Category Manager

Pacific Smoke International Inc.; Markham; Hybrid; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Group benefits from day 1

Year-end performance bonus

Three weeks vacation

Hybrid work (four days in office)

Distributor pricing on products

Company events

Job summary

Pacific Smoke International Inc. is seeking a Category Manager to lead external brand and portfolio strategies within our Markham headquarters.

You will oversee brand performance across hardware and e-liquids, guiding go-to-market plans and coordinating with sales, product development, and supply chain to ensure growth and profitability. Ideal candidates bring 2–3 years in product/category management, strong negotiation skills, and a data-driven mindset.

Qualifications

• 2-3 years of working experience in product/category management or related experience.
• Proven advanced negotiation and contract management skills.
• Strong communication, presentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Strong cost-benefit and business analysis abilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute external brand/portfolio strategies and plans to achieve company objectives.
• Oversee brand/portfolio development from research to marketing and sales strategies.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to build brands set up for success and sustainable performance.
• Coordinate with brand owners and manufacturers to optimize product selection and portfolio strategy.
• Manage brand planning calendar and ensure timely delivery of all deliverables.

Skills

Mandarin

Vape industry knowledge

Negotiation

Procurement risks

Strategy development

Adaptability

Cost-benefit analysis

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Job description

Do you believe that a company’s success depends on its people? If so, PSI is the place for you! PSI is nothing without people who build, design, and support it. We’re looking for a Category Manager to join our scaling organization.

What’s Important To Us

We are seeking to attract individuals who share and demonstrate our core values: Judgement, Curiosity, Agility, Results, Ownership, Teamwork.

At Pacific Smoke International, our mission is to help people quit smoking by providing safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes. As the leading distributor of electronic vaporizers and award-winning vaping products in Canada, we've made significant progress since our founding in 2013. However, we have much more to accomplish for our customers, and we’re looking for a culturally aligned Category Manager to join in our Marketing team at our Markham headquarters. Take part in joining an exciting career in a booming industry!

Overview

The Category Manager will oversee the performance of all external brands or new brands, including but not limited to hardware, e-liquids, and other brands and products that are identified to fit into the company’s business strategy. This includes leadership in the planning and execution of go-to-market strategies and each brand’s financial performance. The Category Manager would work with all external product brands to organize and direct activities to achieve business development objectives.

This person would enjoy empowerment to impact change and would be inspired to contribute toward the greater vision of eliminating combustible cigarettes from the world. Strong business acumen, curiosity, people skills, savvy communications, and an analytical, solution-oriented mindset would lead to success in this role. Our managers are not afraid to get their hands dirty and will dive into solving problems and seizing opportunities with the team.

If you are an innovative thinker who is fulfilled by driving brand/product performance, overcoming challenges, and seizing opportunities to launch and build high-performance external brands/products with a sense of financial sustainability in a constantly evolving environment, this is the ideal role for you!

Key Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Senior Marketing team and other department managers to develop and execute external brand/portfolio strategies and plans to achieve the company’s and department’s objectives.
• Oversee the external brand/portfolio development process from research, ideation, planning, development, marketing, and sales strategies for entire external brands.
• Deal with external brand owners and manufacturers to continuously optimize product selection, portfolio strategy, and relationship management.
• Work with relevant cross-functional teams (e.g., marketing intelligence, product development, digital marketing, sales teams) to build external brands and products that are set up for success and built to sustainably perform.
• Continuously assess the competitive landscape and consumer insights to identify trends, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• Assess brand/product performance and effectiveness; strategically add new products, evolve promotional strategies, and minimize slow-moving SKUs.
• Strategize and oversee go-to-market launch strategies and conduct post-mortem analyses to measure effectiveness and refine tactics.
• Manage and be accountable for brand financial performance and the brand marketing budget.
• Generate and analyze reports from various data sources such as regional/national sales, digital marketing analytics, and more to improve brand/product strategies and performance.
• Assist line manager to define, measure, and report on major KPIs relating to business performance to senior management.
• Collaborate on merchandising and guide the creation of point-of-sale materials to increase brand awareness and exposure.
• Create engaging presentations and present new products and promotions to cross-functional departments and key stakeholders.
• Be the main contact point and informed decision-maker for brand-related topics through collaborations with sales, product development, supply chain, demand planning, project management, order desk, and so on.
• Manage the brand planning calendar; coordinate cross-functional activities and plan processes, manage timelines, and ensure timely completion of all deliverables.
• Other related duties as assigned from time to time.

Qualifications And Skills

• Mandarin speaking is strongly preferred.
• Vape (cannabis or tobacco) industry product, supplier & sales knowledge is required.
• Proven advanced negotiation and contract management skills.
• Ability to identify, quantify and effectively mitigate procurement risks.
• Ability to develop actionable strategies and oversee their execution.
• Ability to adapt to changing requirements and provide the necessary support.
• Strong cost-benefit and business analysis abilities.
• 2-3 years of working experience in product/category management or related experience.
• Strong communication, presentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Strong cost-benefit and business analysis abilities and proven project management skills.

What You Can Expect From Pacific Smoke International

• A total compensation package that includes group benefits program starting from day 1 of joining and year-end performance bonus.
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities to help build the career you want and hit the goals you set, while ensuring you’re reaching your fullest potential.
• Three weeks of Vacation.
• Hybrid work (four days in office).
• A unique opportunity to build, grow and leave your impact on the industry.
• To work with a group of people who are humble, supportive, and care about our customers.
• Product at distributor pricing to all employees.
• Company events.

Pacific Smoke International is an equal opportunity employer and encourages all qualified candidates to apply. In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), we are committed to providing accommodations for people with disabilities to support their participation in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process.