Category Manager - Local Shops

Company Description

Who Are We?

When you think of food delivery in the MENA region, we'd be pretty surprised if talabat didn't pop into your mind first! Since delivering our first order in Kuwait in 2004, we've grown significantly over the past 20 years.

Today, we deliver hundreds of millions of orders per year across nine countries with more than 3,000+ employees. We work with over 27,000 brands and almost 50,000 branches, and our q-commerce concept, talabat mart, delivers groceries in 30 minutes or less across Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE. Our philosophy is simple: do what is right for our ecosystem — our customers, partners, people, riders, and the communities we operate in.

As talabat continues to grow and diversify, we are now launching a dedicated Beauty vertical — a bold new chapter that brings premium and everyday beauty products to our customers with the same speed and convenience they've come to expect from us.

Job Description

Role Summary

We're looking for a Category Manager to spearhead and grow talabat's new standalone Beauty vertical. This is a high-impact, entrepreneurial role where you will define the category strategy from the ground up — owning assortment, supplier relationships, pricing, promotions, and commercial performance for beauty across the region.The right candidate brings deep knowledge of the beauty industry (skincare, haircare, cosmetics, fragrance, personal care), a strong commercial mindset, and the drive to build something new in one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world.
 

What's On Your Plate?

Category Ownership

• Lead end-to-end category management for the Beauty vertical, including skincare, cosmetics, haircare, fragrance, and personal care.
• Define and execute the beauty category strategy aligned with talabat's commercial goals and regional consumer trends.
• Monitor and drive category KPIs: sales, gross margin, P&L, conversion, and basket size.

Assortment & Supplier Management

• Curate a compelling and competitive beauty assortment — balancing mass-market, premium, and emerging brands relevant to MENA consumers.
• Identify and onboard local and regional beauty suppliers and brand partners; negotiate commercial terms including pricing, rebates, payment terms, and exclusivities.
• Work closely with regional teams to align on international brand contracts and ensure a consistent portfolio across markets.
• Stay ahead of beauty trends (clean beauty, K-beauty, halal-certified, etc.) and translate them into actionable assortment decisions.

Pricing & Promotions

• Define pricing strategy for the beauty category in line with market benchmarks and competitor positioning.
• Conduct regular market price audits across key beauty players in the region.
• Build and manage the beauty promotions calendar — including seasonal campaigns (Ramadan, gifting seasons, beauty events) and brand-specific activations.
• Analyze promotional effectiveness and continuously optimize based on consumer data and sell-through performance.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Provide input to the Operations team on store flow, product adjacencies, fixtures, and merchandising standards suited to beauty.
• Partner with Marketing to develop compelling beauty campaigns and content that drive awareness and conversion.
• Work with Replenishment on forecasting and inventory management to minimize out-of-stocks and overstock for high-SKU beauty ranges.

Qualifications

What Did We Order?

• 3+ years of experience in category management, buying, or commercial roles within the beauty industry — ideally covering skincare, cosmetics, haircare, or fragrance.
• Experience working with or for beauty retailers, beauty e-commerce platforms, FMCG companies, or beauty brand distributors in an international or regional setting.
• Strong knowledge of the MENA beauty market: consumer preferences, key brands, distribution dynamics, and emerging trends.
• Solid commercial acumen: proficiency in margin calculations, P&L management, promotional ROI analysis, and supplier negotiations.
• Entrepreneurial mindset — comfortable with ambiguity and excited to build a new vertical from scratch.
• Highly detail-oriented and structured; able to manage multiple brands and SKUs while keeping the big picture in focus.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across both internal teams and external partners.