VP - Meat/Seafood

Brookshire Grocery Company•Tyler, TX

11d

About The Position

Provides strategic leadership for the Meat and Seafood categories across all Company banners and leads the professional development of Category Management partners. The role is accountable for planned sales, gross profit, and shrink results, and for building vendor relationships to negotiate, procure, and coordinate distribution of quality products. Directs category strategies for pricing, promotions, store layouts, and assortment in alignment with Company initiatives. The position oversees category management, inventory control, zone specialist, and administrative support teams; develops merchandising strategies and budgets; monitors category and financial performance, consumer behavior, commodity markets, and competitive conditions; and leads supplier, procurement, and logistics collaboration. It also ensures product quality, food safety, labeling compliance, seafood traceability and responsible sourcing, and cold-chain integrity. Work is generally performed in an office, with occasional visits to retail stores, distribution centers, and supplier facilities.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in business, agriculture, food science, or a related field and ten or more years of related experience in meat and/or seafood merchandising, procurement, or category management, including significant leadership experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Advanced knowledge of retail meat and seafood departments, commodity markets, sourcing, and food safety requirements.
Advanced knowledge of software systems used for planning, forecasting, and budgeting.
Intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Access, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
Intermediate knowledge of SAP reporting and transactional applications.
Strong financial acumen, including P&L management, margin analysis, and forecasting.
Ability to lead, develop, and motivate a team of category professionals.
Strong negotiation skills with senior-level supplier partners.
Ability to work creatively and in a driven manner, and to manage department members hands-on.
Ability to adapt quickly to new work structures, environments, and processes.
Effective written and verbal communication, comprehension, and interpretation skills.
Ability to prepare reports and business correspondence; research information, establish facts, draw valid conclusions, reason, form concepts, solve problems, analyze information, and present information in presentation or diagram form.
Ability to learn new technology systems, methods, and processes.
Ability to maintain confidentiality regarding sensitive information.
Ability to occasionally travel to off-site and out-of-town locations, with possible overnight stays.
Ability to work flexible schedules, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
Must be attentive to potential hazards, remedy hazards or place appropriate warnings as soon as reasonably possible, and report hazards that cannot be immediately remedied to a supervisor.
Must be at least 21 years old to drive for Company business in accordance with the BGC Business Driver Policy.
Physical demands include continuously using close and distance vision, depth perception, or focusing; frequently talking, hearing, using hands for reaching, touching, or handling, using fine finger movements, and sitting for long periods; and occasionally pushing, pulling, maneuvering, or lifting objects up to 40 pounds, bending, kneeling, squatting, standing, walking, and driving. Attendance at work is required.

Nice To Haves

Multi-banner experience preferred.
Retail meat department operations or meat cutting experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Carries out management responsibilities, including interviewing, hiring, training, developing, assigning and directing work, appraising performance, rewarding and disciplining partners, scheduling, addressing complaints, and resolving problems; works with senior leadership on pay and the department budget.
Supervises category managers, inventory control analysts, zone specialists, and administrative support staff.
Oversees development of banner-specific merchandising strategies for meat and seafood departments, with consistent approaches and seasonal adaptations.
Works with category personnel to understand financial goals, turn objectives into strategic plans and programs, and review category and financial results against sales growth targets.
Sets sales, margin, and shrink goals and ensures inventory control analysts execute them properly.
Develops the Meat and Seafood Category Management budget and presents it to senior leadership for approval.
Monitors category performance, store operating results, consumer behavior, and the competitive environment, and determines appropriate actions.
Builds and maintains collaborative senior-level relationships with strategic suppliers, including packers, processors, and seafood suppliers.
Monitors beef, pork, poultry, and seafood commodity markets and anticipates cost and supply trends to inform buying, pricing, and promotions.
Directs strategies to drive SKU productivity, channel segmentation, margins, pricing, sell-through, supply availability, and in-store department performance and flow.
Ensures the quality integrity of inbound and outbound fresh meat and seafood, including thorough inbound product inspections.
Ensures field-level product inspections meet quality control and food safety standards and monitors compliance with governmental labeling requirements.
Guides seafood sourcing strategy, including supplier standards, product traceability, and responsible sourcing practices.
Works with retail operations to enhance procurement programs and maintain local market relevance.
Communicates market conditions, product quality and availability, and new-item updates to zone specialists.
Supports department growth through vendor business reviews, joint business planning, and customer insights.
Partners with logistics to develop supply chain standard operating procedures for transportation, delivery, and receipt of meat and seafood, including cold-chain integrity.