a competitive examination register of eligibles (an announcement opened to the public) or under a direct hire authority.

Overtime: Occasional
Bargaining Unit Status: Not covered
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Exempt
Obligated Position: If obligated, you occupying the position is subject to the former incumbent returning. If the former incumbent does not return to the position, your occupancy may become permanent. Tentative job offers identify if the position you are offered is obligated.
Those retired under CSRS or FERS considered: No. DoD criteria not met.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives Offered: None

Education

For this grade level, you must meet the qualification requirement through experience alone. You may not use education to qualify.

Additional information

Executive Order 12564 requires a federal workplace to be free of illegal drugs and prohibits the use of illegal drugs both on and off duty by federal employees. As a reminder, marijuana is still classified as an illegal drug by the Federal government and is prohibited for use by Federal employees even if such use is legal in the state where the Federal employee resides and/or works. The Defense Commissary Agency is a Drug-Free Federal Workplace where the use of illegal drugs will not be tolerated and may result in penalties up to and including removal from Federal service.

• DeCA employees accepting a downgrade (i.e., change to lower grade) into this position may be entitled to pay retention.
• Applicants with financial difficulty are not automatically removed from consideration.
• Selectees are required to complete an online onboarding process.
• PCS is authorized. If you PCS'd at government expense within the past 12 months, additional government funded PCS may not be authorized; however, you may choose to pay your own moving expenses.
• Most civilian PCS entitlements are now taxable. The Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA) reimburses eligible employees for additional Federal, State, and local income taxes incurred because of receiving taxable travel income. More information is available at Civilian Relocation/PCS Tax Changes .

The following may result in a rating of ineligible. Ineligible applicants receive no consideration.

• Not selecting an eligibility.
• Submitting an incomplete application package may result in your not being considered for this position. Your resume must reflect that you are either Part-Time with the number of hours listed, Full Time, or 40 hours per week as your work schedule. If you fail to provide this information in your resume, your resume will be considered as incomplete.
• Submitting encrypted documents or uploading Adobe portfolio documents.
• Submitting any document that contains a photo or image of you.
• Including social media links, inappropriate material/content, classified or government sensitive information, or personal information such as age, gender, race, religion, or social security number on your resume.
• Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or questionnaire responses.
• Deliberately attempting to falsify your application information, such as copying portions of this announcement into your resume.