Category Manager (Center of Plate)

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support and execute the Area implementation of US Foods COP category strategies across Beef, Poultry, Pork, and Seafood.
• Develop implementation plans for COP category strategies customized for multiple Distribution Centers within the Area.
• Ensure execution is aligned with overall US Foods category strategies, goals, and defined Area needs.
• Review Area-level COP assortments to assess product penetration, identify slow or discontinued SKUs, and uncover growth opportunities.
• Drive profitable sales growth within assigned COP categories across the Area.
• Request and manage SKUs as needed to meet local customer requirements and final assortment decisions.
• Finalize COP Area assortments, including core, complement, and exception SKUs, while reducing SKU duplication.
• Manage COP SKU inventory health, including evaluating slow and dead inventory for discontinuation, mitigating excess inventory to reduce spoilage, and executing conversion strategies.
• Support Area and Market sales staff with product assortment updates, COP market updates, informational inquiries, and delivery of merchandising goals.
• Partner with Culinary teams to identify customer opportunities, menu trends, and targeted COP category strategies.
• Facilitate product training, category education, and new product introductions for sales teams while ensuring product/brand message is in alignment with overall USF strategy.
• Work closely with internal teams, conducting planning meetings to identify accounts and categories and their potential opportunities.
• Maintain lead responsibility for gathering local market intelligence, including customer feedback, competitive activity, category trends, and vendor insights.
• Support major Area-specific account bids through analysis and coordination with sales and merchandising leadership.
• Facilitate FSQA inquiries related to COP categories through appropriate procedures.
• Ensure product and brand messaging is aligned with overall US Foods strategy.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Four-year college degree in business or related field, or equivalent field experience required.
• Minimum 7 years category management experience required, with some project management experience preferred, ideally this experience will derive from the food service or food manufacturing industries.
• Protein or Center of the Plate category experience (Beef, Poultry, Pork, and/or Seafood) strongly preferred.
• Must possess the ability to operate successfully within a matrix organization, working effectively with multiple groups.
• Must be able to work in a team setting, drive organizational transformations and support change management within the organization.
• Must be able to provide fact-based recommendations across a variety of management levels resulting in buy-in and improvement in category performance.
• Must be self-directed and highly motivated, comfortable managing multiple priorities, possessing a strong business acumen, sound interpersonal skills, and excellent presentation skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, and Excel required; working knowledge of PowerPoint is required, working knowledge of Microsoft Teams a plus.