Category Director (Taqueria Fresh)

JOB SUMMARY:

This position has responsibility for the merchandising, marketing and financial objectives and decisions established for the Taqueria Category through building and maximizing an optimized strategy and plan for price, promotion, placement, assortment, quality, production, work content, sourcing strategies and tactics to achieve them. Works in partnership with Department Leader, Field Team, Procurement and Operations, all other operational entities to communicate and train and implement successful sales strategies that meet the company’s Center Store objectives.

ADVANCEMENT TO CATEGORY DIRECTOR POSITION:

A job title of Category Director will be considered for individuals who possess or have successfully demonstrated the following attributes or assignments:

• Demonstrated experience and proficiency managing high volume categories, capable of managing complex categories, categories with a large SKU and/or Vendor/Distributor Count, and/or can absorb added responsibilities of best practice training or leading other assigned direct reports.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Maintain and grow our image as the premier Hispanic provider of Authentic Mexican Food Experience (AMFE) Create products and programs that will deliver quality, service and customer satisfaction; Maintain our competitive edge through continuous improvement of products, processes, suppliers, training and development.
• • Collaborate with operations and training teams to equip store leaders and teams with the knowledge and tools to deliver Authentic Mexican Food Experience taqueria experience.
  • Perform frequent and regular store visits to monitor and adjust store strategies. Minimum of 8 hours per week.
• Partner with the commissary and culinary teams to align production, portioning, and flavor profiles with store-level execution and brand standards.
• • Maintain close collaboration with the commissary to streamline communication, forecasting, and fulfillment, ensuring stores are supported without compromising authenticity.
• Lead store implementation and operational consistency for new menu items, seasonal offerings, and category updates.
• Develop and enforce operational standards that maintain quality, speed, and authenticity in all taqueria locations.
• Drive store-level engagement and accountability to ensure consistent guest experience, visual presentation, and product quality across all locations.
• Analyze sales, margins, and guest feedback to identify performance gaps and opportunities to strengthen category results.
• Partner cross-functionally with marketing, operations, and culinary leadership to align execution with brand strategy and long-term business goals.
• Lead continuous improvement efforts, balancing operational efficiency with cultural integrity and culinary excellence.
• Serve as the bridge between corporate strategy and field execution, ensuring that growth initiatives are achievable, sustainable, and true to brand roots.
• Develops and executes promotional and brand building plans, such as ad-planner, price changes, retail & cost, for each category to drive sales and support margin goals
• Monitors raw materials and other food costs to ensure best quality ingredients and vendor pricing
• Ability to manage retail prices effectively
• Applies understanding of cost drivers along with negotiating skills to effectively negotiate the best costs with suppliers for all Northgate entities

• Partner with Operations to review and constantly strive for improved processes that emphasize 5S cleanliness and sanitation, workplace organization, labor efficiency, associate safety, delivery of exceptional customer service, consistency of product quality, just in time, provision and utilization of appropriate equipment, and attractiveness of presentation.
• Partner with the replenishment function to ensure product availability, consistency of supply, maintaining collaborative relationships with suppliers, service level objectives and apply cost-of-goods insights to drive increased efficiency.

• Collects all funds available to support Shopper Marketing initiatives as appropriate.
• Follows the Category Role Strategic Guidelines relative to pricing, assortment, plan-o-grams.
• Assesses the competitive landscape to understand their strengths and weaknesses and identify opportunities and threats, including all trade channels.
• Identifies and develops new sourcing of products with the goal of enhancing assortments and driving sales.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS:

Education/Experience/Skills

• College degree preferred or minimum of 5 years equivalent experience in relevant field of work.
• 5-10 years of retail experience preferred.
• 2-5 years’ experience with category management practices
• Strong preference is given to applicants who have completed the WAFC Retail Management Certificate Program (RMCP)

Knowledge Skills and Abilities Required:

• Skilled in the following areas using internal, market and/or Nielsen/IRI data:
• • Product assortment
  • Strategic retail planning
  • Promotional planning
  • Placement on shelf
  • Sales analysis and planning
• Demonstrated excellence in Strategic Planning as it relates to Merchandising and setting a plan for a category
• Proficient with Microsoft Excel and other business applications
• Working knowledge of Private Label strategies
• Excellent financial and data analysis capabilities
• Excellent supply chain knowledge
• Self-distributing and warehouse experience
• Able to discuss and negotiate:
• • Terms
  • Competitive cost of goods
  • Menu pricing
  • Fund management
• Excellent communication and team building skills
• Bi-lingual (English/Spanish) strongly preferred

Physical Demands and Conditions

The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Some requirements may be modified to accommodate individuals with disabilities:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; stand; and use the hands to handle, finger, or feel objects, tools or controls;
• The employee must frequently walk, talk or hear, and reach with the hands and arms; occasionally, the employee must crouch or kneel;
• The employee must occasionally exert or lift up to 30 pounds .
• Successful performance requires specific vision abilities that include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.
• The job requires the ability to travel.
• The work environment is that typical of an office and retail store. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.
• This position is headquartered in the Northgate Gonzalez Market Support Center. As such, this position is defined as full-time and on-site. Any remote work or work performed outside of the Support Center must be authorized by the Department’s Supervisor.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER NOTICE: The job duties, elements, responsibilities, skills, functions, experience, educational factors, and the requirements and conditions listed in this job description are representative only and not exhaustive of the tasks that an employee may be required to perform. The Employer reserves the right to revise this job description at any time and to require employees to perform other tasks as circumstances or conditions of its business or the work environment change.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.