We are hiring a Director, Category Strategy & Innovation
What’s in it for you!
- Hybrid work environment
- 100% employer-paid health, dental, life, travel, and EAP benefits after the eligibility period
- Food Discounts across Fresh City, Mama Earth, The Healthy Butcher & Mabel’s Bakery
- You’ll be putting more food dollars into local farms so they can continue to grow the most nutritious and delicious produce while preserving farmland and biodiversity in Ontario.
- You’ll be supporting the creation of a local food system, built on principles of sustainability and biodiversity, and demonstrating that this can be both financially sustainable for farmers and affordable for consumers
- You’ll be joining a thriving business driven by an experienced leadership team who have built successful businesses
- You’ll be joining a team of talented, fun people who take pride in supporting the Local Food System
What you will be doing:
Role Overview:
At Fresh City, we are on a mission to help people better the world through their food choices and have a vision to be the leading source in Canada for easy, curated, conscious foodie experiences.
The Director of Category Strategy and Innovation is a pivotal role required to enable our mission and vision. Reporting directly to the CEO and as a member of the Fresh City Leadership Team, they will lead the creation of the category annual strategic plans and oversee the execution of the category curation, product development, and innovation strategies across our 4 brands - Fresh City, Mama Earth, Mabel’s Bakery, and The Healthy Butcher.
Specifically, they will:
- lead what Fresh City sells across channels, brands, house-made or sourced, and how we do it profitably
- determine the right mix and type of products that will deliver on the promise of Trusted Curated Access to our Conscious Foodie, while supporting our mission and values
- own delivering on all category economics
The category and product offerings are broad, including produce, grocery, and our in-house made brands (prepared meals, artisan bakery, butchery). The brand and product strategies execute online via our Mama Earth channel and through our five (5) retail brick & mortar locations (Mabel’s Bakery & The Healthy Butcher). This requires a strategic portfolio management approach that can skillfully prioritize to deliver the right balance between creating a differentiated customer experience and the required economics.
The Director of Category Strategy and Innovation owns full P&L accountability across all product categories including managing revenue, COGS, gross margin, and ticket. They also influence and contribute to our customer & employee satisfaction metrics. They are able to think strategically with high-level focus, but aren’t afraid to get into the weeds to support execution as needed.
What You’ll be Doing:
- serve as the key curator and decision maker to effectively drive the strategic roadmap and execute long and short-term product strategies - considering omni-channel availability of our brands and customer experience
- lead all housemade brand R&D with the Sr Manager, Innovation to bring innovation to market (online & retail locations), manage the innovation funnel process and launch new products to drive customer experience/engagement, business metrics, and mission deliverablesin-house, large-scale scratch kitchen, bakery, butchery focussing on clean, high quality ingredients (local and/or organic)
Mabel’s Baked Goods & Prepared Mealsfrom scratch artisan sourdough bread and baked goods
delicious desserts and treats
hand-made fresh and frozen prepared meals
The Healthy Butcherlocal, ethically raised protein from small farm partners
whole animal butchery and processing
daily cut to order online demand
Fresh Citymade-to-order healthy, fresh salads, meal jars, and prepared vegetables
synergies with Fresh City’s Urban Farm at Downsview Park
- scan business/industry-wide/adjacent category trends, understand direct and indirect competitive landscape
- analyze consumer behaviour and food trends, and identify opportunities for Fresh City Farms’ (FCF) brands
- drive innovation within new and existing categories, and regularly review portfolio to optimize the assortment for our target customer and to achieve business results
- influence and manage the financial targets for all product lines, which includes the categories we enter, assortment decisions, pricing strategies, business plans, and full P&L accountability
- review sales/financial analysis, performance of products/programs, and determine potential categories to enter/exit/redevelop
- collaborate with Business Ops Team to review supplier/vendor portfolio, and conduct regular reviews to ensure business success for FCF and sustainability for our farmer/producer/vendor partners
- collaborate with Fulfillment and Logistics Teams to ensure end-to-end product quality delivered to online and retail customers through the entire distribution chain
- collaborate and work cross-functionally with all departments to successfully integrate new products online and in retail locations - including Marketing, Production, Operations, Finance, Logistics, Purchasing, Customer Service, Tech
- attend local key trade shows and other fodder for ensuring FCF curation is leading edge and on the forefront of customer trends and macro food movements
- coach and mentor a team of 5-6 direct and indirect reports
- member of the Leadership Team, working closely with the CEO, Chief Technology/Marketing Officer, Chief Operations Officer, and other cross-functional Directors to envision the future for FCF and achieve all business, customer, and employee engagement metrics
What you will bring to the table:
Ideal Experience:
- 5+ years in people leadership/management experience
- 5-8 years of retail/e-commerce brand/category management experience in an omni-channel food environment
- strong analytics, critical thinking, financial skills, and business acumen
- strong experience managing a significant P&L and operating performance metrics
- experience leading and executing product development process and new product commercialization.
- experience with medium/large-scale manufacturing and frozen production is a strong asset
- experience working with an ERP system
- food, health or lifestyle brand experience, preferably within a startup or hospitality environment, is an asset
Leadership Skills:
- strong communication skills with the ability to foster cross-functional relationships and navigate through competing priorities
- servant leadership approach with the ability to build and motivate a team to drive execution and results
- ability to adapt to a fast-paced, dynamic, entrepreneurial environment
- creative, “think outside the box” problem-solver, champions innovation
- high emotional intelligence, thoughtful, empathetic, genuine
- self-starter who is comfortable and can thrive with white space and light-resourced environment
- nimble, agile, rolled up sleeves – an entrepreneurial spirit with the ability to drive change
Our Commitment:
We thank all interested applicants; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Fresh City is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We consider all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, and Indigenous status. If you require accommodation during the recruitment and selection process, please let us know. We will work with you to provide as seamless a recruitment experience as possible.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Employee assistance program
- Extended health care
- On-site parking
- Store discount
- Vision care
Schedule:
Ability to commute/relocate:
- North York, ON: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in North York, ON
