National Director Of Category Development - Bakery

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 (Bakery).
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

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

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

• 3+ years Division and or National level retail Produce operations, merchandising/category, marketing, and finance experience.
• Ability to create an environment that fosters learning, teaching, growth, risk-taking and innovation.
• Balances the needs of multiple stakeholders while maintaining strong executive level partnerships.
• 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.
• Highly self-motivated and self-learner that assumes personal accountability for results and performance that has a passion for lifelong learning and personal development.
• Proven leadership and ability to lead by influencing others without direct authority, both formally and informally.
• 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.
• Up to 40% travel depending on location
• 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.
• Experience with successfully leading large-scale projects across multiple retail locations.
• Passion for the Fresh Produce industry, focusing on delighting our customers and continual focus on growing produce education and consumption with our customers.
• 5+ years retail merchandising/category management and operations experience including perishable and non-perishable products and programs

Preferred Skills:

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