Category Manager

Join Riverside Natural Foods Ltd., a $300 million+ Canadian-based, family-owned, and globally operating business, committed to leaving the world better than we found it. As a B-Corp certified, Triple-Bottom Line company, we proudly manufacture nutritious, 'better-for-you' snacks such as MadeGood and GOOD TO GO. We value teamwork, humility, respect, ownership, adaptability, grit, and fun.

We're on an ambitious mission to double our business by 2027, and we need talented individuals like you to help us reach new heights. At Riverside, you'll have the opportunity to chart your own path to success while contributing to ours. We believe anything worth doing is worth doing right, and our values will guide us through the rugged terrain - and yes, it will get rough. But that's what makes the journey worthwhile.

So, lace up your boots and let's tackle the climb together.

**Position Summary**:
The Category Manager is accountable for Category Management expertise and analysis to drive our category management strategies and to work in partnership with the Canadian Sales Team to mutually grow the categories with our retailer customers.

This leader is also accountable to work with Riverside Natural Foods' key stakeholders to provide insights on category rankings, competitive products, formats, and pricing for the Canadian market to drive the business growth. This leader will be responsible, with the Director, to develop strategies to improve business results and deliver future opportunities through category insights.

The Category Manager will have the opportunity to lead Canadian retailer shelf strategy by leveraging skills in Nielsen analysis, Category Management process, and planogram development for best in class in store conditions as well to drive conversion.

**Primary Responsibilities**:

- Demonstrate and uphold Riverside Natural's core values
- Conduct Customer Category Reviews
- Ongoing analysis of category trends and tactics, lead the development of retailer specific category reviews and assortment analysis
- Canada consumption support for selling and assortment recommendations (innovation / distribution voids)
- Participate in Tier 1 and select Tier 2 Category Reviews (conventional)
- Create Category Selling Stories for inclusion in Customer Selling Decks / Annual Sales Plan
- Develop In-Store Shelving Strategy (Planogram recommendations and strategies)
- Create & Conduct Category Overviews / Tools for Training purposes internally and with new retailer category managers
- Input into SKU Priorities in partnership with Marketing
- Provide insights related to Canadian market as part of the Innovation Commercialization process and the 4P's approval gate
- Leverage Customer POS Data for insights on customer and category performance and conduct deeper analysis from POS Tools as needed
- Share out macro / retailer trends with Canada Sales team and internal Riverside stakeholders leveraging industry tools such as Numerator, Nielsen, Kantar, Euromonitor, Kantar, etc.
- Own the relationship with our syndicated data partners in Canada and manage overall budget and recommendations for future category data expansion
- Fulfill Adhoc requests as needed

**Reporting Relationship**

The Category Manager reports to the Director, Sales Planning & Strategy

**Education & Qualifications**
- 5-8 years of industry experience in category management
- Bachelor's degree in related field
- Shelf Management & Nielsen experience
- Advanced Excel Skills
- Tableau experience an asset
- Strong PowerPoint and presentation/ Storytelling skills

**Skills and Abilities (Competencies)**
- Strong Category Management skills
- Advanced Data Analytical Skills and ability to interpret data and draw conclusions to leverage insights
- Strong team player, demonstrated ability to work collaboratively to achieve common goals
- Results Driven
- Excellent presentation skills
- Self-starter with a high level of initiative, flexibility, and tenacity

**What we expect**:

- **Values-led**: You'll be a member of a thoughtful and compassionate team that prioritizes respect, teamwork and resourcefulness along with a good dash of fun. Sometimes, even making granola bars is hard, and life's too short to take ourselves so seriously that we don't enjoy the journey.
- **Unparalleled experiences and opportunities**: We're still determining who we are and what we can be. Help us shape what this organization will look like and what we'll offer the world, into the future. This means rolling up your sleeves and sometimes building the process - fast - while employing it. At Riverside, progress occasionally means proceeding imperfectly, and we're okay with that, as long as we're staying true to our values and learning and improving along the way.
- **Access to everyone**: We're a flat organization with few silos which means you'll have full access to everyone from our founders to our production staff. Even when employees dress up, they wear steel-toed shoes. So don't b