Category Manager, Australia

Koala is a global furniture brand bringing Australian design and innovation to the world. We create forward-thinking products that solve problems for people and homes everywhere, driven by our purpose to make the world a more comfortable place.

We’ve always believed in doing things differently, whether in the way we develop products, how we do people and culture, or the way we bring the brand to life. That mindset has fuelled our growth, helping us disrupt categories in ways that are creative, bold and often unexpected. While we’re a household name in Australia, our journey on the global stage is only just beginning.

Since launching in 2015, our furniture has reached homes across Australia, Japan, the US and the UK. As a B Corp-certified, customer-obsessed, and data-led company, we’re committed to revolutionising furniture for generations to come through design, innovation, and meaningful sustainability.

Role Description

As Category Manager, you’ll own how Koala’s Australian Sleep and Sit categories perform each week: what moved revenue and margin, why, and what to do next. You’ll make the call on promotions, shape decisions on range and price, and work with Finance, Marketing, Planning and Ecommerce to get them live. You’ll take your recommendations to the leadership team, and your recommendations will shape what Koala does next.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the weekly Australian category read for the performance review: the numbers, what drove it, and recommendations.

• Plan the Australian promotional calendar by category: what goes in each offer and at what discount depth, to hit revenue at target contribution margin.

• Track each promotion daily, and review it afterwards to show what was extra demand, what was pulled forward, and what it cost in margin.

• Run clearance and exit plans for outgoing products against their shelf-life dates, and adjust the discount when sell-through falls behind.

• Run the quarterly Australian range review, product by product, on sales, margin, customer reviews, returns and price against competitors.

• Recommend whether to keep, fix or exit each product, and take each decision through to a close.

• Track marketing spend by category against sales, and flag when spend runs ahead.

• Build the weekly Australian forecast by category, and the category inputs to budgets and half-year plans.

• Get decisions made and delivered on time with Finance, Planning, Marketing and Ecommerce.

Ideal background

• 7+ years in physical product category management, trading or commercial roles in retail, ecommerce or FMCG.

• Has owned a category P&L and can explain what moved revenue and margin in a given week (price, mix, discount depth, returns or freight).

• Has planned promotions and measured their elasticity and cost.

• Pulls and works their own data in a self-serve BI tool (Koala uses Cube), SQL or spreadsheets, and uses AI tools to speed up analysis.

• Turns analysis into a clear written recommendation and defends it in front of senior leaders.

• Has delivered through cross-functional teams without direct authority, and held them to dates.

• Experience in a direct-to-consumer business is a plus.

Perks and Privileges

Koala is only great when its employees are happy; and we’re one happy bunch!

• Hybrid working - We’re mixing it up with ~3 days back in the Alexandria Treehouse (office) and work from bed/home (WFB)

• Take a break - Generous time off - volunteer, parental, Koala life leave and more to help keep your work-life balance, balanced.

  Treehouse goods - Fully stocked kitchen with an emphasis on healthy local produce, think bougie brekky, salad bar, kombucha on tap, monthly barbies and more.

• Pet-friendly - The Koala Treehouse is as pet-friendly as they get!

• Surprise & delight - The two-word combo at the core of everything we do. All Koalas can expect to enjoy free Koala products with ‘mates rates’ for your friends and fam.

• Support & wellbeing - Our employee experience respects and embraces all families, formed, found and evolving. You’ll have access to our Employee Assistance Program, which includes unlimited sessions for financial, work, relationship, family or wellbeing support.

• Accelerate your career - via our Learning Management platform, as well as individual and team growth budgets and dedicated days.

• Community & connection - We believe that simply doing ‘no harm’ isn’t good enough So, how are we doing our part? BCorp Certified, WWF Partnership, volunteer days, a member of SoftLanding, 1% and so much more.

All in all, the Koala Community is a great place to hang out and belong to!

Why Join Koala?

At Koala, we do things a little differently and we don’t shy away from the fact that we expect a lot from our employees! We have no ego; we seek feedback that grows us; and we have a strong bias for action. We want you to challenge expectations, always look to make a difference and give us something different from the norm. We want people that bring great energy, that have a long-game focus and are always trying to find new angles and approaches to the way we work. We're a team full of entrepreneurial spirit and have a relentless focus on 'what's next' but while always reviewing 'what's been done' and learning, growing and adapting. Honesty and empathy drive everything we do, as well as a total focus on exceeding our customers’ expectations. So if you feel like this could be you... Drop us a line, and let's see what you've got! ;)

There’s no such thing as a ‘perfect’ candidate, Koala is a place where everyone has opportunity. So however you identify and whatever background you bring with you, please apply if this is a role that would make you excited to come into work every day. We’re an equal opportunity employer, and recognise that a diverse workforce is crucial to our success as a business.

To read more, check out our careers, LinkedIn, or the great work we do with Work180.