Category Manager

Ownly; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

OWNLY is seeking a driven Category Manager to lead growth and business performance for a key category across two cities in India. You will own category strategy, marketplace performance, and day-to-day execution across supply, demand, and customer experience.

The role demands strong commercial sense, analytical rigour, and hands-on execution to build a scalable, profitable marketplace while collaborating with city operations and growth teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Economics, Engineering, or related field; MBA is a plus.
• 4+ years of experience in category management.
• Strong understanding of marketplace dynamics: supply-demand, customer acquisition, conversion, and unit economics.
• Proven ability to own business metrics, solve ambiguous problems, and drive measurable outcomes.
• Strong analytical skills with Excel or Google Sheets; SQL/BI tools a plus.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and execution skills.
• Able to operate in a fast-paced environment, balance strategy with hands-on execution, and manage multiple priorities.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end growth strategy and business performance for the assigned category across two cities.
• Develop city-level business plans, growth targets, and strategic initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to expand penetration, improve market share, and drive revenue growth.
• Track performance against targets and address gaps proactively.
• Build and strengthen the supply ecosystem by onboarding relevant sellers and partners.
• Improve supply availability, pricing competitiveness, and fulfilment reliability.
• Collaborate with marketing to drive acquisition, engagement, and conversions.
• Develop city-specific growth plans and monitor local performance to optimize revenue and orders.
• Establish and monitor KPIs across revenue, transactions, and profitability.
• Conduct experiments and scale successful initiatives across cities.

Skills

Category management

Analytics

Stakeholder management

Excel/Sheets

SQL/BI tools

Strategic thinking

Execution

Education

Bachelor’s degree / MBA

Tools

SQL

BI tools

Job description

At OWNLY (Backed by Rapido) we’re on a mission to make food delivery simple, fair, and exactly what you ordered and nothing extra. Our team is built of problem-solvers, innovators, and doers, all working to make OWNLY the most trusted way to get your food without hidden charges or inflated prices and we’re just getting started. We connect customers to their favourite restaurants through our reliable delivery network, while helping restaurant partners keep more of what they earn. As we grow, our focus remains the same: fair pricing, honest service, and a platform that respects everyone involved in the journey from kitchen to doorstep.

About the Role

Ownly is looking for a driven, analytical, and entrepreneurial Category Manager to lead the growth and business performance of a category across two cities. In this role, you will own category-level strategy and execution, working at the intersection of supply, demand, customer experience, and business operations. You will be responsible for identifying growth opportunities, developing city-specific strategies, improving marketplace performance, and driving sustainable revenue growth. The ideal candidate combines strong commercial acumen, data-driven decision-making, and hands-on execution capabilities to build a scalable and profitable marketplace.

Key Responsibilities

1. Category Strategy and Business Ownership

• Own the end-to-end growth strategy and business performance of the assigned category across two cities.
• Develop city-level business plans, growth targets, and strategic initiatives aligned with overall marketplace objectives.
• Identify opportunities to expand category penetration, improve market share, increase transactions, and drive revenue growth.
• Track category performance against business targets and proactively address gaps.

2. Marketplace Supply and Assortment

• Build and strengthen the supply ecosystem by identifying, onboarding, and activating relevant sellers, partners, brands, or service providers, as applicable.
• Improve supply availability, assortment quality, pricing competitiveness, and fulfilment reliability.
• Identify supply gaps across cities and develop strategies to address them.
• Build strong partner relationships to improve engagement, productivity, and long-term retention.

3. Demand Generation and Conversion

• Partner with marketing and growth teams to develop initiatives that drive customer acquisition, engagement, and repeat transactions.
• Improve marketplace conversion through better assortment, pricing, promotions, and customer experience.
• Identify customer behaviour trends and local market opportunities to develop targeted growth initiatives.
• Evaluate campaign effectiveness and optimise investments based on business outcomes.

4. City-Level Business Management

• Drive category performance across both cities while accounting for local customer behaviour, competition, and market dynamics.
• Develop city-specific growth plans and prioritise initiatives based on business potential.
• Monitor city-level performance and identify opportunities to improve revenue, order volumes, conversion, and customer retention.
• Work closely with city operations and local teams to ensure effective execution of category initiatives.

5. Analytics and Performance Management

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators across revenue, transactions, conversion, supply availability, customer retention, and profitability.
• Use data and business insights to identify performance gaps, root causes, and growth opportunities.
• Build regular business reviews and performance dashboards to track progress against targets.
• Conduct experiments, evaluate outcomes, and scale successful initiatives across cities.

Must Have:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Management, Economics, Engineering, or a related field; an MBA is a plus.
• 4 + years Experience in category management.
• Strong understanding of marketplace dynamics, including supply-demand management, customer acquisition, conversion, and unit economics.
• Demonstrated ability to own business metrics, solve ambiguous problems, and drive measurable outcomes.
• Strong analytical skills, with proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets; experience with SQL or BI tools is an advantage.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and execution skills.
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment, balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution, and manage multiple priorities.