Sephora Category Executive
- Employment
- Full-Time
- Seniority
- Mid-Level
- Department
- Merchandising, Buying & Planning
- Posted
- Jul 1, 2026
About Sephora
Sephora is a global prestige beauty leader, renowned for redefining the retail experience through creativity, inclusivity, and expert service. Founded in France and now part of LVMH, the company brings together an exceptional portfolio of beauty brands with a distinctive culture of discovery and innovation. As an employer, Sephora offers a dynamic, customer-centered environment where talent is encouraged to learn, experiment, and grow across retail, digital, merchandising, operations, and corporate functions. Its teams are united by a passion for beauty, entrepreneurship, and belonging, making Sephora a compelling workplace for professionals seeking impact within a fast-moving international brand.
Sephora Category Executive role in Istanbul, Turkey — lead prestige beauty category strategy, vendor management, and omnichannel execution.
Role & Responsibilities
- Oversee vendor selection, negotiation, and performance management across all assigned categories
- Execute multi-brand category strategy and action plans in coordination with internal and external stakeholders
- Maintain full accountability for category KPIs including sales, margin, inventory, market share, and growth targets
- Actively participate in budget planning processes and monitor realization of financial targets
- Manage and nurture portfolio of exclusive brands to maximize market positioning
- Monitor assortment strategies and merchandising updates, optimizing store layout efficiency
- Lead transversal projects focused on brand productivity and assortment optimization
- Coordinate omnichannel trade planning including product orders, POS systems, local adaptations, and online-offline implementation
- Collaborate closely with European Category Management team to communicate local market insights, best practices, and strategic recommendations
- Provide ongoing support to stores, identify operational challenges, and develop corporate-level solutions
- Identify and capitalize on opportunities for sales and margin development across the category
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in a related field
- Minimum 5 years of experience in category management
- Demonstrated expertise in multi-brand and omnichannel category strategies
- Proven experience managing exclusive brand portfolios
- Strong stakeholder management capabilities with cross-functional collaboration experience
- Excellent analytical mindset with strong commercial acumen
- Demonstrated problem-solving ability and capacity to synthesize complex information
- Fluent in English (spoken and written); French language proficiency is advantageous
Skills
Experience
Minimum 5 years of professional experience in category management, preferably within prestige beauty retail or multi-brand luxury environments with demonstrated success in omnichannel category strategy development and exclusive brand portfolio management.
Education
Bachelor's degree in business, merchandising, marketing, supply chain management, or a related field.
Workplace
This position is based in Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey.
Benefits
Professional development and training through personalized career plans; collaborative work environment within a global luxury retail organization; participation in a diverse, inclusive community of 56,000 team members across 35 markets.
Culture
Sephora fosters a dynamic, inclusive workplace where creativity, curiosity, and a passion for beauty are encouraged at every level. As an employer, it is distinguished by its focus on empowerment, continuous learning, and a collaborative retail culture that celebrates individuality and client-centric innovation.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Sephora, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Category Manager», «Category Lead», «Merchandise Category Director», «Brand Category Strategist», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.