Principal Program Manager - Category Operations

We are looking for an experienced Principal Program Manager to join our Central Operations team

With over 200 million customers in 50+ countries, Bolt is one of the fastest-growing tech companies in Europe and Africa. And it's all thanks to our people.

We believe in creating an inclusive environment where everyone is welcome, regardless of race, colour, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

Our ultimate goal is to make cities for people, not cars, and we need your help to achieve this mission!

This role is dedicated to accelerating the growth and performance of Bolt’s core Rides categories by defining and executing a global category strategy. The Category Manager will shape the long-term portfolio architecture - including value propositions, pricing bands, and supply standards - while ensuring categories remain profitable, competitive, and easy to operate. The role drives category health, ensures consistent execution across 50+ countries, and strengthens the rider experience through clear service levels, systematic category management playbooks, and scalable tooling. The primary objective is to boost rider engagement and satisfaction, improve category efficiency, and unlock GMV growth through data-led, cross-functional collaboration

• Owning the global category strategy, defining the long-term portfolio architecture (value props, unit economics, pricing bands, supply standards) and ensuring categories drive both GMV growth and profitability.


• Leading category health management, setting the governance for reviews across top markets, identifying performance gaps, and driving cross-functional action plans with Product, Pricing, Local Ops, Finance, and Growth.


• Overseeing category foundations, including supply base reviews, compliance, pricing audits, merchandising, and consolidation to simplify the rider experience and reduce operational overhead.


• Partnering with regional leads to guide local rollout and scaling, and ensure alignment on shared priorities.


• Partnering with Product to develop and evolve the tooling to enable better category management, enabling automation, standardisation, and better decision-making across 50+ countries.


• Guiding local teams on execution excellence, ensuring global playbooks are implemented consistently, and create frameworks for supply acquisition, value-prop deployment, pricing strategy, and cross-sell/upsell opportunities.


• Establishing sustainable service level for our category portfolio in our markets through creation of playbooks for category management in different regions.

• You have a minimum of 8 years of experience in category management or a related field.


• You have demonstrated expertise in a relevant program area.


• You have a proven track record of successfully delivering complex programs on time and within budget.


• You have strong leadership and interpersonal skills.


• You have excellent communication and collaboration skills.


• You have strong analytical and problem-solving skills.


• You are proficient in project management methodologies and tools.

Experience is great, but what we really look for is drive, intelligence, and integrity. So even if you don’t tick every box, please consider applying!

• Accelerate your professional growth with unique career opportunities.


• Enjoy a rewarding salary and stock options, knowing that as Bolt succeeds, so do you.


• Take care of your physical and mental health with our wellness perks.


• Celebrate 5 years at Bolt with a 1-month paid sabbatical to recharge.


• Connect with colleagues at annual company events and smaller team gatherings.


• Balance flexibility and in-person collaboration with our hybrid model, including at least 12 monthly in-office days.