Sr. Manager, Category Management - Jimmy John's

The Senior Manager, Category Management will report to the Senior Director, Category Management & Culinary and is responsible for developing and executing category, product, packaging, and innovation strategies that support Jimmy John’s long-term growth objectives. This role plays a critical leadership position in shaping the menu innovation roadmap, identifying growth opportunities, and translating consumer, operational, and business insights into actionable category strategies that drive sales, profitability, and brand differentiation.

The Senior Manager leads the end-to-end development and execution of menu and category initiatives, including innovation pipeline management, market testing, launch readiness, go-to-market planning, packaging and POP development and cross functional coordination across Culinary, Marketing, Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, and Consumer Insights. This role is accountable for ensuring initiatives are strategically sound, operationally executable, and successfully activated within the brand calendar.

In addition, this position provides ongoing category stewardship through performance analysis, consumer and marketplace research, and identification of emerging trends and whitespace opportunities. As a key business partner, the Senior Manager influences organizational decision-making by delivering strategic recommendations, managing complex projects, and aligning cross-functional teams around initiatives that support sustainable growth and strengthen Jimmy John’s competitive position.

Responsibilities:

Lead Category Strategy and Growth

• Develop and execute short and long term category, menu, beverage, catering, and packaging strategies that support Jimmy John's business objectives and drive sustainable sales and profit growth.
• Identify emerging consumer trends, marketplace opportunities, and white space platforms to inform the innovation road map and future growth initiatives.
• Partner with senior leadership to establish category priorities and strategic recommendations.

Own Innovation Pipeline

• Lead the end to end innovation process from concept development through commercialization, including opportunity identification, business case development, product testing, launch planning, and post launch evaluation.
• Build and manage a pipeline of innovation initiatives across core menu, limited time offers, beverages, catering, and packaging.
• Collaborate with culinary to develop, refine, and validate new products and platforms.

Lead Market Testing and Launch Execution

• Oversee market test strategy, execution, and performance evaluation to ensure initiatives are operationally sound and commercially successful.
• Drive launch readiness activities, including stage gate deliverables, execution checklist, operational alignment, training requirements, and launch materials.
• Identify and mitigate risks while ensuring projects remain on schedule and meet business objectives.

Own Category Performance and Insights

• Monitor category, product, promotion, and test performance to identify opportunities for growth, optimization, and profitability improvement.
• Lead consumer research efforts and leverage marketplace, competitive, and operational insights to inform category strategy and innovation priorities.
• Develop data-driven recommendations and present findings to senior leadership.

Lead Packaging & POP Asset Development

• Oversee development and execution of packaging, point of purchase materials, menu assets, and supporting commercialization tools required for test and national launches.
• Ensure all materials align with brand standards, operational requirements, and project timelines.
• Support product photoshoots to ensure accurate, compelling, and on brand representation of menu offerings.

Support Beverage and Catering Category Management

• Lead category planning, innovation, testing, and execution activities for beverage and catering initiatives.
• Partner cross functionally to ensure operational readiness, packaging alignment, and successful in market execution.

Requirements:

• 4 Year Degree Preferred

• 7+ years of experience in a category or brand management position

• Business acumen, including understanding of market trends, consumers, competitors and P&L fluency.

• Experience taking product ideas from ideation to execution.

• Ability to think strategically and creatively.

• Ability to collect and synthesize information, making it relevant, understandable, and actionable for key stakeholders.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills, especially the ability to explain difficult concepts in applicable business terms. Strong ability to summarize strategies into (PowerPoint) presentations in clear and understandable message.

• Strong computer skills: Excel, Word, PowerPoint are required.

• Project Management and strong ability to work with cross-functional teams.

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, multi-task, prioritize and be detail oriented.

• Self-starter personality who can operate with some supervision.

• Ideal candidate has an inquisitive nature, a passion for learning and solving problems and a growth mindset.

• Ability to work closely with food products, including preparation and handling during tastings and testing, with an understanding that exposure to common food allergens may occur.

• A go getter who carries a positive attitude every day and who desires to grow in the role and within the marketing organization.

Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,000 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide.

We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.