Description

We're looking for a Category Manager, Prepared Foods who thrives on strategy, negotiation, and delivering results. If you're passionate about food, identifying consumer trends, building vendor relationships, and driving category growth, join us!

Position: Category Manager, Prepared Foods

Job Overview:

Reporting to the Director, Deli, Bakery, & Prepared Foods, the incumbent is responsible for procurement of product under Prepared Foods for all stores across Longos. Perform day-to-day buying independently, work with Store Operations to ensure store inventory levels. Quantities on repeat products are determined in conjunction with store operations.

Accountabilities:

Category Management/Planning:
• Manage the strategic development and planning for assigned categories.
• Ensure category sales plans are consistent with the overall Merchandising strategy.
• Promote and verify execution of category strategy at the store

Vendor Management:
• Act as primary contact to manage vendors, track their performance and escalate issues with vendors

Marketing:
• Work with Marketing Department on advertising/promotions for assigned category under Prepared Foods

P/L Accountability:
• Manage P&L including daily/weekly monitoring of sales $ and gross margin mix management.

Market Intelligence:
• Monitor all competitive and industry activities (including trends, opportunities etc.) regarding merchandising, marketing, assortment, pricing, and promotions and use findings to support continuous improvement and innovation in the category.

Merchandising:
• Research, develop, and implementation of merchandising and ad plans to support category business plan and total department initiatives.

Health & Safety:
• Ensuring Health and Safety standards and protocols are upheld

Leadership:
• Upholding and modelling the company's values of Honesty, Trustworthiness and Mutual Respect in all actions and behaviours.
• Ensures that team members understand and comply with company standards, policies and procedures including, loss prevention, food safety and human resource policies.
• Coaches and trains team members to maintain the highest level of personal and team productivity by ensuring regular communication, setting goals, coaching, and mentoring on an ongoing basis.

Key area of responsibility:
• Communicate with Marketing, Merchandising and Operations groups
• Perform special projects

Key Competencies:
• Creative and analytical approach to problem solving, including the ability to take abstract concepts and develop them into tactical programs
• Result-oriented self-starter with ability to collaborate with a variety of stakeholders across business units
• Strong customer-service orientation
• Excellent negotiation skills
• System thinking and continual process improvement skills
• Excellent analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Excellent oral and written business communication skills

Knowledge, Skills & Credentials:
• Internal Candidate - Longo's College
• External Candidate - University Degree in Business
• Minimum 3 years purchasing and inventory management experience
• Specific purchasing experience in food retail
• Ability to develop and implement tactical plans
• Excellent understanding of vendor and customer relationship management
• Understanding of marketing fundamentals as they apply to the business
• Excellent financial skills
• Proficient in Microsoft word, excel, power point

Working Conditions:
• Work is performed in a standard office environment with participation in meetings.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and changing priorities with regular deadlines
• Travel to stores and warehouse locations required