Category Manager Jobs

Job Title: Category Manager, Fluids division

Location: Etobicoke (Ontario) or Montreal (Quebec)

** Bilinguism English/French is required **

About Us

We are proud to say we are one of Forbes 2022 Canada’s Best Employers; here’s why!

Lactalis Canada is enriching and nurturing the lives of Canadians with a diverse offering of dairy products such as Black Diamond Cheese, Lactantia Milk, Astro Yogurt, Balderson Cheese, and Cheestrings; our products are in 94% of Canadian homes! For over 140 years we’ve grown through innovation and a strong dedication to quality, and we’re looking for like minded individuals to keep that growth progressing by joining our team!

About the opportunity

The Category Manager is responsible for implementing category management principles to demonstrate Lactalis’s ability to optimize and add value to the category. Understanding shopper behaviour and value perception is key to develop long-term holistic category growth for the retailer and Lactalis. The position conducts comprehensive analysis and interpretation of customer category performance and provides qualitative and quantitative assessments and recommendations to customer sales teams and senior management.

The attributes we are looking for

• Leverage the 4P’s to: manage space planning and efficient assortments, price/promotional analysis and optimize shelf space using share of shelf data. All recommendations must consider the shopper, the retailer and Lactalis’ priorities and objectives.
• Conduct market share analysis by banner and category to identify sales risk or opportunity and provide specific recommendations by customer and store type by using the many data platforms available – Retailer POS, Nieslen, Numerator, etc.
• Create and update monthly, quarterly, and annual reports to review category progress versus competition and Divisional objectives. Collaborate with Trade Marketing and Marketing to formulate recommendations based on category results.
• Coordinate with Customer Sales and Trade Marketing to optimize volume through the promotional calendar by analyzing promotional ads’ efficiencies and sales seasonality.
• Responsible for Lactalis Sales Package process and documents. Ensure insights and feedback is tracked and updated regularly with all participants – Customer Sales, Trade Marketing, etc.
• Provide market basket, seasonality and opportunity gap analysis data platforms to help identify customer loyalty and provide recommendations on how to improve the consumer loyalty for our customers purchasing Lactalis products.
• Prepare analysis for ad-hoc requests on category reviews to help validate hypothetic and market trends used to identify new opportunity or sales risk, and to drive future action plans by involving the proper cross functional team members.
• Forecast sales by brand, item, and market for customers by using market sales data and utilize findings to guide the category brand strategy which will be directed by the Division.
• Develop strong relationships with Customer Sales teams and retailer contacts to share analytical findings and present recommendations to maintain and build Lactalis’s expertise on category reviews. The objective is to gain customer trust to become their vendor advisor by providing un-biased reviews and recommendations.
• Provide analysis, opportunity identification, and the interpretation of sales results for the customer to achieve financial targets and the overall business plan by reviewing opportunity gaps consistent with Division strategies.

What you will bring:

• Able to manage multiple and competing priorities through effective organizational, people, time management skills
• Proficient with standard office computer technology including Microsoft Office products, e-mail, and the internet
• Expert knowledge of Nielsen and Retailer data platforms
• Superior analytical abilities and the ability to generate insights and convert to action
• Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field required
• Minimum five (5) years CPG industry including three (3) years Category Management and three (3) years sales or financial analyst experience
• Self-motivated, shopper focused, creative thinker
• Strong negotiation skills and ability to convince and persuade others on new ideas
• Superior project management and presentation skills required
• Knowledge of space planning software
• Very high level of attention to detail

This job description is intended to summarize the overall level of responsibility of the job and is not an exhaustive list of all the duties performed.

What Lactalis will offer

Lactalis Canada believes in rewarding its people with the following comprehensive benefits package and perks:

• Learning and Development opportunities
• A commitment to internal career advancement with potential for international mobility
• A Pension Program with an Employer Match at 100% of up to 6%
• A Competitive Base Salary
• 4 Weeks of Vacation
• Benefits starting day 1
• A Performance-Based Bonus System
• Tuition reimbursement plan of up to $3,000/year
• A Volunteer Day to give back to your community

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion/EOE

Bring Your Uniqueness to Grow Our Culture

We believe each and every individual within the organization provides value. When we encourage and include the voices of all diverse backgrounds and perspectives, we open doors to unforeseen growth and allow individuals to bring their full authentic selves to work. In order to celebrate the uniqueness of our people and the communities in which we operate, we are committed to cultivating a fair and inclusive workplace that fosters real belonging for all.

Lactalis is also committed to developing inclusive, barrier-free selection processes and work environments. If contacted in relation to a job opportunity or testing, you should advise the member of the Talent Acquisition team in a timely fashion of any disabilities that requires accommodation measures in order to enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner.

Information received relating to accommodation measures will be addressed confidentially.

Please note Lactalis Canada does not request a credit check or conduct other background checks through the LinkedIn application process. If any of the foregoing is required, a Lactalis Canada employee will contact you after a Job Offer has been signed by you.