How to hire a senior category manager

How to hire a senior category manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior category manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior category manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior category manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior category manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a senior category manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a senior category manager to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a senior category manager that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of senior category managers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Senior Category Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Category Manager	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$39-77
   Manager, Strategy	A strategy manager is a professional who reviews a company's objectives for growth and works with executives to formulate actionable plans to achieve these objectives. To make comprehensive recommendations, strategy managers must conduct data analysis of the organization as well as the overall industry... Show more	$37-73
   Marketing Services Manager	A marketing services manager is in charge of overseeing a company's marketing procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities often include developing promotional strategies, assessing the performance of staff, coordinating different teams, managing the budgets, researching new marketing and client opportunities, analyzing data, and developing solutions to optimize marketing services and operations... Show more	$42-75

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Category Strategy
   • Project Management
   • Strategic Sourcing
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Internal Stakeholders
   • Supplier Management
   • Cost Savings
   • Market Trends
   • Category Management
   • IRI
   • RFP
   • Market Research
   • Consumer Insights
   • Supplier Selection

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage relationships, budgets and invoicing for multiple vendors, including the SEM & DR agency and strategic partners.
   • Lead a marketing team responsible for strategic planning and implementation of B2B and B2C marketing initiatives to achieve business goals.
   • Project manage large work streams incorporating data and technology to support all business analytics used across the organization.
   • Coordinate with SOX compliance team and internal & external auditors.
   • Review SOX documentation, including VISIO process flow diagrams to ensure accuracy.
   • Execute RFP process, price negotiation, business award, capacity and supply assurance.

   More senior category manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior category manager job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A senior category manager can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, senior category managers' average salary in hawaii is 44% less than in rhode island.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior category managers 49% less than senior-level senior category managers.
   • Certifications. A senior category manager with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a senior category manager's salary.

   Average senior category manager salary

   $116,590yearly

   $56.05 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior category manager salary

   $83,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average senior category manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$127,243	$61
   2	North Carolina	$125,067	$60
   3	Washington	$123,824	$60
   4	Virginia	$121,624	$58
   5	Pennsylvania	$121,543	$58
   6	Wisconsin	$116,039	$56
   7	Massachusetts	$115,890	$56
   8	New Jersey	$115,397	$55
   9	New York	$114,689	$55
   10	Illinois	$110,766	$53
   11	District of Columbia	$110,751	$53
   12	Florida	$106,648	$51
   13	Texas	$104,568	$50
   14	Oregon	$102,101	$49
   15	Minnesota	$101,844	$49
   16	Arizona	$100,451	$48
   17	Arkansas	$99,819	$48
   18	Missouri	$98,804	$48
   19	Georgia	$98,739	$47
   20	Colorado	$91,157	$44

   Average senior category manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Devon Energy	$153,477	$73.79
   2	Etsy	$149,692	$71.97	7
   3	Koch Industries	$148,061	$71.18	8
   4	eBay	$147,285	$70.81	25
   5	Micron Technology	$138,521	$66.60	25
   6	KLA	$137,044	$65.89	10
   7	Amazon	$136,279	$65.52	587
   8	Microsoft	$135,855	$65.31	128
   9	Chewy	$133,432	$64.15
   10	Clif Bar & Company	$130,448	$62.72
   11	Wayfair	$129,608	$62.31	22
   12	Fitbit	$129,555	$62.29
   13	Silicon Valley Bank	$128,511	$61.78
   14	Whirlpool	$127,670	$61.38	6
   15	BD	$126,806	$60.96	4
   16	Briggs & Stratton	$125,402	$60.29	2
   17	Mylan	$125,141	$60.16
   18	Abbott	$124,677	$59.94	45
   19	Adobe	$123,730	$59.49	79
   20	DSM Services USA Inc	$123,520	$59.38	1

4. Writing a senior category manager job description

   A senior category manager job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a senior category manager job description:

   Senior category manager job description example

   Our Company
   
   Kindred at Home, part of the Kindred at Home family of hospice, home health, palliative, and community care providers, focuses on clinical excellence with compassion and dignity. Our company culture centers around humility, servant leadership, empathy, and innovation while we serve as a leader in the home care industry. Our people and our patient care allow us to make a difference when life matters most. We are passionate about what we do because our care matters.
   
   Overview
   
   We are looking for a Senior Manager Category Management to join our team. This position will directly report to the Senior Director Category Management and is responsible for contract negotiation across all clinical and non-IT spend category families including but not limited to clinical, human resources, finance, and facilities; executes complex and tactical sourcing events; supporting the development of cross-functional teams; managing on-going vendor relationships; and driving reporting and tracking for assigned spend categories. With a focus on building a high-performance and innovative supply base, this role will be accountable for driving profit enhancement and overseeing supplier development.
   
   About You
   
   * Bachelor's degree and at least 7 years of procurement experience in relevant spend category, preferably in the health-care sector.
   * MBA or other advanced degree desired
   * CPM/CPSM certification desired
   * At least 3 years of experience managing advanced negotiations for spend categories >$50m million dollars
   * Experience developing and implementing category sourcing strategies with a proven track record of delivering exceptional results.
   * Able to balance short term business priorities and developing fresh long term sourcing/category plans.
   * Experience establishing & maintaining relationships with individuals at all levels of the organization, in the business community & with vendors
   
   This role requires full COVID-19 vaccination.
   
   We Offer
   
   * Comprehensive Benefits Package: Health Insurance, 401k Plan, Tuition Reimbursement, PTO
   * Competitive Salaries
   * Mileage Reimbursement
   * Professional growth and development opportunities
   
   Legalese
   
   * Employee must meet minimum requirements to be eligible for benefits
   * Where applicable, employee must meet stage specific requirements
   * We are proud to be an EEO employer
   * We maintain a drug-free workplace
   
   Location
   
   Kindred at Home

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior category managers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   To find senior category manager candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with senior category manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior category manager

   Once you've selected the best senior category manager candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new senior category manager first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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