Category & Menu Manager - Contractor

SARKU JAPAN; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Part time

Job summary

Sarku Japan is seeking a Category & Menu Manager - Contractor to drive the execution of menu/category initiatives. You will own testing logistics, coordinate cross-functional teams, and manage stage-gate documentation and milestones.

You will identify industry trends and convert them into actionable plans with stategy and urgency. You will collaborate with leadership and brand teams, maintain the project pipeline, and be ready to sample food/beverages typical of Asian-style concepts; travel to

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or related field required.
• 4–7 years in menu/product development, brand management, or related function in restaurant, foodservice, or CPG.
• Experience with stage-gate or structured innovation processes is a strong plus.
• Strong ability to analyze product performance data and consumer insights.

Responsibilities

• Test Management & Field Coordination: coordinate and spearhead product testing and field execution.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: manage project communications and ensure alignment across workstreams.
• Stage-Gate: document templates, timelines, and milestone tracking for complex projects.
• Competitive & Consumer Intelligence: identify trends and synthesize actionable insights.
• Ideation and Strategic Planning: support leadership in opportunity identification and planning.
• Pipeline & Documentation Management: maintain the master pipeline across active workstreams.
• Willingness to sample/consume food and beverages served at Asian-style restaurants; travel may be required.

Skills

Project management

Analytical skills

Written communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or Marketing

Job description

The Category & Menu Manager - Contractor is the execution engine and intelligence backbone of Sarku Japan’s Category & Menu Management team. This role keeps the transformation moving — owning the competitive intelligence, process infrastructure, and on-the-ground test management that turn strategy into reality.

What You Will Own

• Test Management & Field Coordination: End-to-end logistics owner for product testing — from coordinating and spearheading work sessions, capturing and documenting results, to managing field test execution across locations.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Manage project communications, track action items, and ensure cross-functional workstreams stay aligned and on schedule.
• Stage-Gate: Own the process documentation, templates, timelines, and milestone tracking that keep complex, multi-workstream innovation organized and moving with urgency.
• Competitive & Consumer Intelligence: Identify competitive and consumer trends, new concepts, and emerging food and beverage trends. Synthesize findings into clear, actionable intelligence that informs the team’s decisions related to key menu projects.
• Ideation and Strategic Planning: Support the Director, Chief Brand Officer, and the Brand & Digital teams in opportunity identification, planning, and brainstorming tactical initiatives.
• Pipeline & Documentation Management: Maintain the master pipeline tracker across all active innovation and core improvement workstreams.
• Willing and able to sample/consume food & beverages typically served at Asian-style restaurants.
• Travel to test markets may be required

Who We Are Looking For

You are a sharp, curious, consumer-obsessed professional who makes things happen. You are organized without being rigid, detail-oriented without losing sight of the big picture, and scrappy enough to figure things out when there is no playbook.

You have genuine passion for food, dining trends, and the restaurant industry. You notice what competitors are doing before anyone tells you to. You read the data and ask what it means, not just what it says. You are energized by the pace of a PE-backed environment and motivated by the idea of contributing to something that is genuinely changing.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field
• Minimum 4–7 years of experience in menu or product development, brand management, or a related function within restaurant, foodservice, or CPG industries. QSR or fast-casual restaurant experience strongly preferred
• Strong organizational and project management skills; able to run multiple workstreams simultaneously without dropping detail. Experience with stage-gate or structured innovation processes a strong plus
• Solid analytical instincts — comfortable working with product performance data, consumer research, and competitive intelligence to surface insights and support decision-making
• Clear, professional written communication; able to synthesize information into organized, readable briefs and presentations
• Cross-functional credibility — able to work effectively with culinary, operations, marketing, supply chain, and external partners

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Sarku Japan strongly supports equal employment opportunity for all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.