Manager Lawtons Merch & Local Dev

Sobeys; Mississauga; Hybrid; CAD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Sobeys is seeking a Manager for Lawtons Merch & Local Development to lead the national strategy and manage a team of specialists. This role involves overseeing local assortments, vendor relationships, and strategic planning to enhance regional relevance and profitability.

Benefits

Competitive Benefits Package

Access to Virtual Health Care

Retirement and Savings Plan

10% in-store discount

Learning and Development Resources

Parental leave top-up

Paid Vacation and Days-off

Qualifications

• 5 years related experience in category management or merchandising.
• Experience with small vendors and food safety regulations.
• Strong experience in local supplier/vendor development.

Responsibilities

• Manage and coach a national team of Local Development Specialists.
• Create the national Local Development strategy in alignment with goals.
• Guide the selection of local assortments and analyze sales performance.

Skills

Leadership

Category management

Vendor management

Food safety

Education

University Degree (business or related field)

Job description

Requisition ID: 189718
Career Group: Corporate Office Careers
Job Category: Lawtons Category Mgmt and Merchandising
Travel Requirements: 0 - 10%
Job Type: Full-Time

Country: Canada (CA)
Province: Nova Scotia; Ontario
City: Mississauga, Stellarton, Dartmouth, Calgary
Location: Tahoe Office, Calgary Office, Foord St. Office, King St. Office

Embark on a rewarding career with Sobeys Inc., celebrated among Canada’s Top 100 employers, where your talents contribute to our commitment to excellence and community impact.

Our family of 128,000 employees and franchise affiliates share a collective passion for delivering exceptional shopping experiences and amazing food to all our customers. Our mission is to nurture the things that make life better – great experiences, families, communities, and our employees. We are a family nurturing families.

A proudly Canadian company, we started in a small town in Nova Scotia but we are now in communities of all sizes across this great country. With over 1,600 stores in all 10 provinces, you may know us as Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, Lawtons Drug Stores or another of our great banners but we are all one extended family.

Ready to Make an impact?

Sobeys is full of exciting opportunities, and we are always looking for bright new talent to join our team!

We currently have an opening for Manager- Lawtons Merch & Local Development to lead the national Local Development strategy through a team of Local Development Specialists, enabling profitable growth of local assortments while deepening regional relevance and supplier partnerships.

Here’s where you’ll be focusing:

Team Leadership:

• Manage and coach a national team of Local Development Specialists.
• Ensure alignment, development, and performance across regions.

Strategy Development & Communication:

• Create the national Local Development strategy in alignment with departmental and enterprise goals.
• Prepare strategic updates, performance insights, and recommendations for Director-level review and decision-making.
• Advocate for the local development agenda across cross-functional teams and influence broader category integration.

Strategic Portfolio Oversight:

• Guide the selection and management of local assortments to ensure consumer relevance and commercial viability.
• Oversee weekly performance (sales, profit, shrink) to drive positive P&L contribution and YOY growth.

Supplier Readiness & Compliance:

• Act as a key internal resource for supplier setup, including onboarding, regulatory standards, food safety, costing, and data maintenance.

Stakeholder Partnerships:

• Build and maintain internal and external relationships

Category Strategy & Planning:

• Develop and execute the category strategy for NOW/Wellness, aligned with customer needs and regional trends.

Assortment & Promotions:

• Manage item selection, pricing, and promotional calendars to support sales and margin targets

Vendor Management:

• Build and manage relationships with key vendors and internal teams to deliver compelling category offers.

Performance Monitoring:

• Analyze sales and profit performance and adjust tactics to optimize category results.

Category Execution:

• Collaborate with teams across merchandising, marketing, and store operations to ensure flawless execution.

What you have to offer:

• University Degree (business or related field)
• 5 years related experience
• Experience with small vendors; regulatory process; food safety; people leadership
• Strong experience in local supplier/vendor development
• Category management fundamentals

#LI-Hybrid

#LI-DB1

At Sobeys we require our teammates to have the ability to adhere to a hybrid work model that requires your presence at one of our office locations at least three days per week. This requirement is integral to our commitment to team collaboration and the overall success of our office culture.

We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package, which varies by role and designed to help our teammates to live better – physically, financially and emotionally.

Some websites share our job opportunities and may provide salary estimates without our knowledge. These estimates are based on similar jobs and postings for general comparison, but these numbers are not provided by our organization nor monitored for accuracy.

We will consider factors such as your working location, work experience and skills as well as internal equity, and market conditions to ensure the selected candidate is paid fairly and competitively. We look forward to discussing the specific compensation details relevant to this role with candidates who are selected to move forward in the recruitment process.

Our Total Rewards programs, for full-time teammates, goes well beyond your paycheque:

• Competitive Benefits Package, tailored to meet your needs, including health and dental coverage, life, short- and long-term disability insurance.
• Access to Virtual Health Care Platform and Employee and Family Assistance Program.
• A Retirement and Savings Plan that provides you with the opportunity to build and add value to your savings.
• A 10% in-store discount at our participating banners and access to a wide range of other discount programs, making your purchases more affordable.
• Learning and Development Resources to fuel your professional growth.
• Parental leave top-up
• Paid Vacation and Days-off

We are committed to accommodating applicants with disabilities throughout the hiring process and will work with applicants requesting accommodation at any stage of this process.