JobsGroupon

Category General Manager, Health, Beauty & Wellness (Chicago or New York)

Groupon · Chicago, IL · Commercial

Posted Sep 15, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

Behavioral

Walk me through a time you owned a category or P&L end to end. What was the business plan and what results can you point to?

whether the candidate has actually run a category or marketplace agenda versus just contributed to one

Tell me about a time you had to choose between a handful of good opportunities because you couldn't fund all of them. How did you decide, and what did you give up?

real prioritization discipline under resource constraints, not just listing frameworks

Describe a situation where you needed marketing, product and analytics to move on your priorities but none of them reported to you. How did you get alignment?

credibility of the candidate's influence-without-authority claims

Tell me about a time a senior stakeholder pushed back hard on your recommendation. What did you do?

whether they can hold a position and negotiate with leadership rather than folding or steamrolling

Tell me about the messiest data or performance picture you've had to make a call on. How did you reach a clear point of view despite the ambiguity?

comfort operating with incomplete information and still committing to a direction

What do you think is the biggest strategic risk or opportunity in health, beauty and wellness as a local services category right now?

category-specific knowledge and whether their interest in HBW is substantive or generic

Technical

If you had to trade margin for growth in a category, what data would you want in front of you before making that call, and how would you know later if it was the right trade?

depth of commercial judgment on the margin-versus-growth question the posting flags explicitly

How would you go about sizing whether Groupon should push harder into a specific HBW service line, say medical spas or wellness studios, in a given market?

concrete opportunity-sizing methodology using supply density, demand and category economics

What does a good deal construct look like for a health and beauty merchant, and how would you decide when a deal is actually hurting the merchant's economics?

understanding of two-sided marketplace value creation, not just customer-side deal appeal

Tell me about a time you used AI tools to speed up an analysis or investigation. How did you check that what it gave you was actually right?

genuine AI fluency paired with judgment to validate output, as the posting explicitly asks for

Situational

Say HBW has a strong quarter in one region but supply quality is slipping in another. How would you figure out whether that's an execution problem or a market problem?

ability to distinguish root causes rather than reacting to surface metrics

How would you set up a regular operating cadence across commercial, marketing, product and analytics teams so that decisions actually turn into results instead of stalling?

practical operating rigor and whether they've actually run cross-functional cadences before

Imagine three months in, your integrated demand plan for HBW isn't hitting targets and two functional partners disagree on why. How do you handle that conversation?

how they resolve conflict and hold partners accountable without direct authority over them

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The full job description

As published by Groupon.

