Category Lead
| Location: | melbourne |
| Salary: | base + super + car allowance + bonus |
| Job Type: | permanent |
| Contact: | Michelle Young |
About the Business
This is a well-established, global industrial organisation operating across construction and engineered product categories, supplying into some of the most demanding B2B environments. The business combines strong local manufacturing capability with global scale, backed by a portfolio of well-recognised brands and a long-standing reputation for quality and performance. In ANZ, the business services a mix of specification-led and distribution-driven channels, working closely with engineers, contractors, and trade partners. There is a clear shift underway towards greater commercial discipline, sharper category focus, and more structured decision-making, with an emphasis on simplifying complexity and unlocking higher-value growth opportunities. The business offers a stable, well-established platform with strong brands and market presence, combined with a clear mandate to improve focus, simplify execution, and drive growth.
About the Role
This is a senior Category Leadership role with full ownership of a complex, multi-product portfolio across Australia. You’ll operate as the commercial owner of the category, accountable for performance across revenue, margin, and mix, and expected to manage the category with the mindset of a standalone business.
The role sits at the centre of the organisation, working across sales, engineering, supply chain, and leadership to align priorities and drive outcomes. You’ll be responsible for setting the category direction, identifying where to play and how to win, and ensuring that strategy translates into consistent, measurable commercial results. You’ll also lead a small team of Product Managers, with a strong focus on building capability, improving decision quality, and increasing pace of delivery. This is not a traditional marketing role, it’s a commercially led position where success is defined by performance, not activity. This is an opportunity to step into a genuinely commercial role with clear ownership and accountability. You’ll have the ability to shape category strategy, influence business direction, and make decisions that have a direct and visible impact on performance.
What You’ll Be Doing
You’ll take ownership of category performance end to end, using data, market insight, and customer understanding to define strategy and set clear priorities. A core part of the role is making disciplined portfolio decisions, including where to invest, where to optimise, and where to simplify, ensuring resources are focused on the highest-return opportunities. You’ll drive pricing, positioning, and product mix decisions, balancing short-term performance with long-term growth, and ensuring the category remains competitive and commercially strong. You’ll also play a key role in shaping the innovation pipeline, ensuring new product development is aligned to real customer needs and delivers meaningful impact. Alongside this, you’ll lead and develop a team of Product Managers, creating a culture of accountability, ownership, and commercial thinking. You’ll work closely with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure plans are executed with clarity and discipline, cutting through complexity to keep the business focused on what matters most.
About You
You’re a commercially driven Category or Product leader who’s comfortable owning outcomes and making decisions that directly impact performance. You’ve operated in roles where you’ve had end-to-end accountability for a portfolio, with a clear track record of improving revenue, margin, and product mix through structured, insight-led decision making. You’re confident working in complex environments, able to navigate multiple stakeholders and competing priorities, while maintaining clarity on what will drive the greatest commercial impact. You bring strong financial and commercial acumen, paired with the ability to step back, see the bigger picture, and set direction. You’re also a people leader who knows how to build capability and lift standards. You create clarity, hold people accountable, and improve both the pace and quality of decision making within your team. It’s suited to someone who enjoys operating at both a strategic and hands-on level, and who wants to be recognised for delivering tangible commercial outcomes rather than just activity.
Ideal Background
This role is best suited to candidates from industrial, manufacturing, or technical B2B environments where products are complex, the sales cycle involves multiple stakeholders, and commercial outcomes are driven through strong category management discipline. Typical backgrounds may include building materials, construction products, industrial manufacturing, engineered products, automotive aftermarket, or trade-focused distribution businesses. Experience managing large or complex SKU portfolios, working closely with sales and technical teams, and operating within structured commercial frameworks will be highly valued.
Next Steps
Click on APPLY NOW or reach out to Michelle Young for a confidential conversation on 0424 670680.
Six Degrees Executive acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work and live. We are also committed to equal opportunity and strive to promote diversity, inclusion, belonging, flexibility, and accessibility in all that we do.
Should you require assistance in your interactions with us or through a recruitment process, please let us know so we can provide adjustments for you.
