Category Development Manager

One of our national procurement clients is looking for a Category Development Manager to join their expanding team.

Overall Purpose of the Role

This is an exciting role within our Food Category Team giving you the opportunity to shape, develop, and deliver a short, medium, and long-term category strategy. With support from your buyer, you will direct all procurement and supplier management strategies across fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables. You will work closely with our chef community to support menu and product development, driving our focus on sustainability, provenance, and reducing carbon as a priority.

You will also work closely with your suppliers, engaging them on your category strategy and ensuring they are aligned. Your primary responsibility is to deliver our overarching Foodbuy Strategy, drive volume growth, negotiate sustainable commercial terms, and provide value and benefit to our clients.

You will lead and support planning, negotiating, and executing contract renewals as well as managing supplier relationships. You will engage, inspire, and collaborate with our culinary teams and development chefs and support their client food philosophies.

You will be known for getting things done and will be a motivating force amongst your team and the wider food team.

Key Responsibilities

Working collaboratively with the Category Lead to:

• Lead your team to develop and execute a long-term category strategy to deliver sustainable improvements in terms of cost, quality, service, and innovation, in collaboration with the company's procurement team and other relevant business stakeholders.
• Identify potential new suppliers and producers, visiting and meeting existing suppliers and producers, building, and maintaining relationships.
• Understand future trends ensuring we are market leading and be able to affect change as needed.
• Deliver financial targets including inflation mitigation, cash, and managing debt, new commercial value.
• Develop and maintain long-term pricing mechanisms/cost models across subcategories and supply base to drive sustainable, competitive advantage, and ensure seasonal supply procured at optimum period.
• Ensure your product range is compliant to food safety regulations and sustainability requirements, assuring high-quality standards always and optimize as necessary.
• Support your team’s personal development plans, provide regular training, and ensure succession planning is in place.
• Support the Category Lead to develop a high-performing team culture.
• Be accountable for your category spend.
• Evaluate tenders with the company sourcing team and make recommendations based on commercial, technical, supply, and quality requirements, using your category expertise and knowledge.
• Communicate industry trends across the business.
• Regularly review supplier performance to support category growth, identify priorities to drive commercial value.
• Manage category-related queries from internal and external stakeholders.
• Support our sales and bid teams when required.
• Schedule Joint Business Plan meetings with strategic partners to deliver new commercial value, deepen supply partnerships.
• Work closely with sustainability teams to deliver programs and commitments.
• Ensure transparent supply chain and traceability.
• Influence and support our company's clients and account teams to adopt our commercial terms and recommendations.