Category Manager – Asian Food / Seafood Division – Dubai | SAFCO International

Company Overview:

SAFCO International is a premier, highly successful global food supply chain corporation, elite multi-channel FMCG distributor, and leading regional innovator in high-performance cold chain logistics, international brand import-export operations, and specialized hospitality ingredient sourcing pipelines expanding its commercial product divisions in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Built upon world-class supply chain metrics, rigid quality assurance regulations, and progressive inventory optimization frameworks, the organization commands extensive multi-temperature storage networks, governs massive global producer relations, and ensures absolute alignment with international food safety codes, regional customs regulations, and advanced distribution tracking standards.

Job Description:

We are executing a strategic professional appointment within our core commercial procurement branch and are seeking a commercially driven, analytical Category Manager for our specialized Asian Food (Japanese Food Products) sector and Seafood Division to govern product portfolio pipelines and direct business development pathways in Dubai. Configured for systematic commercial solutions architects who possess an advanced strategic command of international sourcing channels and excel at launching imported consumer brands within fast-moving retail and food-service contexts, this full-time track focuses on accelerating inventory velocity metrics, auditing supplier commercial terms, and maximizing category profit margins across our integrated food distribution network.

🔹 Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute comprehensive, multi-year food product category strategies to accelerate baseline sales growth, market penetration, and bottom-line profitability.
• Manage assigned high-value product portfolios, systematically identifying new commercial opportunities, emerging product varieties, and shifting consumer market demands.
• Source premium global food items and negotiate complex commercial trade agreements, cost variables, and exclusive shipping frameworks with international suppliers.
• Analyze consumer lifestyle trends, regional hospitality demands, and local competitor positioning parameters to support sustainable category expansion models.
• Collaborate closely with internal sales teams, digital marketing specialists, and fulfillment operations teams to synchronize inventory and meet localized business revenue goals.
• Monitor real-time product performance variables, tracking gross margins, product shelf-life metrics, and stock rotation efficiency to recommend optimization rules.
• Direct the structural launch, marketing layout positioning, and retail expansion of newly imported culinary food brands inside the regional market infrastructure.
• Reconcile inbound import documentation pipelines, confirming compliance certifications and supply chain velocity targets across logistics nodes.

🔹 Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Food Science, or an equivalent business discipline from an accredited university, establishing a deep theoretical grasp of product lifestyle matrices, consumer purchasing psychology, and corporate asset distribution principles.
• Proven, high-performance professional history running dedicated consumer categories, driving regional trade desks, or heading specialized food business development pipelines. Specific practical familiarity with premium Asian grocery segments, niche Japanese culinary lines, or multi-origin seafood cold chain categories is highly preferred, coupled with immediate baseline readiness for on-site execution in Dubai.
• Advanced technical workspace data literacy with sharp capabilities generating complex commercial margin tracking tables, demand forecasting matrices, and supplier pricing comparison files inside Microsoft Excel databases.
• Deep, comprehensive operational knowledge across the following primary functional dimensions:
  • Category management structures, dynamic product portfolio development frameworks, sku optimization logic, and corporate business strategy parameters.
  • International sourcing methods, global supplier negotiation tactics, freight term rules, clearance protocols, and import operations workflows.
  • The regional FMCG marketplace, high-volume food distribution networks, modern trade sales growth loops, and structured sales business development.
• Outstanding corporate communication, bargaining, and relationship management talents, sharp analytical problem-solving habits under compressed inventory schedules, absolute attention to product specification details, and a highly accountable attitude under a unified corporate management framework.

What We Offer:

• Competitive baseline fixed monthly salary package structured from AED 12,000 to 13,000 (adjusted from the minimum level to a maximum cap of 1,000 AED as per structural parameters), determined entirely by past trade portfolio defense, live supplier negotiation challenge simulations, and category profit-loss analysis trials during panel interviews.
• An elite opportunity to capture total operational custody over high-growth international brand categories and premium food supply chains within a premier global FMCG enterprise.
• Stable career advancement pipelines supported by major corporate portfolio diversification and clear internal channels for senior commercial directors, global sourcing vice presidents, supply chain heads, or specialists moving toward corporate training and internal hr jobs networks.