Category Development Manager

Strategic Thinking – Ability to analyze complex issues, identify root causes, and develop effective plans to achieve meaningful goals with limited resources. This involves considering various perspectives, evaluating options, and creating frameworks to guide decision-making and action. Thinking strategically involves evaluating risks and options, and creating frameworks for decision-making that balance immediate needs with future objectives
Analytical Thinking – You have demonstrated the ability to analyze and synthesize information, including quantitative and qualitative data. You’ve understood complex issues, identified options, and supported sound decision-making. Strong ability to interpret data, recognize patterns, and draw insights that inform strategic choices
Impact & Influence – You have built and leveraged relationships to gain support, create positive outcomes, and drive organizational success. Ability to develop trust, demonstrate credibility, and effectively communicate to influence decisions and actions across various levels of the organization & also with external stakeholders/customers
Adaptability – You are adaptable and can work effectively in ambiguous or changing situations with diverse individuals and groups
Operational Rigor – You are a careful steward of your investments, always seeking to work smarter and build systems that enable the entire Category Development team to focus on its highest impact work.

Act as a ‘general manager’/product manager and ‘voice’ for your categories. With support from Category Development leadership, help drive key decisions on how your portfolio of programs evolves. Understand what’s in the categories, how they’re performing, growing, and differentiating Guild, to best meet employer and learner needs
Set the annual and quarterly priorities for how to optimize category value and improve category performance across coverage, outcomes, access, and innovation
Design & execute analytical projects to clarify strategic questions or validate business cases for category initiatives. Articulate hypotheses, scope work, own analyses and influence partners in Analytics, Learning Partner Services (Account Management), and other cross-functional teams to build perspectives
Work closely with partners from Pre-sales, Marketing, Product, Employer Partner Services (Acct. Mgmt.), Business Development, Operations, and more, to gather critical market insight, provide subject matter expertise and share guidance on recommended solutions & approaches
Build processes & collateral to enable quick and effective sharing of insights and support to be consumed across the organization.

Self-starter attitude with an entrepreneurial approach; able to independently identify problems and solutions, and run complex projects from start to finish
A love for learning; able to rapidly familiarize yourself with new topics and thrive in unfamiliar territories
Awareness of Guild’s business and deep curiosity about the higher education, skilling and career mobility landscape
Experience contributing to market expansion efforts, particularly in Healthcare & Manufacturing, Logistics or Transportation
3+ years of experience in strategy, consulting, product development or other relevant work