Lead, Category (Grocery/Food categories)

foodpanda is part of the Delivery Hero Group, the world’s pioneering local delivery platform, our mission is to deliver an amazing experience—fast, easy, and to your door. We operate in around 65 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Delivery Hero has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2017 and is part of the MDAX stock market index.

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.