Category Manager at IMA Foodservice Houston, TX

Downtown Boulder Partnership; Houston (TX); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Downtown Boulder Partnership is seeking a Category Manager in Houston, TX, responsible for developing and implementing business plans for Food Service categories. The role involves negotiating RFPs, analyzing market trends, and maintaining supplier relationships.

Candidates should have 3-5 years of relevant experience and a Bachelor's degree. The position includes a hybrid work model requiring office presence on some days with some travel required.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of category management and/or relevant business management experience.
• Bachelor’s degree required.

Responsibilities

• Implement business plans using market trend analysis.
• Negotiate RFPs for certain products.
• Monitor post RFP progress and recommend solutions.
• Develop and maintain supplier relationships.
• Manage internal relationships to achieve optimum results.

Skills

Negotiation

Data analysis

People management

Communication

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

About the Role

Category Manager is responsible for assisting in the creation of and implementing business plans for a specific range of Food Service categories and products. The Category Manager collaborates with Food Service Suppliers, IMA Members, and the IMA team to assist in RFP negotiations, conduct category analytics, foster relationships, and bring value added solutions for his or her areas of responsibility.

THIS ROLE IS NOT FULLY REMOTE

Hybrid: work in office Mo/Tu/Th, remote option W/F (driven by the business calendar)

Location: Houston, TX

Responsibilities

• Implement business plans using market trend analysis, to source the right quality products at the lowest possible cost to maximize profitability
• Negotiate RFPs for certain products under the guidance of the Category Director
• Monitor post RFP progress and recommend solutions for underperforming areas
• E BRAND assortment recommendations based on market intelligence, member requests and other analysis
• Determine category and item gaps and recommend solutions with expected impact
• Develop and maintain supplier relationships to expand available options for product supply
• Research product innovation for additional line items as well as packaging innovation, packaging project set up, review, and approval
• Develop and manage one direct report – Category Analyst
• Share category and industry knowledge with Analysts
• Develop and share best practices for BI tools (Attribytes, NPD, Datassential)
• Organize member category team calls (setup, agenda, moderating)
• Provide category insights to the IMA Members
• Manage internal relationships to achieve optimum results as a team
• Meet financial targets for categories including sales service fees, marketing program, expenses and other related matrix
• Some travel required
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of category management and/or relevant business management experience
• Bachelor’s degree required

Required Skills

• Proven experience as a category manager or similar, with excellent negotiation techniques
• Expertise in analyzing multiple data sources to devise recommendations for the development of business plans
• People management & development skills
• Manage the execution of varied activities across different teams
• Solution oriented, collaborator, consensus builder
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Integrity is part of their DNA