Global Category Leader Potatoes

Yum! Brands; Plano (TX); On-site; USD 143,000 - 168,000; Full time

Job summary

Yum! Brands is seeking a senior leader to own the global Potatoes category, shaping strategy across multiple brands and regions. You will drive supplier collaborations, program execution and responsible sourcing to strengthen brand economics.

In this role you will influence senior stakeholders, manage multi-year category plans, and leverage data and supplier partnerships to create resilient, scalable value across the Yum! system.

Qualifications

• Significant Supply Chain, category management or procurement experience.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and global programs.
• Ability to align Brand and regional priorities with supplier capabilities and market intelligence.

Responsibilities

• Own the global Potatoes category thesis and 3-5 year roadmap across KFC, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill; translate priorities into executable programs.
• Align Global Brands, Regional Supply Chain, Finance, FSQA, FIT, Sustainability and suppliers around category choices and investment.
• Lead the global Potatoes supplier strategy through segmentation, Joint Business Planning and performance agendas.

Job description

Lead Yum!'s global Potatoes category across brands to create sustainable value, strengthen supply resilience, enable brand growth and deliver competitive advantage through the scale of the Yum! system. Leverage category expertise, market insight and strategic supplier partnerships to accelerate restaurant unit economics, embed responsible sourcing, create resilience and enable brand growth through the global Potatoes category community.

• Own the global Potatoes category thesis and 3-5 year roadmap across KFC, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill, translating Brand and regional priorities, market intelligence and supplier capability into clear choices on where Yum! should aggregate, standardise or retain local differentiation, and a focused portfolio of executable global and cross-regional programs.
• Align Global Brands, Regional Supply Chain, Finance, FSQA, FIT, Sustainability and suppliers around category choices, specifications, investment and implementation; lead product specification optimization to improve consumer consistency, supplier capability, resilience or Yum's ability to leverage scale, while preserving legitimate Brand or market differentiation.
• Lead the global Potatoes supplier strategy through segmentation, strategic relationships, Joint Business Planning and performance agendas that strengthen supplier capability, capacity, yield, innovation, resilience and value; establish commercial models and, where the category structure supports it, long-term agreements and cross-regional sourcing opportunities that regions can leverage.
• Own and manage the global Potatoes supply-assurance and capacity strategy, identifying multi-tier and emerging category risks and establishing mitigation priorities, continuity expectations and escalation triggers with regions and strategic suppliers; regional teams retain operational continuity and market execution.
• Lead the global Potatoes Community of Practice across regional teams, sharing insight and best practice, coaching category leaders, creating cross-market learning and strengthening the pipeline of category capability and successors.
• Define the global commercial and value-creation agenda using category economics, cost drivers, should-cost insight, supplier economics, commodity exposure, indices, pricing mechanisms and negotiation strategy; partner with Finance and regions to translate agreed opportunities into measurable, realised business outcomes while protecting supply and Brand standards.
• Define the global commercial and value-creation agenda using category economics, cost drivers, should-cost insight, supplier economics, commodity exposure, indices, pricing mechanisms and negotiation strategy; partner with Finance and regions to translate agreed opportunities into measurable, realised business outcomes while protecting supply and Brand standards.
• Build a forward-looking view of the Potatoes market, integrating supply/demand dynamics, commodity exposure, capacity, cost drivers and market scenarios into category strategy, supplier negotiations, pricing mechanisms and category actions.
• Orchestrate global-to-regional implementation of agreed category priorities, including demand aggregation, supplier transitions and benefits tracking, creating visibility of adoption and escalating barriers where required while respecting regional contracting and sourcing decision rights.
• Build responsible sourcing, origin and traceability requirements into category roadmaps, supplier selection and strategic partnerships, balancing enterprise commitments with commercial, availability and market considerations.
• Build category data standards, analytics and digital workflows, using trusted data, AI and relevant tools pragmatically to strengthen market intelligence, sourcing, supplier management, decision quality and execution.
• Significant Supply Chain, category management or procurement experience, with demonstrated depth in strategic category leadership across multiple markets or regions; relevant food, ingredient or commodity experience advantageous.
• Demonstrated ability to develop multi-year category strategies, make clear strategic choices, and translate them into executable programs and measurable business outcomes.
• Strong commercial, financial and analytical acumen, with experience using category economics, cost drivers, supplier economics, market/commodity intelligence and pricing mechanisms to shape decisions and create value.
• Demonstrated strategic supplier relationship management, including building senior supplier leadership engagements and using supplier capability, investment, innovation and Joint Business Planning to create value and strengthen resilience.
• Proven ability to lead through a complex global matrix, influencing senior stakeholders across Brands, Regions and functions, resolving competing priorities and creating alignment without relying on direct authority.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate category and supply risks, use external insight and scenario thinking to inform decisions, and balance commercial value, resilience, responsible sourcing and Brand requirements.
• Strong people and digital leadership build capability through coaching and cross-market learning and uses data, analytics, digital sourcing and AI-enabled tools to improve decisions and execution.

Salary Range: $142,500 to $167,600 annually + bonus eligibility. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we'll consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.