Category Manager (Fresh)
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Portfolio Procurement has been engaged by a leading foodservice business to recruit for a Category Manager (Fresh)
Main purpose of the job
- Develop strong and long-lasting supplier relationships
- Execute short and long term strategies for the Fresh Category
- Work and communicate closely with other category managers
- Stay updated with market trends
- Develop and create optimal product mix
Job Requirements
- Experience within fresh category management (fish buying would be beneficial)
- Early starts 4/5am
Benefits
- Free onsite parking
- Health and Wellness programme
- Great career progression opportunities
- Car & cycle to work scheme
If this is a role you are interested in, please apply with your most up to date CV.
5074DHR1
INDPRO
The Portfolio Group are acting on behalf of our client in recruiting for this position.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your fresh category management experience prominently, especially any fish buying background as this is specifically mentioned as beneficial
📊 Quantify your supplier relationship achievements: 'Managed 15 fresh suppliers, reducing costs by 12% while improving quality scores'
🌐 Emphasise your market trend analysis capabilities and how you've used insights to optimise product mix in previous roles
🎯 Showcase your strategic planning skills with concrete examples of short and long-term category strategies you've executed
🤝 Demonstrate your cross-functional collaboration experience, particularly working with other category managers or procurement teams
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Managed 12 fresh category suppliers generating £2.8M annual spend, achieving 15% cost reduction through strategic negotiations
- •Developed optimal product mix for fresh categories resulting in 22% improvement in margin performance across 85 SKUs
- •Executed 18-month fresh category strategy incorporating market trend analysis, delivering £340k in procurement savings
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
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Letter preview — tailored to Portfolio Procurement
Dear Hiring Manager,
Portfolio Procurement's Category Manager (Fresh) position immediately caught my attention as it combines my passion for fresh category management with strategic supplier relationship development. My background in fresh procurement and supplier negotiations aligns perfectly with your requirements for developing optimal product mix and executing category strategies.
My background in category management has equipped me with the analytical skills to identify market trends and the relationship-building expertise to maintain strong supplier partnerships across diverse fresh categories.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How do you approach fresh category management differently from other procurement categories?
- ›What key metrics do you use to evaluate fresh supplier performance?
- ›How do you stay updated with market trends in the fresh food sector?
- ›Describe your experience with fish buying and fresh seafood procurement
- ›How do you develop an optimal product mix for fresh categories?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you had to manage a difficult supplier relationship
- ›Describe a situation where you had to adapt your category strategy due to market changes
- ›Give an example of how you've collaborated with other category managers on a project
- ›Tell me about a time you identified a market trend that influenced your procurement decisions
- ›Describe a challenging negotiation you've handled with a fresh food supplier
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you had to manage a difficult supplier relationship
Describe a situation where you had to adapt your category strategy due to market changes