Director, Category Management – Food

SUMMARY

The Director, Food Category Management will report to the Sr Director, Category Management and will be instrumental in shaping Buffalo Wild Wings’ menu strategy & innovation roadmap while working in a dynamic, demanding environment with a team that values bold thinking, collaboration, and results driven execution. This individual will help guide where and how Buffalo Wild Wings looks for and executes menu opportunities to drive sustainable, profitable sales growth and will work cross-functionally to understand trends, category growth, and business needs, as well as working with teams to develop strategies and key initiatives to address identified opportunities. 

The role will require an individual to identify, develop, and test food innovation within existing core & white space categories, while managing the day-to-day processes for the Food Category Management team to ensure proper execution of activation windows within the brand calendar. This person will also be responsible for managing the team’s research budget and generating insights on how existing categories are performing from a sales/profit standpoint and how Buffalo Wild Wings can optimize those categories as an organization. 

This role demands an individual who is skilled at partnering with internal and external cross-functional groups to work together to find solutions for complex projects. This role has high visibility and this individual will interact regularly with senior management to provide recommendations and guidance that supports Buffalo Wild Wing’s overall business objectives. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• ​ Project oversight - ensure successful execution of key calendar initiatives including timely completion of stage gate decks, intake forms, & activation window playbooks. 

• Partner with Sr. Director to define short and long-term food menu strategies in order to meet brand and business objectives and drive sustainable long term growth. 

• Define the roadmap for core & white space innovation while leading the workstream to develop and test new items in innovation stores. 

• Monitor item and category performance to deliver actionable insights for categories to maximize sales and profit