Manager, Category Management
Newton, MA · HybridFull-time$105–126K/yrPosted 3 days agoStill listed 2 days ago
Most applications go out cold — see where you stand first. No sign-up to start.
You apply on the employer's site, with no Olive account needed.
Watch jobs like this. New roles like this one near Newton, MA, by email.
Don't just apply. Show up ready.
Olive works from this exact posting.
At a glance
Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.
Requirements
Credentials this posting asks for.
Job overview
The Manager, Category Management owns an assigned menu category and drives its growth, profitability, and performance. The role develops category strategies and innovation, monitors sales and transactions, and identifies growth opportunities using market and consumer insights. It partners with teams across the business on pricing, promotions, and business cases. The position is based in Newton, Massachusetts, with in-office attendance three days per week, increasing to four days in Weston beginning July 2027.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
Manager, Category Management
Job Purpose
The Manager, Category Management is responsible for driving the growth and performance of their assigned menu category. Serving as the primary owner for one category (e.g., Beverage, Bakery, Salads), this role assists in developing strategies that drive guest relevance, transactions, profitability, and growth.
The Director partners closely with Culinary, Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, Consumer Insights, Finance, Digital, and Data & Analytics to ensure strategy translate into business results. This role is accountable for identifying opportunities that improve category performance and strengthen Panera's competitive position.
Location: This position is based in Newton, MA and requires in-office presence three days per week, transitioning to four days per week, Monday through Thursday, in Weston, MA beginning in July 2027.
Duties & Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of this job include, but are not limited to:
-
Category Strategy & Ownership: Define vision, priorities, and innovation for assigned category. Own the profitability and performance of assigned category, ensuring each category contributes to enterprise growth and objectives.
-
Business Performance: Monitor and drive performance across sales, transactions using data-driven insights for assigned category.
-
Innovation Pipeline: Assist in building business cases and growth plans that support enterprise objectives. Contribute to developing 3-year pipeline, identifying white space opportunities and category expansion opportunities by analyzing market trends, consumer needs, and avenues for business growth.
-
Pricing & Value: Support pricing and promotional recommendations, in partnership with Finance, to balance guest value and profitability.
-
Consumer Insights: Translate guest, competitive, and market insights into actionable category strategies and growth opportunities.
Qualifications (Education & Experience)
Qualifications include:
-
Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, or a related field.
-
3-5 years proven experience in marketing strategy, product innovation, campaign management, and cross-functional team collaboration.
-
Preference for past experience in restaurant/retail and/or consumer goods industries.
-
Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
-
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
-
Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data and make data-driven decisions.
-
Creative thinker with a passion for innovation and continuous improvement.
Working Conditions
-
Required travel – as needed
-
Position requires in-office presence consistent with Panera’s established hybrid work expectations.
Physical Requirements
- While performing this job, the incumbent is regularly required to stand, sit, talk hear & use hands and fingers to operate keyboards
Direct Reports
- N/A
Equal Opportunity Employer: Disabled/Veterans Competitive Pay $104,942 - $125,930 annually
The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.
Newton Support Center
How this job compares
Set against the 757 open Category Management jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 9, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$105–126K/yr
- Massachusetts median$123–156K/yr25 salary ranges
- US median$108–155K/yr504 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $115K, is 18% below the Massachusetts median midpoint ($140K) — in the middle half of Category Management salary ranges in Massachusetts.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 30 open Category Management jobs in Massachusetts and 757 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Massachusetts
- BJs Wholesale Club6 open
- Citizens4 open
- Staples4 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 3 years of experience; Category Management postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (673 postings).
- Education
- This posting asks for a bachelor's degree; 438 of the 757 open Category Management jobs (58%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 9, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
Prepare for this role
You've read the whole posting — now see how you match it.
