Senior Grocery Category Manager – Sourcing & Growth

Vaco; Monrovia (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaco by Highspring in the Greater Pasadena Area, CA, onsite five days per week, is seeking a Category Manager to own the category strategy, driving product selection, sourcing, pricing, inventory, and vendor relationships to improve category performance.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in category management within grocery or consumer products, strong negotiation skills, and experience with dairy or perishable categories. Bachelor's degree preferred.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in category management, buying, sourcing, procurement, or merchandising within grocery, food, retail, or related consumer products environment.
• Dairy, refrigerated, fresh, or perishable food category experience strongly preferred.
• Strong experience sourcing and evaluating new food products.
• Demonstrated vendor management and negotiation experience.
• Understanding of commodity markets, pricing, margins, and retail-based mathematics.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, changing retail environment.
• Strong communication, relationship-building, and organizational skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own category strategy across product selection, value, vendor relationships, fulfillment, negotiations, and inventory quality.
• Partner with merchandising leadership to establish and achieve sales, margin, SKU, and unit targets.
• Stay closely informed on category trends, commodity pricing, market conditions, production capacity, and emerging products.
• Manage vendor relationships and supply chain performance, ensuring negotiated agreements, quality standards, and fulfillment expectations are met.
• Source, evaluate, and introduce new products while identifying opportunities to strengthen and diversify the vendor base.
• Partner with buyers and broader product teams to support fill rates, inventory quality, and fulfillment goals.
• Evaluate product quality, pricing, customer value, and overall category performance.
• Build strong relationships with manufacturers and vendors while leading negotiations.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with merchandising, product development, operations, and other internal teams.

Skills

Strong communication

Relationship-building

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Vaco by Highspring in the Greater Pasadena Area, CA, onsite five days per week, is seeking a Category Manager to own the category strategy, driving product selection, sourcing, pricing, inventory, and vendor relationships to improve category performance.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in category management within grocery or consumer products, strong negotiation skills, and experience with dairy or perishable categories. Bachelor's degree preferred.