Program Manager, Retail Product Transformation and Operating Model Design [AQ-25792]

Aquent; Toronto; On-site; CAD 110,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent partners with a leading Canadian retail organization to recruit a senior Program Manager for a major enterprise transformation of product information, content, digital assets, and onboarding processes. This contract role focuses on designing future-state operating models, validating new workflows, and enabling executive-ready communication.

You will lead cross-functional workshops and collaborate with HR, technology, and product leadership to drive adoption.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in business transformation, program management, operating model design, or organizational change.
• Significant experience with retail product data, content, digital assets, or product lifecycle operations.
• Ability to create executive-level presentations from complex or incomplete information.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and documentation of future-state operating models for onboarding, PIM, content enrichment, digital assets, workflows, and product lifecycle processes.
• Map current and future-state workflows, including changes, handoffs, RACI, governance, and decision rights.
• Partner with Product, Technology, Merchandising, Marketing, HR, Operations to validate new ways of working.
• Conduct organizational change impact assessments on roles, skills, and responsibilities.
• Translate complex changes into clear, practical materials for leaders and employees.
• Develop polished executive presentations communicating recommendations, options, risks and decisions.
• Facilitate cross-functional workshops, build consensus, resolve gaps, support readiness.
• Collaborate with change management and HR for training, communications, and adoption materials.

Skills

Program management

Stakeholder leadership

Workshop facilitation

Executive communication

Operating model design

Business transformation

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive presentations

Change management collaboration

Analytical thinking

Job description

Aquent is partnering with a leading Canadian retail organization seeking an experienced Program Manager to support a major enterprise transformation of product information, content, digital assets, and onboarding processes. This six-month contract offers an opportunity to shape how a complex retail business operates as it introduces modern technology, AI-enabled workflows, and new ways of working.

We're looking for a senior transformation professional who combines hands-on retail product lifecycle expertise with operating model design, organizational change impact assessment, and exceptional executive communication skills.

What you'll do

• Lead the design and documentation of future-state operating models covering product onboarding, product information management, content enrichment, digital assets, workflow management, and ongoing product lifecycle processes.
• Map current and future-state workflows, including process changes, handoffs, RACI matrices, decision rights, and governance structures.
• Partner with Product, Technology, Merchandising, Marketing, HR, Operations, and other stakeholders to validate new ways of working.
• Conduct organizational change impact assessments to identify how new platforms and processes affect responsibilities, skills, roles, and business teams.
• Translate complex technical and operational changes into clear, practical materials for business leaders and impacted employees.
• Independently develop polished executive presentations that communicate strategic implications, recommendations, options, risks, dependencies, and decisions.
• Facilitate cross-functional workshops, build consensus, resolve process gaps, and support operating model readiness.
• Collaborate with change management and HR partners to provide accurate business inputs for training, communications, and adoption activities.

What you'll bring

• 10+ years of experience in business transformation, program management, operating model design, business architecture, consulting, or organizational change.
• Significant experience with retail product data, product content, digital commerce, merchandising, or product lifecycle operations.
• Demonstrated experience designing and documenting end-to-end operating models, current/future-state workflows, RACI matrices, governance structures, and process changes.
• Experience assessing organizational impacts, including changes to roles, responsibilities, skills, and ways of working.
• Strong stakeholder leadership and workshop facilitation experience across multiple business functions.
• Proven ability to independently create executive-level PowerPoint presentations from complex or incomplete information, including recommendations, trade-offs, and decision narratives.
• Ability to work with senior leaders, HR, technology, product, and change management teams.
• Strong analytical thinking, business judgment, communication, and documentation skills.
• Ability to work on-site in Toronto Monday through Thursday.

Nice to have

• Experience with Syndigo, Stibo, Akeneo, Salsify, or comparable PIM/PCM platforms.
• Experience with Adobe Experience Manager Assets, Adobe Workfront, Adobe Fusion, or comparable DAM and workflow solutions.
• Experience with vendor product onboarding, product taxonomy, data governance, product enrichment, and syndication.
• Exposure to AI-enabled product content, automation, and data quality initiatives.
• Experience supporting large-scale, multi-banner retail transformations.

Why apply

• Help shape a major enterprise transformation at one of Canada's most recognized retail organizations.
• Work directly with senior product leadership on high-visibility operating model decisions.
• Influence how product data, content, digital assets, and AI-enabled processes are managed across a complex retail environment.
• Collaborate with cross-functional leaders spanning Product, Technology, Merchandising, HR, and Operations.
• Take ownership of meaningful transformation deliverables with visible business impact.