As the Category Manager you are accountable for the ownership for products sold by the business and supporting rapid product development sprints. You will support the Poultry products category and potentially other categories within protein. Reporting to the Head Core Product Development the Category Manager is a key member of the Product Development team and is responsible for supporting continuous improvement in a fastpaced and demanding production & innovation environment. The scope of category management covers the Wild Fork business units in both the US & Canadian markets. Additionally you will maintain positive relationships with Production Operations Logistics Supply Chain & Marketing as well as your vendor community and other internal and external contacts. You have a customercentric approach and are comfortable flexing between regulatory and innovation/ product development.
This is an inoffice role Monday Friday based in Miami FL.
Principal Responsibilities:
Responsible for category sales & profitability & margin contributions for the business
Directly work with internal and vendor partners to manage products within your categories with a handson approach
Manage categorys complete product portfolio throughout the whole product life cycle maintaining a strong pipeline of new products for the short and midterm. Focus customer needs and innovation
Lead department level category management using analytical tools such as Qliksense Business Objects & Excel to find opportunities to optimize margins reduce costs & improve ROI on new products
Maintain Brand and Business guardrails throughout product development process
Liaise directly with Product Developers to ensure product development projects are completed on time and in full
Manage largescale implementation of products across various channels of the business through close collaboration with functional areas: Marketing Finance Operations Supply Chain & Digital
Formulate purchasing strategies for the business through the analysis of Market & Trends with a focus on minimizing costs and maximizing gross margin
Collaborate across the established retail banners in Canada Mexico & Brazil to find synergies in product development and develop a global platform for sharing best business and product development practices. Strong cross cultural competence and communication skills is ideal to carry out such initiatives
Develop & maintain strong relationships with supplier base for the categories to ensure quality & profitability targets are met
Develop strategic business plans with key vendors.
Monitors operational statistics reports trends variances and issues and takes appropriate action.
Communicate final assortment and department direction to other stakeholders within the company such as the Leadership team departmental teams Marketing Visual Liaison Marketing Online and Retail. Include information about cost terms price distribution and marketing as needed
Coordinate and disseminate product information to Marketing through product review process and to Retail through appropriate communication processes.
Liaison with suppliers & maintains successful relationship to meet regulatory requirements for new products within rapid product development cycles
Support new product labelling process as need to support product launch process
Knowledge Skills and Experience:
Minimum 5 years experience in Category Management in Food Service or Retail sector required; Poultry and Grocery experience preferred
Prior start up experience an asset in Tech or FoodTech environments
Deep understanding of trends in retail & food service environments
Prior Food Service or Restaurant experience an asset
Passion for Food & obsession for quality
Strong focus for continuous improvement within category and throughout the business
Strong command of various analytical tools in MS Office (Excel/ Smart Sheets as example)
Support in Process & Continuous Improvement through the Product Development Function
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