This is a well-established, global industrial organisation operating across construction and engineered product categories, supplying into some of the most demanding B2B environments. The business combines strong local manufacturing capability with global scale, backed by a portfolio of well-recognised brands and a long-standing reputation for quality and performance. In ANZ, the business services a mix of specification-led and distribution-driven channels, working closely with engineers, contractors, and trade partners. There is a clear shift underway towards greater commercial discipline, sharper category focus, and more structured decision-making, with an emphasis on simplifying complexity and unlocking higher-value growth opportunities. The business offers a stable, well-established platform with strong brands and market presence, combined with a clear mandate to improve focus, simplify execution, and drive growth.
About the Role
This is a senior Category Leadership role with full ownership of a complex, multi-product portfolio across Australia. You’ll operate as the commercial owner of the category, accountable for performance across revenue, margin, and mix, and expected to manage the category with the mindset of a standalone business.
The role sits at the centre of the organisation, working across sales, engineering, supply chain, and leadership to align priorities and drive outcomes. You’ll be responsible for setting the category direction, identifying where to play and how to win, and ensuring that strategy translates into consistent, measurable commercial results. You’ll also lead a small team of Product Managers, with a strong focus on building capability, improving decision quality, and increasing pace of delivery. This is not a traditional marketing role, it’s a commercially led position where success is defined by performance, not activity. This is an opportunity to step into a genuinely commercial role with clear ownership and accountability. You’ll have the ability to shape category strategy, influence business direction, and make decisions that have a direct and visible impact on performance.
What You’ll Be Doing
You’ll take ownership of category performance end to end, using data, market insight, and customer understanding to define strategy and set clear priorities. A core part of the role is making disciplined portfolio decisions, including where to invest, where to optimise, and where to simplify, ensuring resources are focused on the highest-return opportunities. You’ll drive pricing, positioning, and product mix decisions, balancing short-term performance with long-term growth, and ensuring the category remains competitive and commercially strong. You’ll also play a key role in shaping the innovation pipeline, ensuring new product development is aligned to real customer needs and delivers meaningful impact. Alongside this, you’ll lead and develop a team of Product Managers, creating a culture of accountability, ownership, and commercial thinking. You’ll work closely with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure plans are executed with clarity and discipline, cutting through complexity to keep the business focused on what matters most.
About You
You’re a commercially driven Category or Product leader who’s comfortable owning outcomes and making decisions that directly impact performance. You’ve operated in roles where you’ve had end-to-end accountability for a portfolio, with a clear track record of improving revenue, margin, and product mix through structured, insight-led decision making. You’re confident working in complex environments, able to navigate multiple stakeholders and competing priorities, while maintaining clarity on what will drive the greatest commercial impact. You bring strong financial and commercial acumen, paired with the ability to step back, see the bigger picture, and set direction. You’re also a people leader who knows how to build capability and lift standards. You create clarity, hold people accountable, and improve both the pace and quality of decision making within your team. It’s suited to someone who enjoys operating at both a strategic and hands-on level, and who wants to be recognised for delivering tangible commercial outcomes rather than just activity.
Ideal Background
This role is best suited to candidates from industrial, manufacturing, or technical B2B environments where products are complex, the sales cycle involves multiple stakeholders, and commercial outcomes are driven through strong category management discipline. Typical backgrounds may include building materials, construction products, industrial manufacturing, engineered products, automotive aftermarket, or trade-focused distribution businesses. Experience managing large or complex SKU portfolios, working closely with sales and technical teams, and operating within structured commercial frameworks will be highly valued.
Next Steps
Click on APPLY NOW or reach out to Michelle Young for a confidential conversation on 0424 670680.
Six Degrees Executive acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work and live. We are also committed to equal opportunity and strive to promote diversity, inclusion, belonging, flexibility, and accessibility in all that we do.
Should you require assistance in your interactions with us or through a recruitment process, please let us know so we can provide adjustments for you.
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Back to Job Details
- Contract Type permanent
- Reference BH-35109
- Industry
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Salarybase + super + car allowance + bonus
-
Contact Name
Michelle Young
Category Lead
Job Application
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