Category Manager, Food

Job Summary

GoTo Foods has an exciting opportunity for a Food Category Manager. This position is responsible for identifying qualified sources of food supply to source alternative products of the same or better quality to secure GoTo Foods more favorable costs. This category leader will directly manage and recommend taking hedge positions across assigned commodities. In addition, the Category Manager will work collaboratively with management and internal stakeholders to source assigned food products, analyze relevant commodity markets, maintain sufficient levels of supplies, facilitate sensory evaluations and specification recommendations, negotiate pricing and contracts, stay current on category trends and advancements, track supplier quality and savings, and maintain all specifications to meet company requirements.

Essential Functions

• Strategic Sourcing
• Lead all strategic planning activities related to sourcing of assigned food categories including development of business plans, pricing strategies for core and LTO products, identifying opportunities related to supply chain and mitigating supply risks based on forecasted demand with contingency plans
• Collaborate with commodities resources to manage and recommend hedge positions across assigned commodities
• Discover and partner with trustworthy vendors and suppliers; Develop Best-In-Class relationships
• Spearhead negotiations with suppliers that deliver best total value including quality, cost (inclusive of rebates, marketing funds, etc), service and access to innovation, including lead time, terms, MOQ’s
• Work collaboratively with Supply Chain and legal to execute agreements with the best possible terms that align with GoTo Foods strategies and supplier standards
• Propose ideal contracting methods and strategies
• Research and anticipate shifts in the negotiating power of suppliers
• Serve as the procurement and contract expert resource for proteins
• Perform cost and scenario analysis and benchmarking to ensure that GoTo Foods has an excellent understanding of the supply market
• Manage all aspects of the supplier relationship including business reviews, and supplier scorecards; Ensure supplier performance achieves financial objectives and delivers required level of service
• Assess and develop supplier capabilities to create opportunities that align with R&D and brand strategies
• Proactively identify improvement opportunities and create innovative win-win customer and supplier strategies that are regularly shared with Procurement leadership, R&D and the seven GoTo Foods
• Support the implementation of strategic processes and technologies to drive efficiencies across the team. This should include sourcing, order placement/fulfillment process, as well as vendor compliance
• Seek continuous cost savings improvement opportunities to improve company COGS
• Collaborate with the logistics and distribution functions to ensure products are sourced and available to support all franchisee orders while minimizing out-of-stocks
• Serve as subject matter expert and dedicated team resource on sourcing best practices, negotiations & contracts, processes and systems
• Coach and mentor a Sourcing Analyst
• Reporting & Analysis
• Maintains database for all GoTo Foods managed fields to ensure data integrity and architecture
• Ensure all agreements are fully executed and loaded into GoTo Foods contract management systems
• Prepares and tracks supplier performance scorecards and reports as they relate to contract compliance
• Performs monthly review of supplier performance (service quality, financial results, supplier scorecard)
• Supports quarterly business reviews with reporting and analysis
• Reports monthly on supplier improvement and innovation opportunities

Education

• Bachelor's Degree, Supply Chain Management, Accounting or related field, Required
  
  

Work Experience

• 4-7 years required, 5-8 years preferred, related experience preferably in multiple aspects of Supply Chain, Procurement, or Category Management
• 4-7 years required, 5-8 years preferred, of experience developing and executing project plans within budget and schedule constraints, ability to simultaneously manage multiple priorities
• Experience leading food supply chain proposal activities including sourcing and teaming strategies, negotiation and execution of agreements, business plans, supply chain strategies, pricing and costing of supply chain
• Demonstrated expert knowledge in food categories including cost drivers, trends, new product development/innovation opportunities, products and suppliers, and pricing strategies
• Commodity knowledge and 5 years experience actively managing commodities within the Food & Beverage space; proven track record identifying areas for improvement and implementing changes in food categories, Required
• Experience in the CP, foodservice and/or restaurant industries, Required
  
  

Skills

• Knowledge of Supply Chain/Category Management/Foodservice Pricing
• Demonstrated ability to influence key decision-makers and to effectively interact with partners and customers
• History of strong negotiation skills and the ability to lead effectively and resolve conflict
• General knowledge of accounting; strong understanding of financial information, budgets, and program performance
• Excel skills (modeling, goal seek, vlookup, index (match), pivot tables, nested IF statements
• PowerPoint, Outlook, Word, ArrowStream
• Business Intelligence tools (such as MicroStrategy)
• Strong critical thinking skills, ability to exercise independent judgment and manage complexity and ambiguity
• Demonstrated ability to work under constant pressure in an undefined, ever-changing environment
• Independently motivated and autonomous
• Ability to work cross-functionally in a collaborative manner
• Strong written and verbal communication skills Process-oriented
• Proficiency in Project Management
• Excellent risk management methodologies and problem resolution techniques
  
  

CertificationsTravel Requirement

• May be required to travel up to 25% of the time