Senior Category Manager

Summary

Join Guild, a company that values diversity and inclusion, as a Senior Category Manager. This core member of the Partnerships team will lead strategy, execution, and improvement of a portfolio of learning programs. You will act as a subject matter expert, both internally and externally, defining the vision for category growth and quarterbacking cross-functional efforts. The role requires strong analytical, strategic, and influencing skills. Guild offers a competitive salary, benefits, and a commitment to equal pay. The position is remote, with work locations in specified states.

Requirements

• 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, identify 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

Responsibilities

• Act as the “general manager”/product manager and “voice” for your categories. With the support of the Category Principal, exercise key decision making rights 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
• Independently lead analytical projects to clarify strategic questions or validate business cases for category initiatives. Articulate hypotheses, scope work, own complex analyses and laterally manage partners in Analytics, Learning Partners Services (Account Management), and other teams to build perspectives
• Work closely with partners from Pre-sales, Marketing, Product, Employer Partner Services, 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

Preferred Qualifications

• Self-starter attitude with an entrepreneurial approach; able to independently identify problems and solutions, and run multiple, simultaneous 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
• 5+ years of experience in strategy, consulting, product development or other relevant work

Benefits

• Access to low-cost, high-quality health care options through Cigna and Kaiser (due to coverage limitations, Kaiser is currently only available in CA & CO)
• Access to a 401k to help save for the future
• Open vacation policy for employees to rest and recharge
• 8 days of fully-paid sick leave, to take the time to heal and or recover
• Family-friendly benefits, including 12 weeks of parental leave for non-birthing parents and 18-20 weeks for birthing parents; 4-week ramp-up period for when employees return from a leave of 6 weeks or more; as well as employer-paid short-term and long-term disability, employer-sponsored life insurance, fertility and caregiving benefits
• Well-rounded wellness benefits including free and low cost mental health resources and financial wellbeing support services
• Education benefits and tuition assistance to help your future development and growth