Head of Grocery

Jobtailor; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Giant Tiger in Ottawa is seeking a Senior Merchandising Leader to shape the grocery assortment and pricing, driving a low-price position. You will lead strategy across procurement, private label and supplier partnerships.

This role collaborates with Supply Chain, Marketing, and Store Operations to translate data into priorities, steer teams, and ensure product availability and profitability across hard discount formats.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in grocery or retail.

Responsibilities

• Lead Giant Tiger's Grocery merchandising strategy to strengthen its Hard Discount and lowest-price position.
• Lead the evolution toward a simpler, more productive grocery assortment.
• Make disciplined SKU decisions based on customer traffic, sales, profit and inventory productivity.
• Develop pricing and promotional strategies.
• Partner with Private Label to identify assortment opportunities and grow the private label business.
• Develop strategies that earn franchise owners' support using commercial judgment, data and store insight.
• Partner with Supply Chain, Replenishment, Marketing, Merchandising Financial Planning and Store Operations.
• Provide demand forecasts and commercial insights supporting inventory planning, product availability and inventory turns.
• Build strategic vendor relationships and negotiate competitive commercial terms.
• Lead, coach and develop a team of merchandising leaders.
• Report to the Executive Vice President and Chief Merchant

Skills

Leadership

Team Leadership and Development

Vendor Management

Commercial Mindset

Bilingual FR/EN

Education

University Undergraduate degree in Business or Merchandising

Job description

• Lead Giant Tiger's Grocery merchandising strategy to strengthen its Hard Discount and lowest-price position
• Lead the evolution toward a simpler, more productive grocery assortment
• Make disciplined SKU decisions based on customer traffic, sales, profit and inventory productivity
• Develop pricing and promotional strategies
• Partner with Private Label to identify assortment opportunities and grow the private label business
• Develop strategies that earn franchise owners' support using commercial judgment, data and store insight
• Partner with Supply Chain, Replenishment, Marketing, Merchandising Financial Planning and Store Operations
• Provide demand forecasts and commercial insights supporting inventory planning, product availability and inventory turns
• Build strategic vendor relationships and negotiate competitive commercial terms
• Lead, coach and develop a team of merchandising leaders
• Report to the Executive Vice President and Chief Merchant

Requirements

• 10+ years of progressive experience in grocery, food merchandising or a related retail environment
• 5+ years of experience leading merchandising or category teams, including leading and developing other leaders
• Strong grocery/fresh merchandising experience with accountability for assortment, pricing, category performance and profitability
• Strong commercial mindset and ability to identify products that drive customer traffic, sales and profit
• Experience simplifying or rationalizing assortments while protecting customer value and business performance
• Ability to translate merchandising strategy into clear priorities and day-to-day execution
• Experience influencing store operators, franchisees or other independent business partners
• Ability to work effectively with Supply Chain, Marketing, Operations, Finance and merchandising teams
• Strong vendor management and negotiation experience
• University Undergraduate degree in Business, Merchandising, or related field and 10 years' experience in the retail industry OR 15 years' experience in the retail industry
• Experience within Hard Discount, value or limited-assortment retail environment is an asset
• Private label merchandising experience is an asset
• Experience across fresh and ambient grocery categories is an asset
• Experience within a franchise retail environment is an asset
• Bilingual in FR and EN is an asset
• Must be legally authorized to work in Canada and maintain authorization for the duration of employment
• Moderate travel required, including regular travel to the Giant Tiger Home Office, stores, and vendors

Core Competencies

Demonstrates extensive experience in grocery merchandising, with a strong focus on assortment management, pricing strategies, and vendor negotiations. Proven ability to lead and develop teams while driving commercial success and customer engagement in a retail environment.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Grocery Merchandising Experience
• Team Leadership and Development
• Vendor Management and Negotiation
• Commercial Mindset
• Bilingual in French and English

Hard Skills

• SKU Decision Making
• Pricing Strategy Development
• Demand Forecasting
• Assortment Simplification
• Category Performance Accountability
• Private Label Merchandising
• Inventory Planning
• Sales and Profit Analysis
• Retail Industry Experience
• Franchise Retail Experience

Soft Skills

• Influencing Store Operators
• Collaboration with Cross-Functional Teams
• Commercial Judgment

Industry Keywords

• Hard Discount Retail
• Limited-Assortment Retail
• Fresh Grocery Categories
• Ambient Grocery Categories
• Merchandising Financial Planning