The Director, Category Management will lead Arby’s 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 lead the recommendation on how we drive the business through our beverage and food categories, sub-categories, and products. Inclusive of core menu and limited time offerings.
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 category and product promotional windows. 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 Arby’s can optimize those categories. The role will closely partner with the culinary team, who is responsible for developing products against category management briefs and the gold standard of team member and consumer experience.
This role demands an individual who is skilled at partnering with internal and external cross-functional groups, including franchisee stakeholders 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 Arby’s overall business objectives.
Responsibitilies:
1. Lead team recommendation of short and long-term food menu strategy and tactics in order to meet brand and business objectives and drive sustainable long term growth.
2. Define the roadmap for core & white space innovation while leading the workstream to develop and test new items in innovation stores.
3. Monitor item and category performance to deliver actionable insights for categories to maximize sales and profit growth.
4. People within the organization with 5 direct reports, leading team prioriites, providing guidance & feedback in 1:1s, and reviewing team member career goals on an ongoing basis.
6. Serve as a leader in change management, continually seeking methods to improve ways of working and improve team efficiencies.
7. Manage research budget and ensure the team is maximizing learnings and insights to inform decisions.
Requirements:
4 Year Degree in Business Related Field
10+ Years in Category Management - Restaurant Experience is mandatory
Exceptional interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability in working with key executives and stakeholders to solve and drive to business outcomes.
Strong analytical and quantitative skills; comfortable with P&L workings.
Ability to lead a team as a people-manager in a fast-paced environment.
Understands how to take products or programs through a commercialization process.
Data-driven thinking with the ability to effectively diagnose a problem or assess a situation to drive to a smart business solution.
Self-starter with a bias for action, who takes ownership of projects and drives them forward without constant supervision.
Has a passion for the restaurant industry, particularly for food, & a desire to lead first, best, only
Wil train in stores and connect with operators on an ongoing basis to evaluate opportunities for menu innovation, renovation, & operation.
Carries a positive attitude every day and is someone who desires to grow in the role and within the marketing organization.
Travel Required - 10% - Supplier visits, market visits, 1-2 conferences per year.
5 Direct Reports
Skills Required
- Four-year degree in a business-related field
- 10+ years of category management experience
- Restaurant industry experience
- Exceptional interpersonal skills and experience working with executives and stakeholders
- Strong analytical and quantitative skills, including comfort with P&L analysis
- Experience leading teams and managing people in a fast-paced environment
- Understanding of product or program commercialization processes
- Data-driven problem-solving and business decision-making skills
- Self-starter with ownership of projects and ability to work independently
- Passion for the restaurant and food industry
- Ability to train in restaurants and connect with operators
- Willingness to travel 10% for supplier visits, market visits, and conferences
Inspire Brands Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Inspire Brands and has not been reviewed or approved by Inspire Brands.
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Healthcare Strength — Comprehensive health coverage, mental health support, disability insurance, and related programs are emphasized for support‑center and eligible management roles. Materials also reference options like HSAs and EAPs as part of a broad healthcare offering.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Unlimited PTO is highlighted for support‑center roles alongside paid leaves such as parental and adoption assistance. Feedback suggests these time‑off elements are a core part of the corporate employee value proposition.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Employee food discounts, on‑site amenities (e.g., gym, snacks, and similar perks), and lifestyle programs add tangible day‑to‑day value. Additional benefits like commuter options, financial wellness tools, and pet insurance further broaden the package.
Inspire Brands Insights
What We Do
Inspire Brands was founded in February 2018 with a vision to invigorate great brands and supercharge their long-term growth. In an industry facing increasing disruption, our leaders saw an opportunity to build a restaurant company unlike any other – one that brings together differentiated yet complementary brands and aims to make them stronger than they would be on their own. Found inherently in the purposes of our family of brands, we identified a common thread between our restaurants – the capacity to inspire. From guest experience to career development to community well-being, Inspire plays a role in the lives of millions of people every day.
