National Director Of Category Development – Fresh

About the company

Albertsons Companies is at the forefront of the revolution in retail. With a fixation on innovation and building culture, our team is rallying our company around a unique vision: forging a retail winner that is admired for national strength, deep roots in the communities we serve, and a team that has passion for food and delivering great service.

Albertsons is one of the largest retail employers. We operate in 34 states and the District of Columbia under the Albertsons banner, as well as Safeway, Tom Thumb, Jewel Osco, Shaw’s and many more recognizable names.

What you will be doing

Albertsons Companies has an exciting opportunity to strategically manage a group of Fresh categories nationally for the entire organization. You will play an integral part in our growth and transformation as a company, as we seek to provide industry leading customer experience and grow our market share in Fresh and across the store.

The National Director of Category Development will report to a Vice President - National Merchandising and will be responsible for developing and managing category development strategies for a group of Fresh categories. You will collaborate with Division merchants & functional partners and lead category planning activities for your assigned categories (Produce / Deli &Food Service / Bakery/ Floral/ Meat & Seafood).

The position will be in one of our division offices (Boise, ID, Bellevue WA, Clackamas OR, Pleasanton CA, Fullerton CA, Phoenix AZ, Denver CO, Itasca IL, Arlington TX, Lanham, MD, Malvern PA, Lubbock, TX, or West Bridgewater MA)

What we are searching for

• Deep Department & Category expertise and experience in Fresh categories Deli/Food Service
• Field or relevant business experience where a solid understanding of marketing, merchandising, consumer research, and financial management practices have been gained
• Excellent understanding of store operations, merchandising methodologies and practices, and P&L and financial management
• Strong quantitative, marketing, merchandising, and consumer research background to read, interpret, and understand how internal and external factors influence financial results
• Understanding of procurement, logistics, and inventory management
• Proven record of being a strong negotiator
• Skilled in Category Business Planning
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills and experience in taking initiative and making decisive yet appropriate decisions
• Able to effectively lead a collaborative process with multiple stakeholders

The salary range is $135,800 to $190,100 annually. Starting salary will vary based on criteria such as location, experience and qualifications. There may be flexibility for exceptional candidates.

Benefits may include, medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance, sick pay, PTO/Vacation pay/Flexible Time Off, paid holidays (8-9 days annually) bereavement pay and retirement benefits (such as 401(k) eligibility). [If applicable:] Associates in this position are also eligible for a quarterly bonus.

We believe the successful candidate has

• Ability to create an environment that fosters learning, teaching, growth, risk-taking and innovation.
• 5+ years retail merchandising/category management and operations experience including perishable and non-perishable products and programs
• Up to 40% travel depending on location
• Balances the needs of multiple stakeholders while maintaining strong executive level partnerships.
• Highly self-motivated and self-learner that assumes personal accountability for results and performance that has a passion for lifelong learning and personal development.
• Experience with successfully leading large-scale projects across multiple retail locations.
• Demonstrated success record in collaborating with multiple functional areas to achieve overall company goals which would include but not limited to Divisions, Senior Leadership, Procurement and Vendor Partners.
• Passion for the Fresh Produce industry, focusing on delighting our customers and continual focus on growing produce education and consumption with our customers.
• Ability to implement innovative plans in reaction to a range of business and consumer challenges and to sell these programs to our Division Management Teams.
• Proven leadership and ability to lead by influencing others without direct authority, both formally and informally.
• Ability to ask strategic and tactical questions leading to identification of root causes of problems
• Proven ability to objectively interpret research, extract insights, and link to strategies.
• 3+ years Division and or National level retail Produce operations, merchandising/category, marketing, and finance experience.

Preferred Skills:

• Advanced degree (e.g., MBA)
• Proficiency with Microsoft Suite programs
• Proficiency with merchandising tools (e.g., OMNI, IRI, Nielsen, Mintel, Periscope, Demand Tech, I2E, BI Dashboards, GOLD)

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