Direct Procurement Food: Associate Category Manager (Entry)

Checkers & Rally’s Drive-In Restaurants; Town of Florida (NY); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus eligible

Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits

401k with company match

Cell Phone Reimbursement

Employee Discount at restaurants

Job summary

Checkers & Rally’s is seeking an Associate Category Manager for Direct Procurement Food (Entry Level) in Tampa, FL. This role focuses on end-to-end category management, supplier negotiations, and cost optimization across direct food categories in a fast-paced restaurant group.

You will analyze spend, monitor markets, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive supply continuity, quality, and value while supporting new product launches and LTO rollouts.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or related field.
• 1-3 years of experience in procurement, category management, strategic sourcing, supply chain, or related field.
• Basic understanding of Food Supply Chains and Procurement.
• Exposure to supplier negotiations, contract management, sourcing events, and cost analysis.
• Strong analytical skills with proficiency in Excel
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage projects, prioritize workload, and meet deadlines

Responsibilities

• Support end-to-end category management for assigned food ingredients and product categories.
• Assist in developing and executing sourcing strategies aligned with brand objectives, quality standards, and operational requirements.
• Participate in supplier negotiations, contract administration, and cost optimization initiatives.
• Monitor commodity markets, food industry trends, and supplier capabilities to identify opportunities and risks.
• Maintain strong supplier relationships and support performance reviews, scorecards, and issue resolution.
• Manage item setup, product specifications, and lifecycle tracking within procurement systems.
• Ensure accuracy of product data and supplier documentation.
• Responsible for entering food category pricing.
• Support new product launches, product transitions, and Limited Time Offer (LTO) rollouts.
• Analyze spend, pricing trends, and supplier performance using tools such as Excel, Power BI, and procurement platforms.
• Prepare reports and presentations to support sourcing decisions and leadership reviews.
• Convert data into actionable recommendations that improve cost, quality, service, and supply continuity.
• Collaborate with Distribution, Operations, Marketing, Culinary, and Supply Chain teams to support business initiatives.
• Partner with Finance and Legal teams on supplier agreements, business cases, and risk assessments.
• Support cross-functional projects focused on cost savings, quality improvement, sustainability, and process efficiency.

Skills

Excel

Power BI

Analytical skills

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Power BI

Procurement analytics tools

Excel

Job description

Checkers & Rally’s is seeking an Associate Category Manager for Direct Procurement Food (Entry Level) in Tampa, FL. This role focuses on end-to-end category management, supplier negotiations, and cost optimization across direct food categories in a fast-paced restaurant group.

You will analyze spend, monitor markets, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive supply continuity, quality, and value while supporting new product launches and LTO rollouts.