About the Company 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 Careem Careem is building the Everything App for the Middle East, making it easier than ever to move around, order food and groceries, manage payments, and more. Since 2012, we have simplified the lives of millions of customers, created earnings for over 2.5 million Captains, and built a vibrant platform for talent and entrepreneurs to thrive. Today, we operate in 10 countries and 70+ cities, with the ambition to transform daily life in our region.About the Role We are seeking a Senior Category Manager Excellence to join our Quick Commerce (Q-Commerce) team. This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for setting the bar for category excellence across multiple markets. You will design and scale frameworks for assortment, pricing, and promotions, while driving collaboration across Product, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Supply Chain. As a strategic leader, you will shape Careem’s grocery and essentials offering, build strong supplier partnerships, and mentor category teams to deliver consistent growth, profitability, and customer delight. What You’ll Do Category Strategy & Leadership • Define the regional category excellence strategy for Q-Commerce, setting best practices for assortment, pricing, and promotions. • Lead annual category planning with clear KPIs for growth, profitability, and customer satisfaction. • Build scalable playbooks that can be localized and executed across markets. Cross-Functional Collaboration • Partner with Product & Tech to improve catalog visibility, pricing tools, and merchandising experiences in the app. • Collaborate with Marketing to deliver impactful campaigns and ensure category visibility across customer journeys. • Work with Finance & Strategy to own category P&L, optimize margins, and plan long-term growth. • Align with Operations & Supply Chain to improve product availability, waste reduction, and fulfillment efficiency. Supplier & Partner Development • Lead negotiations with global FMCG manufacturers and key local suppliers to secure competitive terms and unlock growth opportunities. • Drive joint business planning with suppliers, including co-marketing, exclusives, and innovation. • Establish partnerships that scale across Careem’s footprint. Excellence & Capability Building • Develop best-practice toolkits and processes for category teams across countries. • Mentor and upskill Category Managers and Associates to raise performance standards. • Champion data-driven decision-making and ensure insights translate into action. Growth & Innovation • Anticipate customer needs and market trends to expand assortment depth and relevance. • Explore innovation opportunities such as private label, exclusives, or mission-based shopping (weekly shops, top-ups, convenience). • Ensure Careem is the customer’s first choice for groceries and essentials. What You’ll Need • 7–10 years of experience in Category Management, Commercial, or Strategy roles, ideally within FMCG, Retail, Q-Commerce, or E-commerce. • Strong commercial acumen with proven P&L ownership experience. • Excellent cross-functional leadership skills, with the ability to influence at senior levels. • Track record of negotiating and managing suppliers at both regional and global scale. • Advanced analytical skills and a data-driven mindset. • Experience in high-growth, tech-driven, or start-up environments is a plus. • MBA or equivalent degree is desirable. 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 & 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.