Manager, Category Management - Food

SUMMARY The Category Manager will report to the Director, Category Management and will be instrumental in identification, development, and implementation of strategic category opportunities for Buffalo Wild Wings. This role will help guide where and how BWW looks for growth opportunities to meet business needs and will work cross-functionally to understand food trends driving category growth, inform current and projected category performance, and develop strategies, products, and key initiatives to address identified opportunities.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Partner with the Culinary teams to develop the innovation pipeline and commercialize new initiatives; including cross-functional teams such as Operations, Analytics, Supply Chain, Training, and Insights, and Marketing. Work with Director to define and refine short and long-term menu strategies to meet brand and business objectives. Partner with Insights team to gather information to understand current customer and growth target needs, market trends, competitive landscape, product screener results, and positioning and product testing to develop recommendations based on prioritized areas of focus Analyze ongoing performance of the menu across channels (at the restaurant and in digital channels) to identify opportunities to optimize Partner with cross-functional teams, including Brand Experience and Commercial Group, on pricing, promotion, and positioning recommendations across channels Evaluate test and launch product and category results and develop recommendations on path forward for alignment across brand leadership and franchisees

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS

Required minimum: bachelor's degree within business, communications, marketing, project management, or other relevant field, or an equivalent combination of education and work-related experience. 4+ years' experience in brand strategy or category management

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, OR ABILITIES

Strong computer skills: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc. are required. Experience in work management tools like Asana and Confluence is preferred. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Strong communication, attention to detail and organizational skills. Strong strategic thinking skills, including data-driven thinking with innate curiosity and growth mindset. Understanding of how to take products or programs through a commercialization process. Demonstrated project management capabilities including development/documentation of project plan, group leadership, and decision-making skills. Ability to work cross-functionally to drive to a smart business solution. Ability to multi-task, work independently within a team, and take on new work and expanded responsibility as needed. Ability to think creatively and communicate ideas with business units not familiar with subject matter content. Passion for the restaurant industry and has a desire to train in our restaurants to better understand operations and the POV of our operators. A go getter who carries a positive attitude every day and who desires to grow in the role and the marketing organization. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,000 Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. We're made up of some of the world's most iconic restaurant brands, but we're much more than just a restaurant company. We're a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it's an experience. At Inspire, that's our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences. Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,000 Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, and SONIC restaurants across nearly 60 global markets. In an industry facing increasing disruption, our leaders saw an opportunity to build a restaurant company unlike any other - one that brings together differentiated yet complementary brands and aims to make them stronger than they would be on their own. Found inherently in the purposes of our family of brands, we identified a common thread between our restaurants - the capacity to inspire. From guest experience to career development to community well-being, Inspire plays a role in the lives of millions of people every day. Our brands are diverse, distinctive, and fan favorites. In a sense, you could say we seek those who provide something different than the norm.