Category Director, In Store Bread & Sweet Goods

Referred applicants should not apply directly to this role.

All referred applicants must first be submitted through Workday by a current Loblaw Colleague.

Come make your difference in communities across Canada, where authenticity, trust and making connections is valued - as we shape the future of Canadian retail, together. Our unique position as one of the country's largest employers, coupled with our commitment to positively impact the lives of all Canadians, provides our colleagues a range of opportunities and experiences to help Canadians Live Life Well®.

At Loblaw Companies Limited, we succeed through collaboration and commitment and set a high bar for ourselves and those around us. Whether you are just starting your career, re-entering the workforce, or looking for a new job, this is where you belong.

Why is this role important:

Join us at Loblaw Companies Limited as a Category Director in our Super Market Division where we will bring innovative products and programs to over 500 grocery retail stores across Canada.

Reporting to the Vice President, Super Market Fresh, your responsibilities will include leading every aspect of the Sweet Goods category, including vision, strategy, financial performance, competitive benchmarking, and program execution. You will be accountable for leading a team that will support and operationalize the vision and strategy of the category.

Are you entrepreneurial, curious, customer centric and have a drive for innovative food ideas? If you would like to belong to a highly engaged team of critical business leaders, apply today!

What You'll Do:

• Work collaboratively with colleagues in merchandising, operations, control brands, supply chain, loyalty, e-commerce, marketing, media, and other divisional partners to develop and execute plans across the business.

• Build positive relationships with category vendors and external partners to negotiate product plans across the store network.

• Use data and analytics to build short and long-term strategic plans; and identify critical merchandising priorities, risks, and opportunities.

• Own the financial forecasting, modelling, and performance for the category with top-to-bottom ownership of profit and loss (P&L) outcomes, expansive of sales, margins, shrink and EBIT

• Be solely accountable for delivering category budget goals and achieving non-financial departmental goals as assigned, with weekly, periodic, and quarterly reporting obligations.

• Build and maintain a deep understanding of the competitive landscape and handle performance outcomes - including market share growth and development, shelf pricing, assortment, promotional strategy efficiencies, and global merchandising best-practices.

• Work with your team to implement assortment management (including optimization analysis, new product and costing evaluation, planogram design and in-store merchandising strategies)

• Lead and develop your team in program management (including promotional product selection and forecasting, financial modelling with P&L impact analysis, pricing decisions, flyer and digital content decisions) and vendor relationship management.

• Collaborate with private label Product Managers and Product Developers to identify assortment opportunities that will enable us to bring the most innovative products to market that will support the categories financial objectives.

What You'll Need:

• Post-secondary education in business, marketing, economics, or equivalent experience.

• Shown experience of 5 years in retail merchandising, strategy, marketing, business development and/or business management - specifically, with responsibilities over P&L required

• A self-motivated leader with a high-reaching approach and a passion for category management

• Sophisticated knowledge of financial forecasting, modelling and analytics required

• Analytical approach to decision making - using data to derive business insights that lead to practical strategies and favorable financial outcomes.

• Ability to engage, collaborate with and influence teams.

• Ability to think critically, innovate and overcome obstacles with a sense of urgency.

• Ability to coach, mentor and lead a team that supports and accelerates talent-cultivation within the Super Market Division

Our commitment to Sustainability and Social Impact is an essential part of the way we do business, and we focus our attention on areas where we can have the greatest impact. Our approach to sustainability and social impact is based on three pillars - Environment, Sourcing and Community - and we are constantly looking for ways to demonstrate leadership in these important areas. Our CORE Values - Care, Ownership, Respect and Excellence - guide all our decision-making and come to life through our Blue Culture. We offer our colleagues progressive careers, comprehensive training, flexibility, and other competitive benefits - these are some of the many reasons why we are one of Canada’s Top Employers, Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, Canada’s Greenest Employers & Canada’s Top Employers for Young People.

If you are unsure whether your experience matches every requirement above, we encourage you to apply anyway. We are looking for varied perspectives which include diverse experiences that we can add to our team.

We have a long-standing focus on diversity, equity and inclusion because we know it will make our company a better place to work and shop. We are committed to creating accessible environments for our colleagues, candidates and customers. Requests for accommodation due to a disability (which may be visible or invisible, temporary or permanent) can be made at any stage of application and employment. We encourage candidates to make their accommodation needs known so that we can provide equitable opportunities.

Please Note:
Candidates who are 18 years or older are required to complete a criminal background check. Details will be provided through the application process.