Description
Blue Rock Search has partnered with Subway Canada to identify their next Senior Category Manager, Menu & Innovation. The Senior Category Manager is an 18-month contract role with the potential of turning into a full-time position upon contract completion. This person is responsible for providing leadership in the planning, development and implementation of Food & Beverage menu and innovation. In addition, this position will be responsible for leveraging strategic insights to build business plans to meet sales objectives. They will closely monitor business, category, consumer and competitive trends within the industry and identify the relevant implications and opportunities. This role leads a cross-functional team on new product introductions and menu management.
Key responsibilities include:
- Manages the day-to-day business processes for the brand(s) to deliver budget commitment
- Develops plans and programs that will maintain and drive future sales for the category, specifically, product positioning, establishing sales targets, and guiding pricing strategy
- Develops business presentations for key stakeholders including: National FAF Board, the Executive Team Category and the Global Innovation Group
- Leads Project Management through the Stage Gate Process
- Develops category plans by incorporating market and consumer insights to inform Pricing and Portfolio Assortment
- Establishes strategic innovation priorities and ensures alignment with cross-functional team
Position responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Project Management from inception to commercialization
- Cross Functional Leadership to develop projects on time and on budget
- Strategic Menu Planning to drive innovation pipeline
- Data analysis and reporting to support the delivery of business results
Skills and abilities required:
- Strong strategic planning, problem solving and analytical skills
- Experience with new product introductions from ideation to commercialization
- Strong business acumen with ability to translate insights into actionable recommendations
- Effective project management skills with the ability to inspire and motivate cross-functional teams
- Exceptional communication and business presentation skills
- Experience in coaching direct reports and managing high performance teams
- Proven ability to manage ambiguity and thrives in an environment of change
A successful candidate will have:
- 7+ years’ experience in QSR (highly preferred) or fast-moving CPG
- Skilled at leading commercialization projects
- Experience managing the menu including launching new products and removing slow moving ingredients
- Bachelor’s degree Marketing, Advertising, Communications, Journalism, PR
- Ability to travel up to 15%