Senior Category Manager - Food & Beverage

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Role Summary:

The Senior Category Manager – Food & Beverage (Pre-Packaged and Popcorn) is a strategic leader responsible for overseeing multiple high-impact F&B product categories at a national and global level. This senior role involves shaping and executing comprehensive business strategies that drive significant category growth, optimize profitability, and enhance operational excellence. The Senior Category Manager partners closely with executive leadership, cross-functional teams, and external partners to identify and capitalize on emerging trends, anticipate evolving consumer behavior, and lead large-scale, transformational projects.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, lead, and implement robust, multi-category strategies that are aligned with Cinemark’s corporate objectives, delivering measurable growth and long-term value across the enterprise.

• Uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity in all executive-level supplier negotiations, ensuring accountability, service excellence, and enduring strategic partnerships.

• Identify, assess, and champion innovative products and business models to unlock new growth opportunities across all F&B categories.

• Lead cross-functional teams and collaborate with senior stakeholders to launch large-scale products, processes, and initiatives that transform the F&B offering.

• Oversee category performance at a portfolio level, leveraging advanced analytics to proactively address underperformance and optimize results across multiple locations and markets.

• Lead regular strategic business reviews with key vendors, executive partners, and stakeholders to drive continuous improvement and competitive advantage.

• Work with executive leadership to define and achieve both near-term and long-term business objectives, shaping the future direction of the F&B portfolio.

• Drive the evolution and implementation of the company’s procurement vision and strategy, ensuring best-in-class practices are adopted across all F&B categories.

• Partner with operations and commercial teams to establish and execute innovative selling strategies and techniques that maximize revenue and customer experience.

• Remain at the forefront of industry trends and best practices through ongoing professional development, networking, and leadership within the broader F&B community.

• Perform additional executive responsibilities and special projects as assigned by senior leadership.

Requirements:

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in category management or strategic planning, with an extensive and progressive focus on F&B-related categories and portfolio-level oversight.

• Exceptional communication and executive presentation skills, with the proven ability to influence, align, and secure buy-in from C-suite leaders, cross-functional teams, and external partners on complex strategic initiatives.

• Superior analytical and quantitative skills, leveraging advanced data and metrics to drive strategic decision-making and develop compelling business cases for large-scale investments.

• Demonstrated track record of leading high-performing, cross-functional teams and collaborating at all levels of the organization, including with executive leadership and key external stakeholders.

• Proven ability to operate both strategically and tactically in highly dynamic, fast-paced environments, driving transformational change across multiple categories.

• Strong executive leadership skills with a history of managing, mentoring, and developing talent across multiple teams and functions.

• A creative, innovative problem-solver with a demonstrated ability to develop and implement breakthrough solutions at scale.

• Expert-level proficiency with MS Office applications (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Power BI or equivalent), with a focus on leveraging technology for strategic reporting and insights.

• Willingness and ability to travel up to 15% for executive meetings, vendor negotiations, and industry events.

Key Leadership Attributes:

• Visionary Category Leadership: Proven ability to set and communicate a compelling vision for multiple F&B categories, anticipating future industry shifts and positioning the company for sustained competitive advantage. The ideal candidate possesses a global perspective and a track record of navigating complex category challenges and opportunities at scale.

• Executive Decision-Making: Exceptional judgment in analyzing complex, enterprise-level data and making high-stakes decisions that drive business transformation. The Senior Category Manager is decisive and thoughtful, particularly under pressure.

• Strategic Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to build consensus and lead large, diverse teams across multiple departments and external organizations, fostering a culture of partnership and shared success.

• Organizational Agility: Highly adaptable and agile in responding to evolving business needs, market trends, and global supply chain disruptions, ensuring resilience and ongoing category success.

• Executive Communication: Outstanding communication skills, adept at conveying complex strategies and concepts to executive leadership, board members, and key external partners.

• Innovation and Continuous Improvement: A relentless drive for innovation and operational excellence, continuously seeking new ways to enhance processes, technology, and team performance across the F&B portfolio.

• Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Exceptional emotional intelligence, with the capacity to inspire, motivate, and develop others. The Senior Category Manager is committed to their own growth and to cultivating top talent within their teams.

• Results-Oriented Leadership: Drives high performance and accountability, setting ambitious objectives and ensuring the achievement of strategic goals across all assigned categories.

• Organizational Excellence and Time Management: Expertly manages multiple, large-scale initiatives and cross-functional teams, delivering effective project plans, executive-level reporting, and timely communication that drive results across the organization.

Benefits Available:

At Cinemark, we believe every team member should feel like a hero. Each career comes with a variety of blockbuster benefits for both hourly and salaried team members.

• Employee Discount
• 401(k) Matching*
• Growth Opportunities
• Education Assistance*
• Health Benefits*
• Parental Leave*
• Paid Time Off*
• Daily Pay*
• Free Movies*

* Benefits may vary by career category, so be sure to check the specific details on our career site.

DISCLAIMER: This job description is intended only as a general guideline of your duties and responsibilities at Cinemark and is not a legally binding contract. Cinemark reserves the right to amend, change or terminate the job description, as it deems appropriate. Any change amendments, or modifications may be implemented even though they have not been communicated, reprinted or substituted in this job description.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  

Cinemark is an Equal Opportunity Employer