PURPOSE:

The Senior Director of Fresh – Retail, ensures the integrity and execution of retail merchandising initiatives and business development plans that drive profitable sales growth for bakery/deli and meat/seafood categories. Develops and implements merchandising strategies that drive profitable sales and expand and create new opportunities for sales to existing and new customers including and beyond the traditional sales model. Execution is facilitated through direct oversight of Category Management. Integrity is established by ensuring that the department’s activities are consistent with and delivered against the strategic and financial objectives of the company. This role will be actively involved in the development of the department’s strategies and the subsequent initiative creation and deployment.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

Business Planning Responsibilities:

·       Oversees Category Business Planning process and execution holistically for retail.

·       Establishes policies that add value, simplify the vendor relationships, and create leverage for other value negotiations to align merchandising programs with suppliers.

·       Utilizes consumer insight and industry expertise to establish growth guidelines and financial objectives for the annual plan.

·       Responsible for reconciliation of the department’s activities to ensure the means equate to the financial, tactical, and strategic expectations of the business.

·       Garners alignment with key vendor partners to sustain our strategic vision.

Financial management:

·       Develops overall budget in close coordination with VP and Retail CEO

·       Develops annual and quarterly sales and total profit projections by contributor in their area of responsibility.

·       Ensures financial results meet commitments.

Assortment, Pricing, and Sourcing:

·       Works directly with Margin Management and Pricing team to identify and act on opportunities to improve margin.

·       Engineers retail pricing parameters to ensure departmental performance.

·       Supervises vendor relationships and is responsible sustaining and building long term relationships.

·       Drives negotiations with vendors to ensure our size is leveraged in obtaining best-in-class rates for all products.

Ad/ Promo Responsibilities:

·       Ensures collaboration of the promotional activities within marketing.

·       Ensuring those operatives are fiscally sound.

·       Works to align planning process, systems and execution.

Managerial Responsibilities:

·       Responsible for continued development of high potential talent.

·       Develops and executes the merchandising training and development plan.

·       Impacts the organization through the management of internal and external resources across teams.

·       Establish a high caliber team by assisting individuals in increasing their knowledge and experience to contribute at a higher degree.

Communication:

·       Maintains formal and informal channels of upward, downward, and lateral communication, while fostering discussion, suggestion, and expression of thought and innovation.

·       Performs other relevant job duties as required.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

Education/ Certifications: (Required & Preferred)

·       Bachelor’s degree required, or equivalent work experience.

Experience:

·       15 years minimum of retail/wholesale experience required.

·       Working knowledge around planogram generation, set activity, sourcing, supply chain management, category business planning, marketing, consumer research, and financial management practices across multiple banners or regions/geographies.

Other Skills/ Abilities:

·       Must possess analytical, planning, forecasting and budgeting skills.

·       Proven ability to be a firm, decisive leader.

·       Must demonstrate strong planning, organizational, leadership and project management skills.

·       Ability to train and develop Director and Managers level team.

·       Ability to build and maintain effective business relationships at all levels of the company and business community.

·       Must possess ability to influence without authority.

·       Well-developed computer aptitude with proficient skills and knowledge of office software programs; ability to adapt to and learn new systems quickly.

·       Excellent written and verbal communication skills to develop and maintain effective business relationships internally and externally.