Director, Deli

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. 

Role Mandate:

THIS POSITION IS LOCATED AT THE FORTINOS HAMILTON CORPORATE OFFICE

The Director is accountable for growing tonnage and market share while driving profitable sales growth for all Bakery & Deli Categories. The incumbent will provide leadership and direction in planning, supplier management, product assortment, space allocation, pricing and promotion supporting their category strategies while meeting all financial targets and KPI's
 

Accountabilities:

• Build comprehensive strategic growth plans with key vendors across all categories and delivering on KPI.
• Update product assortment to ensure proper mix of items, brands and sets where sales and buying plans are in place to achieve category targets.
• Build and sustain strong vendor relationships to maximize sales, tonnage and profit.
• Identify market and demographic trends and partner with suppliers on innovation to drive growth ahead of the market. 
• Provide ongoing feedback to stores, DM's for such things as balancing the skills set of the department to the volume/layout of the stores, assisting in succession planning discussions based on observations.
• Act as a liaison to ensure effective collaboration between stores and merchandising, applying expertise in both fields to help provide clarity and reach agreement on specific standards of execution.
• Required to analyze department performance and provide feedback.  Develop action plans to address any gaps in performance or procedure. Follow up with key stakeholders on prior feedback/action plans in order to ensure continuous department improvement.  Keep Sr. Director and District Managers abreast of progress on improvement plans in their respective stores.
• Identify stores that require priority assistance reducing shrink, develop action plans with Specialist, and Franchisees to address this issue, and work with them to implement the action plan.
• Develop action/business plans for stores based on P & L to increase sales, tonnage and department contributions and meet/exceed budget targets.
• Provide input on ad themes/planning calendar.
• Plan item selection for weekly flyer and seasonal promotional activity meeting financial targets.
• Manage weekly merchandising related communication to stores..
• Provide financial roll-ups to the business on the promotional programs.
• Plan and implement retail pricing strategies.
• Store visits as required to build strong Franchisee relationships, providing guidance, and ensuring merch directive and planogram execution.
• Work with Space Planning Manager to develop and communicate planograms that meet stated merchandising standards.
• Identify list of bottom 20% of stores in area and opportunity categories to develop and execute an improvement plan with the assistance of the Sr Director and Specialist.
• Manage a merchandising team consisting of Analyst, Merchandising Manager, Retail Specialists
• Ensure compliance with food safety, QA standards across all Deli and Bakery operations
• Work closely with supply chain and procurement to support forecasting, seasonal merchandising, and promo's
• As required, assist with new store openings and refurbishments.
• Occasional weekends may be required
• Other duties as required.

Education and Experience

• Post-secondary education in Business or Retail program is an asset.
• 5-10 years of related experience in merchandising developing promotion and pricing strategies and processes.
• Strong analytical, strategic and consumer insight skills.
• Progressive and innovative: aggressively seeks out opportunities to improve competitiveness and demonstrates an innovative spirit.
• Track record of results in a fast-paced environment with the ability to set priorities and meet challenging deadlines.
• Proven problem solving, communication, interpersonal, negotiation and team-building skills.
• Working knowledge of SAP, MicroStrategy and JDA an asset

Key Competencies

• Expert knowledge of Deli & Bakery.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills including formulating and executing strategic plans.
• Must possess excellent people skills and be an effective communicator.
• Ability to positively impact, influence and build capability in your team.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and achieve industry leading results with your team.
• Customer focused.
• Highly organized and a strong attention to detail.

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.

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