<div class="content-intro"><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Groupon connects 42 million customers with local experiences - restaurants, events, wellness and travel - and the million-plus merchants who deliver them. Our mission is to get people offline and into the real world at prices that make it possible. We're an AI-native company in the middle of a platform transformation, moving from a deals marketplace to an experience discovery platform that works for customers and merchants at the same time.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div><p><strong>About the Role</strong></p> <p>Health, Beauty &amp; Wellness (HBW) is one of Groupon’s largest local categories. We are looking for a Category General Manager to own its strategy and performance across supply, customer demand, assortment and offer design, and category economics. The mandate is to determine where HBW can win, set an integrated growth agenda and turn that agenda into measurable business results.</p> <p>The Category GM owns the integrated HBW plan, sets priorities for the cross-functional capacity committed to the category, and leads execution through influence and partnership with the committed commercial, marketing, product and analytics teams. The role sits within Marketplace S&amp;O and carries no individual sales quota. You lead through capacity committed by each function at the start of every planning cycle, not through a standing team of direct reports.</p> <p>You’ll combine a general manager’s ownership mindset with analytical depth and commercial judgment: get into the details of the data and the merchant and customer experience, make clear trade-offs, and align senior leaders around the actions that materially improve the category.</p> <p>This role is open at Director or Senior Director level, depending on experience. Both levels own the integrated HBW strategy and business performance. Senior Director candidates should bring experience leading a larger or more complex category or commercial agenda, with greater independence in setting direction, making commercial trade-offs and leading execution across functions.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Key Responsibilities</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p>Own the HBW category strategy and business plan. Set the growth agenda, define the priorities and make trade-offs across supply, demand, assortment, offer design and economics — sizing opportunities and distinguishing execution problems from market problems.</p> </li> <li> <p>Shape where Groupon builds and improves supply. Translate customer demand, supply density and quality, and category context into the markets, services and merchant profiles that get commercial focus — and make sure those priorities show up in the HBW book of business.</p> </li> <li> <p>Build the integrated demand plan. Set growth objectives and prioritize the category initiatives, merchants and deals supported through Marketing, Merchandising, campaigns, search and CRM.</p> </li> <li> <p>Improve category economics. Set the category approach to pricing, take rate and promotions within agreed parameters, including when to trade margin for growth.</p> </li> <li> <p>Own the offer and deal strategy. Define category playbooks, deal constructs, price architecture, value proposition, packaging and what the deal page needs to communicate.</p> </li> <li> <p>Lead cross-functional execution. Align priorities, targets, resources and deliverables; establish a regular category operating cadence; resolve blockers; and ensure decisions turn into results.</p> </li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Key Requirements</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p>You have owned a category, marketplace, P&amp;L or cross-functional growth agenda in category management, general management, Strategy &amp; Operations, marketplace leadership, growth, product or a comparable operating role — and can point to measurable business results.</p> </li> <li> <p>Analytical and commercial judgment. You get into the data, business models, and merchant and customer experience without losing the strategic view — you can size opportunities, challenge assumptions and understand category economics.</p> </li> <li> <p>Cross-functional leadership. You can align senior partners, earn trust and move work through teams you do not directly manage.</p> </li> <li> <p>Customer and merchant orientation. You connect market and performance data to what customers value and what merchants need to create compelling, sustainable offers.</p> </li> <li> <p>An operator’s bias for action. You move from a clear point of view to a practical plan, define owners and milestones and stay close enough to execution to ensure results.</p> </li> <li> <p>Clear executive communication. You lead with the recommendation, explain trade-offs and challenge senior stakeholders constructively.</p> </li> <li> <p>AI fluency. You use AI tools to investigate the category, model economics and automate recurring analysis — with the judgment to validate what they produce.</p> </li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Nice to Have</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p>Direct experience in health, beauty or wellness (HBW) services, or an adjacent local services category</p> </li> <li> <p>Experience in a two-sided marketplace or platform business</p> </li> <li> <p>Bachelor’s degree; MBA or equivalent commercial training</p> </li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>What Success Looks Like</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p>HBW delivers sustainable growth against the agreed business plan while improving category economics.</p> </li> <li> <p>Groupon has stronger supply coverage and quality in the markets and services that matter most to customers.</p> </li> <li> <p>Deals and offers are more compelling to customers and structured to create value for merchants.</p> </li> <li> <p>The organization runs HBW from one category plan you own — effort concentrated on the highest-value opportunities, with clear decisions and fast follow-through.</p> </li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>We Are Interested In</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p>How you analyze ambiguous problems and financial and performance data to reach a clear point of view.</p> </li> <li> <p>How you prioritise competing opportunities when the category cannot pursue all of them.</p> </li> <li> <p>How you exercise commercial judgment — particularly on when to trade margin for growth.</p> </li> <li> <p>How you align senior stakeholders and drive decisions into execution without reporting-line authority.</p> </li> <li> <p>How you use AI to get to a defensible answer faster, and how you check it.</p> </li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>How We Operate</strong></p> <p>At Groupon, we build on five principles: Extreme Ownership, Speed Over Comfort, Impact Obsessed, Simplify to Scale, and Disciplined. These aren’t values on a wall — they’re how we expect everyone to show up.</p> <p>In this role, these principles mean:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Extreme Ownership — own the HBW category plan and results, making commercial trade-offs within agreed parameters and setting priorities for committed resources.</p> </li> <li> <p>Speed Over Comfort — make timely, well-grounded commercial decisions and move quickly from analysis to action.</p> </li> <li> <p>Impact Obsessed — focus effort on measurable improvements in category growth, economics, supply coverage and offer quality.</p> </li> <li> <p>Simplify to Scale — build clear category playbooks and practical ways of working that teams can adopt and sustain.</p> </li> <li> <p>Disciplined — agree targets, decision parameters and delivery commitments with functional partners, then track performance and address gaps.</p> </li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The Comp</p> <ul> <li> <p>Base: DOE $190,000–$280,000</p> </li> <li> <p>Target bonus: 35% at Director, 45% at Senior Director</p> </li> <li> <p>Target total cash compensation, including base salary and annual bonus: approximately $257,000–$406,000</p> </li> <li> <p>Annual equity award</p> </li> <li> <p>New York City or Chicago</p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>The compensation range covers both Director and Senior Director levels. Your offer will reflect the level of the role and your relevant experience.</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>What Else You Get</strong></p> <ul> <li> <p>Benefits from day one of the month after you start: medical, dental, vision, life, disability, FSAs, EAP, 401(k) match, and ESPP</p> </li> <li> <p>Direct exposure to senior leadership across the business, and the AI tooling to work at a pace most companies can’t</p> </li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Groupon is an AI-First Company</strong></p> <p>We’re committed to building smarter, faster, and more innovative ways of working and AI plays a key role in how we get there. We encourage candidates to leverage AI tools during the hiring process where it adds value, and we’re always keen to hear how technology improves the way you work.</p><div class="content-conclusion"><p><a href="https://www.groupon.com" target="_blank"><strong>Groupon</strong></a>&nbsp;<strong data-start="323" data-end="357">is an AI-First Company</strong><br data-start="357" data-end="360">We’re committed to building smarter, faster, and more innovative ways of working and AI plays a key role in how we get there. We encourage candidates to&nbsp;<strong data-start="513" data-end="534">leverage AI tools</strong> during the hiring process where it adds value, and we’re always keen to hear how technology improves the way you work. If you’re passionate about AI or curious to explore how it can elevate your role <strong data-start="735" data-end="768">you’ll be right at home here.</strong><br><br>Groupon’s purpose is to build strong communities through thriving small businesses. To learn more about the world’s largest local e-commerce marketplace, click <a href="https://www.groupon.com/articles/about" target="_blank">here</a>. You can also find out more about us in the latest <a href="https://www.groupon.com/articles/press" target="_blank">Groupon new</a>s as well as learning about our <a href="https://www.groupon.com/articles/dei" target="_blank">DEI approach</a>. If all of this sounds like something that’s a great fit for you, then click apply and join us on a mission to become the ultimate destination for local experiences and services.</p> <p><strong>Beware of Recruitment Fraud: </strong>Groupon follows a merit-based recruitment process without charging job seekers any fees. We've noticed an increase in recruitment fraud, including fake job postings and fraudulent interviews and job offers aimed at stealing personal information or money. Be cautious of individuals falsely representing Groupon's Talent Acquisition team with fake job offers. If you encounter any suspicious job offers or interview calls demanding money, recognize these as scams. Groupon is not responsible for losses from such dealings. For legitimate job openings (and a sneak peek into life at Groupon), always check our official career website at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.grouponcareers.com/">Groupon Careers</a></p></div>

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