This role is only open to Malaysian local/PR
The Role
As Category Lead, your #1 mission is to accelerate growth for your portfolio! You are the business owner of your categories, responsible for driving topline and increasing order penetration. You will lead a team to scale these categories rapidly while hitting margin targets and ensuring top-tier stock availability.
Key Responsibilities
Growth & GMV: Take full accountability for your category portfolio’s sales. Drive category penetration and hit revenue targets, driving order penetration and basket value.
Commercial Margins: Monitor & drive healthy margins for your categories. Grow retail media revenue.
Assortment & Suppliers: Run constant range optimization. Onboard high-growth SKUs and delist slow-movers. Lead negotiations and Joint Business Plans (JBPs) with FMCG brands.
Pricing & Campaigns: Execute the pricing strategy for your categories to stay competitive. Coordinate with suppliers to align their promo spend with our campaign calendar.
Availability & Waste: Own Weighted Availability (In-stock) to ensure top SKUs are never missing. Manage inventory health to minimize shrinkage and wastage.
Team Leadership: Lead and coach a team of Category Managers. Monitor KPIs and drive a culture of high performance and accountability.
Key Responsibilities in detail
Topline Growth & Penetration
Own the GMV and order volume for your portfolio; drive category penetration and basket value to hit revenue targets.
Monitor daily performance and execute swift course-corrections to maintain growth momentum.
Range & Market Strategy
Curate a "winning" assortment by identifying market trends, competitor gaps, and high-growth SKUs.
Run constant range optimization by onboarding local heroes and ruthlessly delisting slow-movers.
Sustainable Margin & Commercial Revenue
Drive category profitability by optimizing cost structures and securing strategic supplier investments.
Grow Retail Media revenue and scale high-visibility advertising opportunities for your key brand partners.
Strategic Partnerships & JBP
Lead long-term Joint Business Plans (JBPs) with FMCG partners to build strong, collaborative roadmaps for growth.
Collaborate with suppliers to secure support and exclusive deals to drive high-impact commercial campaigns
Category Operational Health
Actively collaborate with Supply Chain for high Weighted Availability, to ensure products are always available for the customer.
Manage inventory health & shrinkage
Team Leadership
Lead and coach a team of Category Managers, fostering a culture of high performance and accountability.
Own the delivery of team OKRs and KPI and drive data-driven decision-making
6–8 years of experience in Category Management, Buying, or Merchandising within Retail or FMCG.
Industry experience: Ideally you have grocery or food-related experience e.g. Fresh/Grocery/Ultra Fresh (Produce, Meat, Seafood etc.)
Commercial Drive: Proven ability to scale categories (GMV) while managing margins and commercial income.
Negotiation Power: Experienced in managing large-scale supplier relationships and locking in JBPs.
Operational Rigor: Strong understanding of in-stock management (Weighted Availability) and waste control.
People Leadership: Experience leading a small team with a focus on coaching and talent development.
Agility: Comfortable in a fast-paced, digital environment where speed of execution is key.
- A hybrid work model offering work-from-home days.
- Attractive benefits which include foodpanda vouchers, corporate perks, annual PandaFlex which can be spent on physical wellness, travel & relaxation etc.
- A competitive salary package including equity/RSUs.
- A great working atmosphere with regular company and team events.
- A vibrant and international team committed to diversity and inclusion.
- Responsibility from day one in a fast growing and global company.