Senior Category Manager

Senior Category Manager

Any Halpern's Facility (Atlanta, GA / Orlando, FL / Ft Lauderdale, FL/ Grand Prairie, TX / Walton, KY/ Kalamazoo, MI/ Baltimore, MD)

Welcome to Halperns’! The dedicated employees who work at Halperns' are passionately committed to this business and the customers they serve. Being part of Halperns' means being part of something important, something unique, and something special. This commitment is made clear by the superior meat and seafood specialty products we distribute.

There's a seat at our table for you…

What we offer:
Medical, Prescription Drug, EFAP Benefits after 30 days of employment
Dental, vision and other voluntary plans
Pre-Tax Saving Accounts
Profit Sharing
Family culture and career advancement opportunities

Position Summary:

Drives collaboration with Sales, Operations, regional buying teams, suppliers, and key stakeholders to develop and execute both short- and long-term category strategies that optimize cost, quality, availability, and profitability. Serves as the company's subject matter expert for assigned categories, providing market intelligence, supplier expertise, and strategic guidance while acting as the primary liaison between Sales and Product to ensure customer needs align with sourcing, assortment, and inventory strategies. Leads category management through analysis of market trends, supplier performance, customer insights, and internal business data to identify growth opportunities and mitigate risk. Partners closely with regional teams to standardize assortment, improve inventory performance, and ensure consistent execution of category initiatives while maintaining strong supplier relationships that support negotiated programs, service expectations, and long-term business objectives. 

Essential Functions:

Leadership

• Develops and communicates a clear vision and strategic direction for assigned categories, aligning sourcing, assortment, inventory, and profitability objectives with the company's overall business strategy.

• Serves as the subject matter expert for assigned categories, providing market intelligence, product expertise, pricing guidance, and strategic recommendations to Sales, Operations, and Procurement teams.

• Builds and maintains strong supplier partnerships, leading negotiations, supplier performance reviews, and collaborative initiatives that improve cost, quality, service, innovation, and supply continuity.

• Acts as the primary liaison between Sales and Product, ensuring customer needs, market trends, and supplier capabilities are translated into effective category strategies and product decisions.

• Leads cross-functional collaboration with regional buying teams, merchandising, operations, inventory management, finance, and sales leadership to ensure consistent execution of category initiatives and business priorities.

• Coaches and develops Category Managers and Regional Buyers by providing strategic direction, decision-making support, and category expertise while fostering accountability and continuous improvement.

• Uses market data, supplier insights, sales performance, and inventory analytics to identify opportunities, manage risk, optimize assortment, and improve overall category performance.

• Communicates category performance, supplier updates, market conditions, and strategic initiatives to executive leadership, providing recommendations that support informed business decisions.

Vision & Planning

• Develops and executes a long-term strategic vision for assigned categories, aligning sourcing, assortment, inventory, pricing, and profitability objectives with company goals.

• Creates annual category business plans that identify growth opportunities, cost savings, supplier strategies, risk mitigation, and key performance initiatives while partnering with Sales, Operations, and executive leadership.

• Leads category planning through analysis of market trends, commodity conditions, customer demand, supplier capabilities, and competitive insights to proactively position the business for success.

• Establishes category standards, assortment strategies, and supplier roadmaps that improve consistency across divisions while allowing for regional customer needs and market opportunities.

• Partners with Regional Buyers and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure category strategies are effectively executed, monitored, and continuously refined based on business performance and customer feedback.

Communication & Relationship Building

• Builds strong, collaborative relationships with Sales, Operations, Regional Buyers, suppliers, and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure category strategies support customer needs and business objectives.

• Serves as the primary liaison between Sales and Product, maintaining an effective feedback loop that incorporates customer insights, market trends, supplier capabilities, and operational needs into category decisions and strategic planning.

• Communicates category performance, supplier developments, market conditions, pricing impacts, and strategic initiatives to stakeholders through regular business reviews, meetings, and ongoing collaboration.

• Develops and maintains executive-level supplier relationships through routine communication, performance reviews, joint business planning, and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen partnerships and deliver mutual value.

Category & Supplier Management

• Owns the overall performance and strategic direction of assigned categories, developing and executing category strategies that improve profitability, supplier performance, product quality, service levels, inventory health, and customer satisfaction.

• Serves as the primary point of contact and subject matter expert for assigned categories, providing strategic guidance and support to Sales, Operations, Regional Buyers, and executive leadership.

• Leads supplier relationships, including sourcing, negotiations, joint business planning, performance management, innovation, and continuous improvement initiatives to maximize value and strengthen long-term partnerships.

• Partners with Sales, Operations, Inventory Management, and Regional Buyers to evaluate customer opportunities, assortment decisions, market trends, and business needs, ensuring category strategies align with company objectives.

• Drives data-informed decision-making by leveraging market intelligence, commodity trends, sales performance, inventory analytics, supplier insights, and customer feedback to identify opportunities and mitigate business risk.

• Leads supplier business reviews and establishes measurable performance expectations related to quality, service, fill rate, cost, innovation, and continuous improvement while ensuring accountability to negotiated agreements.

• Serves as the primary escalation point for supplier performance issues, supply disruptions, product concerns, and commercial challenges, coordinating cross-functional resolution to minimize business impact.

• Partners with Regional Buyers to execute category strategies, monitor compliance to approved assortments and supplier programs, and identify opportunities for continuous improvement across all divisions.

• Maintains expertise in market conditions, commodity trends, emerging products, competitive activity, and industry best practices, sharing insights that strengthen category strategy and support informed business decisions.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities:

• Proven negotiation abilities, problem solving, and working knowledge of vendor communities required

• Strong financial and business acumen required

• Exceptional project management skills

• Proficient analytical skills to analyze and interpret data related to industry trends, supplier pricing, stakeholder needs, etc. 

• Ability to inject creativity, fresh thinking, and new perspectives and to generate new and imaginative ideas.

• Knowledge of continuous improvement, cost reduction approaches and practices

• Proficient leadership abilities, capable of motivating others and influencing direction without explicit authority.

• Proficient communication skills - both written and verbal - to communicate effectively with a broad-based team including diverse internal stakeholders and vendors.

• Positive attitude, problem-solver mentality, willingness to experiment and be creative.

• Exceptional organization skills and attention to detail 

Equipment / Tools / Technology:

• Desktop or Laptop computer

• Telephone with voicemail

• Networked copier/printer/facsimile

• Google Apps (Chrome, Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, etc...)

• Advanced knowledge of spreadsheets, word processing, presentation, e-mail, and internet software applications

• Advanced knowledge of business software applications