Manager, Strategic Innovation - 12mth Contract

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.

Manager, Strategic Innovation
(Contract- 12 Months)

Reports to: Director - Insights and Strategic Innovation

Location: 1 President’s Choice Circle, Brampton

Are you at the top of your game? Bring your expertise and knowledge to Canada’s largest retailer. We are looking for an innovative, passionate, and collaborative team member for Loblaw Company’s Control Brands Insights and Strategic Innovation team.

This is an exciting time to join our team and help bring to market the ‘next and never-been-done’ in product innovation. That’s what our customers expect when they shop in our stores. It’s been true since the introduction of The Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie, and it’s still true today, with our vast assortment of best-in-class private label products.

If you are looking to join a company that offers opportunity, excellent leadership, ongoing training and makes a big impact on the community - this is the role you’ve been waiting for!

Reporting directly to the Director for Insights and Strategic Innovation, you will help define the strategic direction of some of Canada’s most iconic CPG brands - President’s Choice, No Name, Life, and more! In this role, you will leverage consumer and business insights to identify growth opportunities and collaborate with internal stakeholders to bring them to life. This unique role works with product managers, product developers, the culinary team, external research vendors, internal packaging design teams, and marketing to deliver best-in-class products across all grocery categories. This position requires an entrepreneurial builder mindset, a deep passion for food, a strong ability to collaborate and influence, and exceptional organizational and planning skills.

A successful candidate in this role will be able to develop a comprehensive plan to identify, articulate, and solve for emerging opportunities - all grounded in deep consumer insight. This includes obtaining internal alignment and holding all stakeholders accountable to timelines and deliverables.

What You’ll Do

Support in the development of compelling strategic recommendations

• Leverage internal data sources (Innovation need states, sales data, consumer research, strategic plans and business reviews) and external data (Market data, syndicated research) to find opportunities for new innovation.
• Interpret and analyze customer data to generate insights that drive our innovation leadership
• Create business propositions to pitch identified opportunities to leadership leveraging data story telling.

Create mechanisms for educating colleagues and empowering them to activate these insights through strategic initiatives and 3-yr plans.

• Organize product inspiration and ideation seasons in the test kitchen with the support of our in-house chefs
• Work with research firms and CPG vendors to host insight-sharing sessions
• Create quarterly reports to share top trends and insights in collaboration with the culinary team.

Support the creation and facilitation of workshops that fuse bold, creative, and lateral thinking with consumer insight, category data, trends, and internal experts.

• Facilitate incubator sessions with cross-functional teams to develop innovation proposals into tactical plans
• Organize brainstorming sessions and tactical workshops

Support in execution of strategic initiatives.

• Provide guidance in various aspects of strategy execution such as design briefs
• Obtain senior leadership buy-in with alignment meetings
• Coordinate with test kitchen to support strategy sell-through with curated menu’s and strategic food tasting sessions
• Own follow-ups and ensuring stakeholders deliver on needed requests
• Lead in development of product ideation themes for marketing campaigns like the Insider’s Program.

Lead the Home Evaluation Program

• Manage all aspects of the Home Evaluation process. Coordinate with product developers to build a pipeline of products to be tested. Recruit colleagues to participate, analyze, interpret, and share results.

Support in execution of primary consumer research

• Conduct research independently and with research vendor partners and/or DIY platforms to answer business questions.
• Manage internal/external stakeholders, create timelines, and ensure objectives are clearly established.

What You’ll Need

• Bachelor`s degree (or higher) with proven experience in product innovation, strategy, marketing or similar field - preferably in the food, beverage or consumer packaged goods industries.
• Knowledge and relevant experience in the areas of creativity and lateral thinking, and design-thinking or emergent strategy principles and ways of working
• Ability to work with a cross functional team and balance competing priorities for various stakeholders
• Strong project management skills
• Strong strategic, analytical skill and ability to drive actionable results using data and insights
• Knowledge of customer-centric tools and tactics
• Strong English Writing and Verbal
• Excellent presentation and visual story telling skills using tools like PowerPoint
• Microsoft office Suite of Tool
• Be passionate about food
• An entrepreneurial mindset with an ability to adapt and deliver in evolving and often ambiguous circumstances
• Curious, open minded, and not afraid to question status quo
• Primary research skills such as crafting questionnaires and working with 3rd party research vendors.
• Bonus: Strong knowledge of CPG product development life cycle, working closely with product development, Regulatory & Legal, Supply Chain, Vendors, and Brand Marketing
• Bonus: Knowledge of Nielsen Discovery

Disclaimer

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel working within this job title.

What You’d Be Happy to Know

Loblaw is an equal opportunity employer, and we consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, disability status or any other legally protected characteristic.

Accommodation is available upon request for applicants and colleagues with disabilities.

In addition, we believe that compliance with laws is about doing the right thing. Upholding the law is part of our Code of Conduct - it reinforces what our customers and stakeholders expect of us.

At Loblaw, we seek great people to continually strengthen our culture. We believe great people model our values, are authentic, build trust, and make connections.

If this opportunity interests you, apply today!

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.