Category Manager

Continental; Sterling Heights (MI); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Continental is seeking a Category Manager in Sterling Heights, MI to develop category plans for vending, micro-markets, and office coffee services. You will drive pricing, assortment, supplier management, and promotional strategies to improve sales and margins across channels.

The role emphasizes using customer insights and market trends to optimize product lifecycle, planograms, and execution. This is a full-time onsite position reporting to the Analytic Support team.

Qualifications

• Category management experience across multiple channels.
• Strong pricing strategy and promo planning skills.
• Merchandising and assortment planning abilities.
• Analytical mindset with data-driven decision making.

Responsibilities

• Develop category plans for vending, micro-markets, office coffee services, and adjacent channels.
• Define category roles, customer needs, growth priorities, product architecture, and financial objectives.
• Lead item introductions, substitutions, and lifecycle decisions with cross-functional partners.
• Monitor category performance and optimize pricing, promotions, and margins.
• Maintain category scorecards and ensure compliance with plans and standards.

Skills

Category management

Pricing strategy

Merchandising

Analytics

Job description

Backed by a tireless commitment to high quality, innovative culinary offerings and unparalleled client and guest services, Continental consistently ranks among the top contract dining and refreshment providers in the nation according to Food Management Magazine, the industry’s source for food service news and trends.

Our Mission

Delight our guest. Every meal. Every day.

Our Core Values

– We recruit and retain phenomenal people who consistently go the extra mile to deliver results that lead the industry.

– We are tirelessly committed to providing the highest quality food, beverages, and service by anticipating our guests' needs so they can count on memorable experiences every time.

– We prioritize working together with a shared vision and effective & transparent communication, we unite as one team to achieve remarkable experiences.

– we hold ourselves accountable to be there for our team and clients, to deliver what we say we will, when we say we will and check in on progress along the way.

– We are forward-thinkers always looking for new processes, technologies, and techniques to increase efficiencies and scalability to improve our services.

The Experience You’ll Create

The Category Manager is responsible for developing and executing category, assortment, pricing, supplier, product lifecycle, and promotional strategies across assigned Refreshment Services Group channels. This role uses customer insights, market trends, supplier capabilities, and item-level performance to improve sales, gross margin, product mix, waste, and the guest and client experience.

The Category Manager sets the commercial direction, approved assortment, pricing, supplier, product lifecycle, and promotional strategy. Merchandising owns planogram strategy and creation, product swaps, new-business planograms, resets, replenishment settings, and field execution.

Department: Analytic Support 105604
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Sterling Heights
Reporting To: Derrick Frailing

A Taste of Who We Are:

Backed by a tireless commitment to high quality, innovative culinary offerings and unparalleled client and guest services, Continental consistently ranks among the top contract dining and refreshment providers in the nation according to Food Management Magazine, the industry’s source for food service news and trends.

Our Mission

Delight our guest. Every meal. Every day.

Our Core Values

– We recruit and retain phenomenal people who consistently go the extra mile to deliver results that lead the industry.

– We are tirelessly committed to providing the highest quality food, beverages, and service by anticipating our guests' needs so they can count on memorable experiences every time.

– We prioritize working together with a shared vision and effective & transparent communication, we unite as one team to achieve remarkable experiences.

– we hold ourselves accountable to be there for our team and clients, to deliver what we say we will, when we say we will and check in on progress along the way.

– We are forward-thinkers always looking for new processes, technologies, and techniques to increase efficiencies and scalability to improve our services.

The Category Manager is responsible for developing and executing category, assortment, pricing, supplier, product lifecycle, and promotional strategies across assigned Refreshment Services Group channels. This role uses customer insights, market trends, supplier capabilities, and item-level performance to improve sales, gross margin, product mix, waste, and the guest and client experience.

The Category Manager sets the commercial direction, approved assortment, pricing, supplier, product lifecycle, and promotional strategy. Merchandising owns planogram strategy and creation, product swaps, new-business planograms, resets, replenishment settings, and field execution.

Category Strategy & Planning

• Develop category plans for assigned vending, micro-market, office coffee services, and adjacent channels.
• Define category roles, customer needs, growth priorities, product architecture, and financial objectives.
• Use customer insights, market trends, competitive intelligence, and performance data to identify growth opportunities.
• Translate strategy into clear assortment, pricing, promotional, financial, and execution requirements.
• Recommend regional or channel variations when supported by customer demand or operating needs.

Assortment, Planograms & Product Lifecycle

• Manage approved assortments, product mix, SKU productivity, and lifecycle decisions.
• Evaluate products using sales velocity, margin, cost trends, waste, stockouts, customer preferences, and operational requirements.
• Lead new item introductions, tests, substitutions, rationalization, discontinuations, and approved exceptions.
• Coordinate approved product transitions with Merchandising, Operations, Procurement, suppliers, and other affected teams.
• Lead client and healthy program management, including approved assortments, nutritional information, product requirements, program standards, performance, and ongoing optimization.

Pricing, Promotions & Margin

• Execute enterprise pricing strategy within assigned categories and maintain appropriate price architecture and tiers.
• Monitor gross margin and recommend pricing, assortment, mix, cost, or supplier actions to achieve financial goals.
• Evaluate supplier cost changes, rebates, incentives, and purchasing programs with Procurement and Finance.
• Develop promotional recommendations, including products, price points, timing, funding, and expected outcomes.
• Review promotional results and improve waste economics through pack size, shelf life, supplier terms, and assortment decisions.

Performance, Compliance & Analytics

• Maintain category scorecards covering sales, units, margin, mix, SKU productivity, waste, availability, promotions, compliance, and supplier performance.
• Monitor compliance with approved assortments, planogram direction, pricing, promotions, and