Category Manager Bakery

What’s the role   Shell Mobility is the world’s largest fuels retailer, with more than 50,000 sites across 60 countries, serving over 30 million customers every day with fuel, food, coffee, and convenience products. Within this global network, the Benelux & France cluster operates nearly 1,000 service stations across four countries, supporting private customers, fleet drivers, and truck drivers. As part of our Powering Progress strategy, we are driving the mobility transition by making cleaner mobility seamless and enjoyable – enhancing our fuels portfolio, expanding EV charging, and delivering an outstanding convenience retail offer that puts customers first and elevates every journey.

Within this context, Shell Retail is transforming its sites into modern convenience and food service destinations, where fresh food plays a critical role in driving customer choice, visit frequency, and brand perception. The Bakery category – including freshly baked goods, sandwiches, and salads – is a cornerstone of Shell’s fresh food proposition. As Category Manager for Bakery, you will hold end‑to‑end responsibility for the strategy, performance, and development of the in‑store bakery and fresh food offering across Shell Retail Benelux.

You will translate consumer needs, operational capabilities, and commercial objectives into a high‑quality, scalable, and profitable proposition across the network, managing the category from long‑term strategic vision through to day‑to‑day execution, with a strong focus on freshness, food safety, operational simplicity, waste control, and continuous improvement. Join Shell Retail and take on a high‑impact role within one of our most visible fresh food categories, with a strong emphasis on quality, freshness, and customer experience.

You will have the opportunity to shape scalable bakery and fresh food concepts across the Benelux, while working in a professional, international organization with leading brands and strong growth ambitions.

What you’ll be doing     Own end‑to‑end category performance for Bakery, Fresh Sandwiches, and Salads across the Benelux
Develop and execute category strategies covering assortment, pricing, promotions, and positioning
Hold full P&L accountability from sell‑in through to sell‑out
Define and manage the bakery and fresh food assortment, including recipes, product ranges, and seasonal offers
Select, contract, and manage suppliers for bakery products, ingredients, and fresh components
Lead commercial negotiations, including margins, fees, and supplier support agreements
Drive innovation across fresh food concepts, recipes, packaging, shelf life, and preparation methods
Design, pilot, and scale new bakery and fresh food concepts across the network
Ensure operational feasibility and simplicity in close collaboration with Operations, Supply Chain, and Format teams
Safeguard food safety, product quality, and freshness standards across all retail locations
Monitor market trends, consumer behavior, and competitive dynamics in bakery and fresh food
Proactively manage operational challenges while maintaining focus on long‑term category growth
What you bring     Proven experience in category management within bakery, fresh food, or food service
Strong understanding of fresh food operations, preparation processes and food safety requirements
Strong commercial acumen, with excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills
Experience applying the full 4P framework: product, price, promotion, and placement
Analytical mindset, with the ability to translate data and insights into actionable outcomes
Hands‑on and pragmatic, with a solid understanding of day‑to‑day retail operations
Experience managing projects, including pilots, innovations, and rollouts
Resilient and adaptable in a fast‑paced retail environment
Fluent in Dutch (spoken and written)
What we offer   You bring your skills and experience to Shell and in return you work with talented, committed people on one of the most important challenges facing our planet. You’ll have the opportunity to develop the skills you need to grow in an environment where we value honesty, integrity, and respect for one another. You’ll…