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)

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…