Product Planning Manager

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.

As Canada’s food and pharmacy leader, Loblaw is at the forefront of shaping the nation's grocery landscape. We play an important role in bringing about positive environmental and social change – both nationally and in the communities we serve. With a passion for sustainability and creative thinking, you will work closely as a member of the Loblaw Marketing and Brands Enablement Team as the Senior Director, Strategic Food Product Initiatives to drive the overall planning and implementation of large-scale food and non-food product initiatives across our iconic portfolio of brands, including President’s Choice, No Name, Blue Menu, Farmers Market, and PC Organics, directly impacting the grocery aisles of Canada.

As the leader for the Strategic Initiatives team, you will be instrumental in shaping the future of food at Loblaw. You’ll collaborate with a wide range of senior-level stakeholders and Category Product leads to build the vision, ideate new initiatives, and set the path for the next 3-5 years of grocery portfolio innovation and futureproofing. Your team will be responsible for executing a pipeline of work that combines essential regulatory initiatives with visionary ideas to elevate Canada’s leading food brands and retail experiences. Deep industry knowledge and proven experience in food retail, including grocery operations, category management, or CPG product development specifically for retail channels, coupled with expertise in sustainability and strategic execution.

Experience building and managing food product or category teams, and an ability to execute in large matrix organizations with cross-functional teams.

A unique talent for navigating ambiguity within the fast-paced food retail environment, and an ability to bring diverse teams together to deliver big ideas.

Strong influencing and effective communication skills, particularly when articulating food strategy and innovation.

Critical thinking and ability to think outside the box to solve complex food product and retail challenges.

An ability to build compelling narratives to articulate new food market opportunities.

Lead and manage critical, multi-year, cross-functional projects that influence Canada's largest food brands and retail offerings, implementing rigorous governance frameworks to achieve on-time and high-quality deliverables from diverse teams.

Ensure flawless execution of significant food category-wide product modifications, directing a specialized team in implementing strategic grocery product updates (including regulatory compliance, claims re-evaluation, and brand renewals) that are critical to our retail success.

Collaborate on next-level food product and brand platforms with culinary and product innovation teams, identifying future-focused opportunities within the grocery landscape and evaluating new ideas for implementation, securing alignment with senior leadership.

Champion sustainability across Canada’s largest food brand portfolio, developing a long-term roadmap strategy spanning food commodities, carbon, and packaging innovation, embedding these initiatives within the larger enterprise and engaging with external food industry associations.

Grow and manage a large team of food product and project experts, build and evolve operating models and processes to align with the needs of new initiatives, and build a pipeline of top-talent.

University degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science, or Merchandising preferred.

• 7+ years of progressive experience in food retail product management, grocery merchandising, category management within a food environment, or equivalent experience in CPG product development specifically for grocery channels.
• Excellent project management experience, with a strong understanding of food product lifecycle management from concept to shelf. Experience in food packaging innovation or regulatory aspects for food is a significant asset.
• Advanced level of initiative and judgment is required to organize and prioritize tasks, workload, and multiple projects within a dynamic retail environment.
• Exceptional decision-making skills required to achieve organizational objectives with an understanding and consideration to the impact on other work groups and the grocery supply chain.
• Diplomacy, constructive thinking, and innovative approach to drive solutions for complex food retail challenges.
• Advanced understanding of food marketing, merchandising practices and procedures.
• Advanced computer skills to produce effective reports, documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
• 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. 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.

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. Candidates who are 18 years or older are required to complete a criminal background check. The Company uses artificial intelligence for the purpose of screening, assessing and/or selecting applicants for this position. / L’entreprise utilise l’intelligence artificielle dans le but de filtrer, d’évaluer et/ou de sélectionner les candidats à ce poste.

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