Vendor / Category Manager - Deliveroo Hop UAE

About Deliveroo Hop

Deliveroo Hop represents Deliveroo's 24/7 digital supermarket platform, enabling customers to conveniently purchase groceries, culinary ingredients, essential household items, and more, all available on demand and swiftly delivered within minutes.

Role Summary

As a Vendor / Category Manager, you will oversee the performance of a specific product category within Deliveroo Hop. Collaborating closely with the Vendor Management Lead, you will help define category strategy through product assortment, sourcing, pricing, contract negotiation, promotional initiatives, merchandising, and marketing efforts, alongside supplier management. The role calls for a commercially sharp individual focused on growth and innovative problem-solving.

This position is based in the Dubai office located in DIFC, following a hybrid work model requiring three days onsite weekly. You will report directly to the Senior Vendor Manager.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist the Vendor Management Lead in selecting an optimal product range and setting prices in accordance with established principles aligned to Deliveroo Hop's customer value proposition.
• Nominate appropriate SKUs for effective promotional campaigns and events.
• Track SKU sales performance and continually optimize the assortment.
• Analyze category performance against plans and develop actionable strategies to foster sustainable growth and improvements.
• Build and nurture partnerships with both local and international grocery suppliers.
• Conduct contract negotiations to secure favorable terms and service standards.
• Evaluate vendor performance regularly and initiate corrective measures to enhance service quality.
• Ensure vendor compliance with regulatory standards.
• Collaborate with inventory teams to source new items and maintain stock levels efficiently.
• Resolve vendor-related disputes including issues with invoicing, payments, and account reconciliation.
• Stay informed on market trends and competitor activities to pinpoint fresh vendor and product opportunities.
• Manage and drive vendor media spending within the platform to boost product visibility.

Candidate Requirements

• Minimum of 3 years' experience in vendor or category management, or buying, with grocery sector experience preferable but not mandatory.
• Strong analytical skills with a problem-solving approach used to assess vendor and category metrics and identify improvement areas.
• Excellent negotiation abilities and capacity to establish robust vendor relationships.
• Effective communication and interpersonal competencies to work across internal teams and address vendor challenges.
• Capacity to thrive in a fast-evolving, ambiguous environment and adaptability to dynamic market conditions.
• A proactive, results-oriented mindset geared towards vendor management and procurement effectiveness.
• Fluency with spreadsheet tools such as Excel or Google Sheets.
• Desirable: Experience with international FMCG sourcing and fresh category procurement to meet diverse product offerings.
• Added advantage: Familiarity with business intelligence and data analytics tools like SQL, Tableau, or Power BI.

Why Join Deliveroo?

Deliveroo is dedicated to revolutionizing food shopping and delivery, linking consumers, restaurants, shops, and riders to offer unparalleled convenience and delight. Our tech-driven environment encourages rapid innovation, autonomy, and ownership, tackling some of the industry's most engaging challenges.

Workplace and Benefits

People are central to Deliveroo, and as such, employee welfare is a priority. Benefits include healthcare, wellness programs, parental leave, pension schemes, and generous vacation time, including leaves to support charitable endeavors. These benefits vary by country.

Diversity Commitment

Deliveroo champions a workplace that genuinely reflects global diversity and inclusivity, welcoming all identities and backgrounds without judgment. We're devoted to equity throughout hiring and interview processes and provide accommodations as needed to ensure fair opportunity for all candidates.