Jr. Category Advisor

Rippling, Inc.; Toronto; On-site; CAD 55,000 - 73,000; Full time

Job summary

Analyticsmart, a boutique analytics firm, seeks a Jr. Category Advisor to support Walmart with data-driven category insights. You will coordinate projects across vendors and stakeholders, translate analyses into actionable recommendations, and help build dashboards and presentations for executives.

Based in Canada with offices in Toronto and Montreal, the role focuses on category management, retail KPIs and cross-functional collaboration to drive growth and profitability for our clients.

Qualifications

• Experience coordinating projects with multiple external vendors and internal stakeholders.
• Strong knowledge of category management principles and retail KPIs in the Canadian grocery/health/beauty environment.
• Experience with Walmart Retail Link or similar data platforms is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Act as a day-to-day category management partner for Walmart stakeholders with actionable insights.
• Coordinate category projects, define scope, timelines, responsibilities and deliverables.
• Build project plans, track progress, mitigate risks and maintain documentation.
• Analyze POS, market, shopper and space data to identify opportunities and support recommendations.
• Develop category reviews, scorecards and executive-ready presentations.
• Translate complex analyses into clear stories for merchants and senior leaders.
• Maintain strong communication across vendors, Analyticsmart teams and Walmart stakeholders.

Skills

Category management

Retail analytics

Vendor coordination

Project management

Stakeholder communication

Data storytelling

Excel

PowerPoint

Power BI

Tableau

Education

Post-secondary education in business/analytics/marketing/retail management

Tools

Walmart Retail Link

Circana

NielsenIQ

Numerator

SQL

JDA

Blue Yonder

Job description

Analyticsmart is a boutique analytics firms in the Consumer Package Goods Industry in Canada and the United States. Our mission is to translate data into meaningful, measurable, and actionable insights that drive growth and increase profitability for businesses. We provide smart analytical services and solutions that are tailored to our client’s specific business needs and are easy to implement.

We believe that through our analytics, organizations can gain a distinct advantage increasing their competitiveness in the market. We have developed a wide array of data-optimizing services and solutions to create effective information management strategies aimed at driving results at a lower cost.

The capabilities and reliability of Analyticsmart have created long-lasting partnerships with global brands and retailers in Canada and abroad.

Analyticsmart was founded in 2009. We currently have offices in Toronto and Montreal. We are financially prudent as we are a successful bootstrapped company looking forward to growing in larger markets.

What sets us apart?

• Incredible offices in Liberty Village and Old Town Montreal
• Fun work environment
• Our experience and accomplishments within the industries that we serve
• Our value propositions
• We take our partnerships seriously. We are very dedicated to our clients
• We work with small clients as well as global brands
• We are a different kind of company and that makes all the difference

The Opportunity

The Jr. Category Advisor will support Walmart by turning category, shopper, sales, space and market data into clear recommendations while coordinating projects across Walmart stakeholders, manufacturers, brokers, data providers and internal Analyticsmart teams. This role combines strong category management capability with disciplined project coordination. The successful candidate will keep multiple vendor workstreams organized, ensure accurate and timely deliverables, and provide objective, fact-based recommendations that support Walmart category strategies and business priorities.

What you’ll do

Act as a day-to-day category management partner supporting Walmart merchants and category stakeholders with timely, objective and actionable insights.

• Coordinate category projects involving multiple vendors, including project intake, scope confirmation, timelines, responsibilities, dependencies, meetings, status updates and final deliverables.
• Build and maintain detailed project plans, trackers, calendars and action logs; proactively identify risks, resolve gaps and escape issues before deadlines are affected.
• Serve as a central point of coordination among Walmart, participating vendors, brokers, data providers and Analyticsmart teams while maintaining confidentiality and neutrality.
• Collect, validate and consolidate vendor inputs, ensuring submissions are complete, consistent, accurate and aligned with Walmart requirements.
• Lead recurring project calls and working sessions; prepare agendas, document decisions, assign actions and follow through to completion.
• Analyze POS, market, shopper, assortment, pricing, promotion and space data to identify category opportunities and support recommendations.
• Develop category reviews, modular or assortment analyses, scorecards, dashboards and executive-ready presentations.
• Support modular and planogram processes by coordinating item information, images, attributes, assortment decisions, space inputs and vendor feedback.
• Translate complex analysis into concise stories and recommendations tailored to merchants, vendors and senior stakeholders.
• Monitor project progress and category performance against agreed objectives, KPIs and milestones, and communicate changes clearly.
• Maintain strong documentation, version control and quality assurance across data files, presentations and final recommendations.
• Support continuous improvement by standardizing templates, workflows and communication practices across category projects.

Qualifications

Two or more years of experience in category management, retail analytics, merchandising, CPG, supplier collaboration or a related field.

• Demonstrated experience coordinating projects with multiple external vendors and internal stakeholders.
• Strong knowledge of category management principles, retail KPIs and the Canadian grocery, mass, health and beauty, or general merchandise environment.
• Experience with retailer and syndicated data such as Walmart Retail Link or Luminate, Circana, NielsenIQ, Numerator or comparable platforms is an asset.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint; experience with Power BI, Tableau, SQL, JDA, Blue Yonder or space‑planning tools is an asset.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities, tight timelines and multiple workstreams without losing attention to detail.
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills, with the confidence to facilitate meetings and communicate with merchants, vendors and senior leaders.
• A collaborative, service-oriented approach combined with sound judgment, discretion and the ability to
• Post‑secondary education in business, analytics, marketing, retail management or a related discipline, or

Success in This Role

• Projects are delivered accurately, on time and with clear ownership across all participating vendors.
• Walmart stakeholders receive concise, objective insights and recommendations that are easy to act on.
• Vendor communication is organized, professional and consistent, with risks and decisions documented early.
• Category deliverables meet high standards for data quality, analytical rigor, storytelling and presentation readiness.
• Processes become more efficient through stronger planning, reusable tools and disciplined follow‑up.

Core Competencies

Category Management | Project Coordination | Vendor Management | Retail Analytics | Stakeholder Communication | Data Quality | Presentation Development | Problem Solving | Accountability