SR. CATEGORY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Sr. Category Development Manager, Front of House

The Sr. Category Development Manager, Front of House role is an exciting opportunity to accelerate your career in procurement with the FOH team. In this creative and strategic role, you will take responsibility for the day to day management of assigned suppliers and retail growth programs and will develop and execute strategic business plans within a fast-paced environment. As an expert in assigned categories, you will negotiate with assigned suppliers on contractual programs, pricing, and incentives while developing relationships that further mutual partnership. You will engage cross-functionally within your team, other departments and with Sector representatives to present program opportunities designed to deliver program growth. As a result, it will be expected to demonstrate the ability to delegate and manage team projects and plans including actively working with others and providing appropriate guidance, support, and direction as needed to drive to completion. This is not a remote position; position is located at the Charlotte, NC corporate office.

What You'll Do

• Owns the development of category strategy and, in conjunction with other functions, delivers business objectives that enhance business performance.
• Remains current on industry trends that could lead to development of new strategic initiatives to help/support one or many business units grow sales and/or profitability.
• Lead day-to-day programs, administration and operations of assigned suppliers.
• Manage relationships with suppliers, cross-functional teams and business partners.
• Develop and manage supplier KPI's and scorecard measurements.
• Execute activities that align to the category strategy including development of promotional programs, Retail Growth communications, category and retail growth analysis, and marketing/customer engagement.
• Steward supplier relationships to support category plans and ensure this is aligned to sourcing strategy for product and distribution.
• Set annual budgets for your programs with monthly tracking and accurate forecasting.
• Negotiate with supplier partners to improve contracts, drive savings opportunities, mitigate adverse market conditions, and expand product offering for programs.
• Develop strategies to increase product penetration in outlets and diversify the program portfolio.
• Develop marketing materials to train and educate operators on retail best practice through various communication vehicles including manager guides, presentations, social media, and more.
• Support team in managing the roll-out, implementation and communication of new retail growth programs and provide support on program changes adhering to Foodbuy's processes and timelines.
• Continuously search for new opportunities to increase and enhance category revenue and margin.
• Lead calls and presentations on a regular basis, clearly and effectively, with all stake holders.

• 2+ years of managerial experience
• Bachelor's Degree - Beverage or Food Industry experience strongly preferred.
• Resourceful mindset; ability to problem solve, identify root causes to challenges and offer solutions for issue resolution.
• A great attitude - maintains optimism and flexibility.
• Great project management skills are key to the success of this role.
• Time management skillset and ability to prioritize tasks and deliverables.
• Ability to extract insights from complex data sets using advanced analytical skills.
• High attention to detail and exceptional work quality.
• Good knowledge of budgets and forecasting. Outstanding presentation skills.
• High proficiency level with MS Excel, Word and PowerPoint required.
• Travel could be up to 10% annually.
• age assigned associates to their KPIs providing performance feedback, supporting their professional development, providing coaching and guidance that support their needs and ensuring that goals and expectations are met.