Job Summary

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This is a high-impact, strategic procurement role where your decisions directly influence product quality, cost efficiency, and the overall guest experience across a large restaurant footprint. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and enjoy owning supplier strategy end-to-end, this is a seat at the table you’ll want.

Category Manager – Direct Procurement Benefits and Compensation:

Competitive base salary with performance-based bonus opportunity
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
401(k) with company match
Paid time off and holidays
Career growth with a nationally recognized, multi-unit organization
High visibility role with cross-functional leadership exposure
Opportunity to directly impact product innovation and cost strategy

Category Manager – Direct Procurement Requirements & Qualifications

Must Haves:

8+ years of experience in procurement, category management, or strategic sourcing
Direct experience managing food categories within QSR, foodservice, retail, or similar industries
Proven success leading supplier negotiations, RFPs, and contract management
Strong analytical capability with tools such as Excel, Power BI, or procurement platforms
Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or related field

What You’ll Be Doing:

Own end-to-end category management for direct spend, including food and related categories
Develop and execute sourcing strategies aligned with operational and brand goals
Lead supplier negotiations, contract execution, and cost-saving initiatives
Analyze spend data, pricing trends, and supplier performance to drive strategic decisions
Partner cross-functionally with operations, marketing, culinary, finance, and distribution teams
Support product launches, packaging transitions, and equipment rollouts
Build reporting and insights that influence executive-level decisions
Manage supplier relationships, performance scorecards, and issue resolution
Ensure accuracy across item setup, pricing, and procurement systems

Category Manager – Direct Procurement Preferred Background & Skills

Experience with packaging, distribution, or equipment sourcing
Familiarity with procurement tools such as Arrowstream or similar platforms
Background in high-growth or multi-unit environments
Strong ability to influence stakeholders across multiple departments
Experience leading cross-functional initiatives tied to cost, quality, and efficiency
Ability to thrive in ambiguity and pivot quickly in a fast-moving environment

This role is built for someone who takes ownership, thinks strategically, and isn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves to drive real results across a complex supply chain.

JOB ID: 173967

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Rogers Hornsby

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Additional Information

At Goodwin Recruiting, our clients seek qualified candidates, and that is what we deliver. A person’s age, gender, race, color, marital or family status, national origin, disability, religion, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity has no bearing on whether they are able to do the job. We evaluate the knowledge, skills, and abilities that meet the requirements of the position and aim to open doors and change lives. We work hard to identify a broad slate of candidates for each of our clients, with many hiring success stories to share.

Kalyn joined Goodwin Recruiting with over a decade of experience in operations, leadership, and hospitality management. She’s known for her values-driven approach, strong team-building skills, and commitment to excellence. Kalyn’s experience across industries - ranging from medical and construction to hospitality and finance - has made her highly effective in full-cycle recruiting.