Associate Category Manager

Job Description

Job Description

About Us:

We believe everyone deserves a chance to improve their financial future. We're dedicated to building simple and inclusive financial products that help our members create healthy habits and achieve economic stability.

The Perpay team is a motivated group of creative problem solvers who love getting things done and making an impact. Located in Center City, Philadelphia, our one-of-a-kind space promotes a collaborative work environment, unites our team, and feels like a home away from home. As a certified B Corp, Perpay is committed to building a mission-driven culture that balances purpose and performance - Learn more.

Some things we're excited about:

• $500 million in spending power used by our members
• Increasing members' credit by 32 points (on average) within the first 3 months
• Backed by First Round Capital and JP Morgan

Products we've built to make an impact:

• Perpay Marketplace: Combines interest-free payments and modern e-commerce to reduce cost of ownership and promote healthy repayment behavior.
• Perpay+: Leverages Marketplace repayment history to help members monitor and build credit with all 3 credit bureaus.
• Perpay Credit Card: Expands access to the flexibility and benefits of a World Mastercard by removing common barriers like high security deposits and low approval odds.

The Role: Building assortments that help Americans build credit

We're expanding into new product categories and looking for an Associate Category Manager who can pair sharp buying instincts with data-driven grit to scale a multi-billion-dollar marketplace. They will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive strategy to expand on assigned categories. As a member of the Merchandising team, you will be responsible for sourcing new vendors, growing assortments, and achieving total cost of ownership, revenue, and profit goals for assigned vendors/categories. You will own all aspects of our vendor relationships and will be responsible for negotiating the best total cost of ownership and level of inventory availability for all products offered on Perpay marketplace.

Our greatest strength is our people and we'd love for you to be one of them! What You'll Do:

• Expand assortment: Identify whitespace, source new brands, and launch 500–1,000 SKUs in your first year
• Negotiate total cost of ownership: Reduce cost of goods sold by ≥ 5 % while minimizing inventory-unavailable rates through creative vendor programs
• Analyze to win: Pull marketplace data, analyze sales trends, and turn insights into action
• Represent Perpay externally: Attend trade shows and pitch our credit-building value prop to C-suite vendor contacts
• Collaborate cross-functionally:
  • Partner with Product to prioritize and implement site functionality that accelerates assortment growth
  • Work with Data Analytics to refine product pricing and cost decisions
  • Provide Marketing with brands and assortments that fuel customer acquisition and elevate the shopping experience
• Within your first 90 days:
  • Ramp quickly: Master our BI tools and deliver a 30-day category audit highlighting immediate wins and long-term opportunities
  • Own relationships: Begin leading weekly vendor meetings for your assigned category—setting agendas, driving action items, and reporting outcomes
  • Chart the future: Present a 12-month category growth roadmap (assortment, cost, and marketing levers) to leadership for approval

Why You'll Love This Role:

1. Own a multi-million-dollar P&L from day one
2. Shape category strategy at a company still growing 50%+ YoY
3. Work in a culture that values data over hierarchy and experimentation over status quo

What You'll Bring:

• 2–4 years in buying, category management, vendor management, or marketplace operations
• Advanced Excel/Sheets skills (pivot tables, INDEX-MATCH; basic SQL a plus)
• Comfort negotiating six-figure deals and balancing margin vs. growth
• Proven grit—you deliver when data is messy, suppliers are stubborn, or launch windows are tight
• Passion for Perpay's social mission and curiosity for fintech-enabled retail.

Hey, we know not everybody checks all the boxes, so if you're interested, please apply because you could be just what we're looking for!

What We'll Bring:

• Competitive salary + company equity
• 401k with company match
• Medical / Dental / Vision insurance
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Team member discounts
• Relocation assistance
• Pre-tax commuter benefit
• Student loan repayment match
• Gym subsidy with City Fitness
• Cell phone plan
• Paid parental leave
• Unlimited PTO

Additional Perks:

• Opportunity to gain experience at one of the fastest-growing financial startups in the country
• Work on both e-commerce & fintech customer-facing products
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, design, marketing, operations, data teams, and more

This is not a remote opportunity; it is 100% onsite (#LI-Onsite) (#LI-TH1) (#LI-AK1)

Perpay is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity in all its forms and are committed to creating an inclusive environment. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, sex (including pregnancy), marital status, political affiliation, age, veteran status, disability status or other non-merit factor. Please contact us at [email protected] to request accommodation.