Senior Manager-Category Management - Food Service & Direct Beverage

Marriott Hotels Resorts•Bethesda, MD

10d

About The Position

JOB SUMMARY The Senior Manager, Category Management – Food Service & Direct Beverage is a key member of the US/CN Procurement team, responsible for driving best-in-class category management and strategic sourcing specifically within the food service category. This leader will partner with culinary, brand, and operations to continuously curate a beverage procurement strategy in service of customer experience, enterprise partnership, and operator profitability. Reporting to the Senior Director, Procurement, this role ensures adherence to Marriott’s procurement policies and processes, serves as a point of escalation for beverage-related sourcing issues, and delivers effective communications across all levels, including executive leadership. The Senior Manager leads cross-functional teams on food service procurement initiatives and projects, partnering closely with corporate, continent, and discipline leaders to develop and execute strategies that enhance supplier governance, promote responsible sourcing, and support financial sustainability in food and beverage operations. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in food service category management, strategic sourcing, risk mitigation, and regulatory compliance, and demonstrate strong stakeholder engagement skills within a geographically dispersed and highly matrixed environment.

Requirements

4-year bachelor's degree from an accredited university in Business Administration, Finance, Hotel Management, or related sector.
7+ years of procurement experience.
Deep technical knowledge of category management and strategic sourcing in beverage manufacturing & distribution categories (CSD, coffee, water, etc.)
Excellent project/program management skills and ability to independently manage multiple projects simultaneously
Demonstrated ability to create strategy and implement change while working in a geographically dispersed team in a highly matrixed cross-discipline environment.
Strong analytical skills for planning, estimating, budgeting, and monitoring program/project work.
Ability to travel up to 25%

Nice To Haves

Graduate/post graduate degree
Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to articulate complex ideas in easy-to-understand business terms

Responsibilities

Act as a procurement business partner to business disciplines, providing guidance on category management, strategic sourcing, policy and risk management.
Establish, continuously refine, and implement category management and sourcing strategies for beverage categories, ensuring alignment with discipline partners and company objectives.
Stay abreast of demand patterns and category spend in beverage, cost benchmarks, and business trends to identify potential suppliers, advise on competitive dynamics, and proactively work with stakeholders to modify strategies to meet enterprise-wide requirements, manage risk and optimize costs.
Identify and develop strategies to mitigate potential risks within the supply chain for assigned categories, ensuring business continuity and stability.
Manage and optimize supplier relationships, ensuring quality and cost-effectiveness.
Recommend new sourcing strategies, process improvements, and supplier relationships for food service categories.
Create timelines and organize teams to implement sourcing strategies and initiatives.
Provide thought leadership and end-to-end ownership of sourcing events for major initiatives.
Develop effective internal tracking mechanisms and measurements to monitor the competitive bidding process for beverage suppliers.
Leverage strong analytical and communication skills to manage all aspects of competitive bids, including analyzing and scoring multiple proposals, creating corresponding business cases (including financial reports), and presenting clear and concise summaries of recommended options.
Utilize training programs and awareness initiatives to ensure procurement teams and stakeholders understand and adhere to policies and governance frameworks.
Consistently utilize governance mechanisms for supplier onboarding, performance management, and contract compliance.
Work collaboratively with cross-functional teams across the enterprise and within Global Procurement to achieve shared goals.
Ensure procurement strategies align with corporate sustainability goals, ethical sourcing standards, and supplier diversity initiatives.