Director, North American Food

Job Description

The Director, North American Food is responsible for driving success within their assigned food categories through strong collaboration and communication with the Business units and other cross functional teams. This Director leads his/her business strategy, assortment recommendations, product development, etc., and manages relationships with Suppliers, Manufacturers, and Operations as well as stewarding all necessary quality and safety controls. The Director, North American Food is responsible for the P&L of their assigned area, as well as driving sales and profit growth of Food. They will lead and drive rapid evolution in existing offers across their food categories by building the tools and common processes across the organization and creating a center of excellence to share successes, insights, and reporting on results.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Manage Food categories to drive topline sales and traffic, secure optimal COGS, grow profitability and drive differentiation for our brands in the markets in which we compete.
• Collaborate with manufacturers/vendor partners on insights, emerging trends, and competitive environment to share with stakeholders.
• Secure support from vendor partners on programming and exclusive products to further enhance Circle K’s position in the marketplace. Develop assortment strategy, annual promotional calendar outlining activities.
• Collaborate with Marketing and other cross-functional teams (internal/external) to define communication objectives and strategies for marketing implementation and ongoing execution.
• Collaborate with Global teams to develop solutions or enhancements that support execution in store, including sales floor and backroom needs of existing programs. 
• Collaborate with Global Procurement Team to secure support on National programming.
• Structure an ongoing training and communication plan to help educate, coach, and share across the company. Engage local resources in business units to implement in-store training.
• Develop and facilitate execution of “easy” best in class training and tools by collaborating with internal/external resources and ensure updates occur as needed based on changing programs, regulations, etc.
• Achieve business strategy and financial objectives through preparation of an annual business plan.
• Develop internal and external presentations as needed for business reviews etc.; Able to create storylines and convey strategic messages into professional presentations.
• Ensure Safety and Quality are secured in all products, and ACT company and shareholder best interests are always at center of decision making.
• Engage in regular BU and market visits; Participate in relevant industry events.
• Ad hoc problem solving and day-to-day tasks as needed to support company needs.
• Flexible with working hours, required travel to support BU’s, suppliers, and global ways of working.
• Other duties as assigned by Supervisor.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Broad experience in merchandising, vendor collaboration, management, supply chain and quality assurance in a retail restaurant or CPG environment
• Skilled using merchandising or marketing metrics, consumer insights, and data to drive business decisions.
• Analytical skills and fact-based decision making
• Understanding of retail store operations and needs
• Firsthand ability to lead &/or collaborate with different functions in the organization.
• Proven problem-solver with excellent written and verbal communication skills (in English) and attention to detail
• Broad experience in vendor collaboration, management, supply chain and quality assurance in a retail or CPG environment
• A minimum of 5 years or more experience working in Merchandising, Foodservice, and/or Operations in a related retail or CPG industry.

EDUCATION:

• College graduate with 5+ years of relevant experience preferred.
• Fluent in English (oral and written)
• Category management and/or product development experience
• Proficiency with MS Outlook, Excel, Power BI, Smartsheet, PowerPoint, and Word
• Food safe certification

PERSONALITY PROFILE:

• Strong Collaboration
• Leading and Supervising
• Relating and Networking
• Persuading and Influencing
• Creating and Innovating
• Planning and Organizing
• Delivering results and meeting Customer Expectations
• Adapting and Responding to Change
• Entrepreneurial and Commercial Thinking

LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES:

• Customer focus: Identifies and understands customer needs and puts them first in all activities and efforts.
• Commercial mindset: Goes the extra mile to deliver results and drives the commercial success of the company.
• Continuous improvement: Courageously moves the company forward today and into the future of retail.
• Collaboration: Supportive and positive collaborator and committed to company decisions and making us succeed together. Understands the importance of supporting the business units & stores.
• Personal integrity: Promotes and lives the company standard of ethics, openness, and values.
• Strategic Development & Execution: Create category strategies and understand the importance of aligning category strategy with the company strategy and the marketplace.

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Circle K is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
The Company complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA) and all state and local disability laws.  Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation under the terms of the ADA and certain state or local laws as long as it does not impose an undue hardship on the Company. Please inform the Company’s Human Resources Representative if you need assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.

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