Food Category Manager

Do you want to be a valued part of the critical infrastructure that serves communities across Europe and beyond? Are you looking for a position in which you can set direction and help shape our company? If so, then you could be the newest addition to our team as a Food Category Manager. Be part of the movement - and play your part. About the role We are seeking a commercially driven and detail-oriented professional to support the development and delivery of our onboard Food & Beverage strategy. This role plays a key part in shaping menu innovation, pricing, and supplier partnerships, ensuring our offering reflects both customer trends and commercial objectives. Working cross-functionally with commercial, marketing, and onboard teams, you will utilise data and insight to optimise performance, enhance the passenger experience, and maintain strong operational standards across all outlets. You will be responsible for Analysing sales data, passenger trends, and consumer insights to inform menu development, pricing strategies, and overall F&B performance. Producing and presenting commercial reports to stakeholders, demonstrating margin management and identifying opportunities for growth and optimisation. Managing stock levels within supplier warehouses, ensuring appropriate availability aligned to seasonal demand and operational needs. Coordinating and communicating menu changes across all stakeholders, ensuring timely briefings and distribution of detailed menu packs to onboard and shoreside teams. Collaborating closely with internal teams and external suppliers to review product specifications, gather feedback, and continuously enhance the onboard food offering. About you You are a commercially minded Food & Beverage professional with at least 3 years’ experience in category management or 5 years in food production or a related field. Highly organised, you thrive in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple projects, suppliers, and stakeholders with ease. You have a strong understanding of consumer dining occasions and what excellence looks like in food preparation and customer experience, alongside a comprehensive knowledge of Food Safety standards and legislation. A confident communicator, you effectively implement change and collaborate with both kitchen and front-of-house teams. You bring strong analytical and numerical skills, with a proven track record of delivering both topline growth and bottom-line improvements. Able to interpret data and translate insights into actionable strategies, you are proactive, collaborative, and influential in your approach. You build strong relationships across internal teams and suppliers, using diplomacy to drive alignment, while your time and project management skills ensure consistent delivery in a dynamic environment. We think the strongest teams are built on diversity and inclusivity. Contrasting opinions, varied skills and strong characters bring out the best in us all. And we cannot wait for you to join. Working at DFDS Join the movement and grow with us. Now about what we can give you. You’ll be able to access some fantastic benefits such as: Life assurance cover Contributory company pension scheme Holiday Purchase Scheme Free ferry travel for up to 4 guests between Dover and Calais / Newcastle and Amsterdam with no limit on trips Full employee assistance programme including: Proactive financial, emotional, mental, and physical health care support including face to face counselling, fast 24/7 access to a GP, a second medical opinion and legal support for colleagues and their family. Huge range of retail discounts from high street and online retailers Cashback on health care including dental, optical, physiotherapy, prescriptions, specialist consultations and much more. Access to myStrength, our Wellbeing platform, which has plenty of content to support and improve your mental wellness needs. Access to mental health first aid and opportunity to join support webinars with a focus on all areas of positive wellbeing. While you’re with us, we want you to develop. At DFDS, we believe that development happens first and foremost through activities in the workplace. We will also offer training courses that can support you in your role, if needed. Are we a match? Then what are you waiting for? Apply Now. If you think your personality, skills, experience, and desire match this role, we’d love to hear from you. Please send us your CV as soon as possible, as we’re keen to meet potential candidates on an ongoing basis. We look forward to hearing from you. #LI-AT1