Sales Category Manager

Our client, a leading North American fresh food manufacturer is seeking a Senior Category Manager to join its commercial team supporting one of its most strategic retail partners.

This organization is widely recognized for innovation in fresh, healthy foods and continues to experience significant growth. The role offers strong visibility, meaningful customer exposure, and the opportunity to influence category strategy within one of the fastest-growing segments in food.

This position is ideal for an analytically strong commercial professional who enjoys turning data into strategy while collaborating closely with Sales leadership and engaging directly with customers.

Summary

The Senior Category Manager will support category strategy and performance for a key national customer. This role blends analytics, storytelling, and customer collaboration, serving as a strategic partner to Sales while helping shape business decisions through insights and reporting.

This individual will participate in customer discussions, contribute to business reviews, and help position the company as a trusted category thought partner.

This is a highly visible role with growth potential as the business continues to expand.

Key Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Business Insights

• Analyze performance across multiple product categories and a large SKU portfolio
• Identify trends, risks, and growth opportunities within the business
• Support pricing, assortment, and promotional strategy development
• Contribute to annual planning and long-term customer growth initiatives

Customer Engagement

• Partner with Sales to prepare customer presentations and business reviews
• Present data-driven recommendations during customer meetings
• Provide analytical support and performance insights to strengthen customer relationships

Analytics & Reporting

• Build and standardize reporting tools across multiple data platforms
• Develop dashboards, sales snapshots, and performance models
• Monitor KPIs and proactively identify performance gaps or opportunities

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Sales, Finance, Operations, and Supply Chain teams
• Improve reporting processes and business visibility
• Support execution of strategic initiatives across product lines and territories

Ideal Background

• 5+ years of experience in Category Management, Sales Analytics, Business Planning, or Commercial Strategy within CPG or food manufacturing
• Experience supporting customer business reviews or category presentations
• Strong analytical mindset with solid financial and business acumen
• Advanced Excel skills required; strong presentation and storytelling capability
• Ability to manage complex data and operate effectively in a fast-paced environment
• Confident communicator comfortable interacting with senior leadership and customers

If you are interested in learning more please reach out to Ashton Hansen at ashton@curtisfood.com.