Category Planning Manager

The Role: Category Planning Manager

About Rexall:

We’re more than just a pharmacy - we’re a leader in healthcare across Canada and a certified Great Place to Work™. Proudly recognized for our diversity, inclusion, and exceptional employee experience, we offer:

• An Award-winning workplace: Best Workplace for Women, Best for Inclusion-diversity and much more!
• Career advancement opportunities, Professional education allowance and mentorship programs.
• Flexible schedules for work-life balance including paid time off.
• Comprehensive health and dental benefits, including mental health support.
• Annual bonus, pension matching and disability insurance.

How will you make an impact:

This new role reporting to the Director, Merchandising, Planning & Analysis will support the Category Management team in coordinating the planning and forecasting for their portfolios. The lead is responsible for translating market data, consumer insights, and financial goals into cohesive, actionable strategies that drive sustainable growth across all front-store categories. The role is a key liaison between Category Management and Finance, ensuring the category initiatives are innovative, data-driven, and financially sound.

Category Planning:

• Drive the annual and seasonal category planning process, creating multi-year roadmaps that align with corporate objectives.
• Along with the category managers, lead the category review processes and postmortems. Rolls up the category reviews to ensure all budgets are met.
• Support team by developing business cases and models to evaluate category relines and initiatives.
• Supports assortment optimization, promotional strategies, new product launches, and pricing actions to ensure all align with budget.
• Analyze market trends, consumer behaviour, and competitive activity to identify and capitalize on opportunities for growth.
• Supports the strategic planning of trade spend and vendor funding to ensure investments are aligned with category goals and deliver maximum return.
• Oversees the creation and refinement of methodologies for evaluating product and POG performance.

Drive Performance & Optimization

• Establish business forecasts in collaboration with merchandising, pricing and promotions, supply chain, and marketing teams.
• Support data-driven decision-making processes within the merchandising team.
• Lead execution and analysis of detailed category review process
• Lead the development of advanced forecasting models to ensure alignment between projected and actual outcomes.
• Support department forecast meetings and shared insights across departments
• Support the development of strategies aimed at enhancing store -level efficiencies.
• Develop comprehensive business cases and models to evaluate key category initiatives, including assortment optimization, promotional strategies, new product launches, and pricing actions.
• Analyze market trends, consumer behaviour, and competitive activity to identify and capitalize on opportunities for growth.

Drive Performance & Optimization:

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for all categories, including sales, market share, gross margin, and inventory productivity.
• Partner with Category Managers to build compelling narratives and business cases for major line reviews and vendor negotiations.
• Provide oversight and guidance on post-promotional analysis, helping the team understand program effectiveness and improve future campaigns.

Foster Collaboration & Provide Leadership:

• Partner closely with the Finance team to ensure category plans are financially robust, providing the commercial context behind forecasts and budgets.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners in Supply Chain, Operations, and Marketing to ensure category plans are operationally feasible and seamlessly integrated.

How you will succeed:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Commerce, Economics, or a related field.
• 3-5+ years of progressive experience in category management, category planning, or business development, preferably within the drug, grocery or mass channels.
• Deep understanding of category management principles, including assortment, pricing, promotion, and shelf management.
• Strong experience with retail financial metrics, budgeting processes, and P&L management is required.
• Proven experience working closely with and influencing colleagues on corporate Finance teams is essential.
• Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft Excel, particularly in data analysis and modeling.
• Strong familiarity with syndicated market data is required.
• Proficiency with data visualization tools such as Power BI.
• Experience with financial planning software and ERP systems is an asset.
• Excellent analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• A proven ability to translate complex data and market insights into actionable category strategies.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to connect category plans to financial outcomes.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to build relationships and influence stakeholders across functions.
• Conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis to generate actionable insights.

Join Rexall Today!

If you're passionate about making a difference in healthcare, apply now. Help us empower healthier lives and build healthier communities together.

Are you #ALLin? Apply now and experience the Rexall difference – We Saved you a Spot!

Our hiring process uses AI-enabled tools to assist with the assessment of applications based on job-related criteria. All decisions are made by the hiring team.

Rexall Pharmacy Group is committed to providing an accessible environment for all of our customers, employees, and job applicants. Rexall Pharmacy Group will make available to any selected applicants’ accommodations and/or accessible formats should they require. Candidates are encouraged to discuss any accommodation they may need in order to allow for the most effective selection process.