Category Manager

Job description / Role

About Careem

Careem is building the everything app for the greater Middle East, making it easier than ever to move around, order food and groceries, manage payments, and more. Careem is led by a powerful purpose to simplify and improve the lives of people and build an awesome organisation that inspires. Since 2012, Careem has created earnings for over 2.5 million captains, simplified the lives of over 70 million customers, and built a platform for the region's best talent to thrive and for entrepreneurs to scale their businesses. Careem operates in over 70 cities across 10 countries, from Morocco to Pakistan.

About the team

Careem Grocery is on a mission to reinvent the way people shop for groceries, pharmacy, and retail products. As a dynamic new vertical within Careem, we are essentially a startup within a startup, poised at the brink of significant growth and innovation in Saudi Arabia. Joining us now means being part of the foundational team that will tackle exciting challenges and drive groundbreaking solutions. Imagine the opportunity to shape the online grocery industry and make a tangible difference in the lives of millions in our region.

What you'll do

• Collaborate with the general manager to craft and execute an innovative and customer-centric category strategy tailored to the evolving dynamics of q-commerce and rapid delivery grocery use cases.
• Own and optimize assortment across multiple food and non-food categories, ensuring our selection reflects customer needs, preferences, and market trends.
• Leverage deep performance data and insights to guide assortment decisions, introduce high-performing SKUs, and continuously refine our mix to improve conversion and basket size.
• Identify and source high-potential local and international products through strong supplier partnerships, focusing on availability, uniqueness, and strategic fit.
• Develop and streamline processes for expanding our range, including regulatory compliance, international sourcing, and logistics coordination.
• Partner closely with supply chain and store operations to ensure flawless execution and availability across the network.

What you'll need

• A passion for improving lives through technology, with a customer-obsessed mindset and a desire to build something truly impactful.
• 6+ years of experience in buying or category management across multiple categories within the food or FMCG retail sector. Experience in e-commerce or q-commerce is highly valued.
• A strong understanding of grocery and convenience retail dynamics in Saudi Arabia, including consumer preferences and seasonal trends.
• A data-first approach to decision-making, with the ability to analyze trends, performance metrics, and assortment gaps to drive results.
• Experience with international sourcing and navigating regulatory or compliance processes is a strong plus.
• Strong communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to bring others on the journey.
• Grit, ownership, and a hands-on mentality - you thrive in a fast-paced environment and aren't afraid to roll up your sleeves.

What we'll provide you

We offer colleagues the opportunity to drive impact in the region while they learn and grow. As a full-time Careem colleague, you will be able to:

• Work and learn from great minds by joining a community of inspiring colleagues.
• Put your passion to work in a purposeful organisation dedicated to creating impact in a region with a lot of untapped potential.
• Explore new opportunities to learn and grow every day.
• Work 4 days a week in office and 1 day from home, and remotely from any country in the world for 30 days a year with unlimited vacation days per year. (If you are in an individual contributor role in tech, you will have 2 office days a week and 3 to work from home.)
• Access to healthcare benefits and fitness reimbursements for health activities including gym, health club, and training classes.

About the Company

We are a brand that aims to simplify people's lives by revolutionizing the transportation industry. A brand that strives to inspire everyone it interacts with, and supports every single person who dares to believe. #BeCareem

Careem is the MENA region's leading ride-hailing service and newest Tech Unicorn. With 30% monthly growth, we now operate in 50+ cities across 11 countries and host over 6 million users. With our recent Series D funding success, we are positioned on the cusp of significant scale and well on target to deliver our goal of creating one million jobs in the region by 2018.