Category Manager - Safety

Job Description

ABOUT THE ROLE

BirlaPivot is the B2B e-commerce and distribution platform of Grasim Industries (Aditya Birla Group). We are building a razor-focused Safety category - asset-light and margin-accretive - serving manufacturers, pharma, and EPC/infrastructure buyers across India.

This is a builder's role. You will run the category ramp-up from the front: sign the OEM ecosystem, set the assortment and pricing, guarantee fulfilment, and own the P&L. We are looking for a rock-solid operator who can take the category from launch to a multi-crore monthly run-rate - and set the playbook while doing it.

WHAT WE NEED - THE NON-NEGOTIABLES

The right person brings all six of these on day one:

1.Safety OEM ecosystem. A deep understanding of the safety OEM landscape, having worked with all the top brands across every safety category - with the relationships to back it.

2.Post-order mastery (OTIF). A deep grasp of the post-order journey and a demonstrated ability to deliver 99% OTIF against demand.

3.Ownership & hustle. Rolls up the sleeves and gets it done - takes 100% ownership of every enquiry and every order that comes in.

4.Gross-margin track record. A proven record of improving gross margin by leveraging best industry practices.

5.Thrives in ambiguity. Operates in a large, ambiguous environment and still drives high-performance, high- impact outcomes for the category.

6.Growth across KPIs. Demonstrated growth across all core category KPIs - not one metric, the whole scorecard.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

. Supplier & OEM ecosystem - Onboard and manage the top safety brands negotiate commercial terms, rebates and preferred/exclusive arrangements build a reliable, redundant supply base so we never miss demand.

. Assortment, pricing & margin - Own the SKU strategy and right-spec selection build the pricing and quote-to-order architecture with clear discount governance relentlessly expand gross margin.

. Private label / own brand - Build the own-brand range as the category's margin engine - spec, source, certify and position value products against branded alternatives.

. Fulfilment & post-order excellence - Own OTIF (target 99%) design the post-order journey with operations and logistics manage returns, replacements and quality complaints to protect trust.

. Enquiry & order ownership - Take end-to-end ownership of every enquiry and order - quote fast, unblock issues, and be the single escalation owner until it's delivered and invoiced.

. Category P&L & growth - Own category revenue, gross margin and contribution deliver the ramp plan and grow every core KPI quarter on quarter.. Cross-functional leadership - Orchestrate sales and tele-calling, operations, finance/credit and product/tech to convert demand into fulfilled, profitable orders - and support the dedicated KAM motion.

. Systems, data & ERP - Run the category on data - build the dashboards, work the platform/ERP, and help integrate customers ERPs to make BirlaPivot their default for safety.

. Compliance & quality - Guarantee genuine, certified products (BIS/ISI, CE, EN) and full regulatory adherence zero tolerance on counterfeits.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE (FIRST 12 MONTHS)

You will be measured on the whole scorecard, not a single line:

.Revenue & run-rate - deliver the category ramp to the agreed monthly run-rate.

.Gross margin % - expand margin via mix, negotiation and private label.

.OTIF - sustain 99% on-time in-full against demand.

.Supplier base - active brands onboarded and year-on-year improvement in commercial terms.

.Quote-to-order conversion & fill rate - speed and reliability on every enquiry.

.Private-label mix % - grow own-brand share of category revenue.

.Customer retention, repeat rate & NPS - turn first orders into standing accounts.

.Working-capital efficiency - keep the model asset-light and cash-smart.

MUST-HAVE QUALIFICATIONS

.8-12 years in category management, B2B distribution, or industrial/safety products (adjust to band).

.Direct experience in safety / PPE / industrial MRO strongly preferred, with live OEM relationships.

.Proven 0â†1 or hyper-growth category scaling, with hard numbers on revenue and margin.

.Strong negotiation, commercial acumen and data/analytics fluency (Excel/BI).

.Bachelor's in engineering or business MBA preferred.

NICE TO HAVE

.Exposure to private-label development and sourcing.

.Familiarity with credit- and working-capital-led B2B models.

.Experience building and leading a small category team.

.Understanding of safety standards and certification regimes.

WHO YOU ARE

Owner's mindset with a strong bias to action. Comfortable in ambiguity and energised by building. Data-driven, customer-obsessed, and uncompromising on integrity - especially on genuine, certified product. The kind of operator who runs toward the hard order, not away from it.