Category Manager - Pork/Chicken Category at Gordon Food… · Atlanta

Welcome to Halperns Steak & Seafood! We are excited that you are thinking about opportunities with us, and we have an amazing story to share. Here's a quick glance of who we are and the impact you could have on the food service industry. There's a seat at our table for you...

Category Manager - Pork/Chicken Category

Atlanta, GA

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:

Responsible for developing and leading the national category strategy for multiple high complexity and volume categories, with full ownership of category sales, margin, cost, and overall P&L performance. This role drives strategic sourcing, supplier partnerships, assortment planning, SKU optimization, and pricing guidance to maximize profitability and support customer growth. The position monitors commodity markets, industry trends, and competitive activity to proactively manage cost changes, mitigate supply risks, and identify opportunities for innovation and assortment expansion. This role also provides leadership and strategic direction to divisional replenishment buyers and regional execution teams, ensuring inventory, forecasting, and replenishment activities align with the category strategy and business objectives. Working cross-functionally with Sales, warehouse operations, procurement, and supplier partners, the Category Manager ensures consistent execution of sourcing plans, inventory strategies, and customer service expectations across all divisions.

Essential Functions:

Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop divisional replenishment buyers and regional category support teams to ensure strong execution of category strategies.
• Establish clear performance expectations, accountability measures, and development plans for direct reports.
• Provide strategic direction, guardrails, and decision-making support to divisional teams related to inventory, sourcing, and customer service priorities.
• Foster a high-performance, collaborative culture across category, replenishment, sales, and warehouse functions.
• Drive alignment between corporate category objectives and divisional execution plans.
• Support succession planning and talent development within the category and replenishment organization.

Vision & Planning

• Develop and own the annual strategic plan for assigned food categories, including sales, margin, volume, assortment, and sourcing goals.
• Build and execute long-term category strategies aligned with company growth, profitability, and customer needs.
• Own category P&L performance, including gross margin, cost targets, rebates, and inventory productivity.
• Lead assortment strategy, SKU rationalization, and product lifecycle planning for core and specialty items.
• Monitor commodity markets, industry trends, customer demand patterns, and competitive activity to inform strategic decisions.
• Establish pricing and cost-management strategies in partnership with Sales and leadership teams.
• Identify innovation opportunities, new product introductions, and assortment expansion plans.

Communication & Relationship Building

• Partner closely with Sales leadership to align category strategy with customer needs, pricing initiatives, and growth opportunities.
• Build and maintain strong cross-functional relationships with warehouse operations, divisional teams, finance, procurement, and executive leadership.
• Communicate category performance, risks, opportunities, and strategic initiatives to key stakeholders.
• Lead internal business reviews, strategy meetings, and supplier performance discussions.
• Influence cross-functional partners to drive alignment on sourcing, inventory, and assortment decisions.
• Support divisional teams with guidance on customer-specific opportunities, inventory risks, and supplier issues.

Category & Supplier Management

• Own strategic supplier relationships and lead national vendor negotiations for assigned categories.
• Negotiate contracts, pricing, rebates, freight terms, service expectations, and promotional support agreements.
• Develop and maintain supplier scorecards to measure performance in cost, service levels, quality, fill rates, and innovation.
• Monitor supplier performance and resolve service, quality, or availability issues.
• Lead cost-change recommendations and margin protection strategies based on commodity and market conditions.
• Approve supplier onboarding, contract deviations, and strategic sourcing changes.
• Manage category assortment standards and approve regional deviations where appropriate.
• Identify sourcing alternatives and risk mitigation strategies to ensure continuity of supply.
• 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
• Knowledge of Gordon Food Service mainframe and server systems preferred
• Knowledge of SAP Ariba Source-to-Pay platform preferred

You are required to provide your most recent employment experience for your application to be considered complete.

BE PART OF AN AMAZING CULTURE WHERE WHAT MATTERS TO YOU, MATTERS TO US!

Halperns' Steak & Seafood values our customers and understands that their success is largely dependent upon their workforce. To demonstrate our commitment to our partnership, we will require any candidate who works for a Halperns' Steak & Seafood customer to provide a letter of support from their management if they are selected for the interview process.

Equal Employment Opportunity is a matter of policy at Halperns' Steak & Seafood. and we are committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability. If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process due to a disability, please submit your request to halpernshr@gfs.com and use the words “Accommodation Request” in your subject line.