{"id":1213124,"url":"https://alion.io/job/spiritleaf-inc-senior-category-manager","title":"Senior Category Manager","company":{"id":1382307,"name":"Spiritleaf","domain":"spiritleaf.ca","url":"https://alion.io/company/spiritleaf","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":14,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-09-29T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Operations","role_family":"Operations","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Toronto, Canada","Columbia, United States","Kitchener, Canada","Kelowna, Canada","Edmonton, Canada","Canada"],"countries":["CA","US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":95000,"max":109000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":109000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":7,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Power BI","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-08","last_verified_at":"2026-09-26T23:47:06Z","board_verified":false,"closed_at":null,"days_open":22,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":22},"description":"Work Location\nToronto Corporate OfficeAbout the Role\nThe Senior Category Manager plays a critical role in managing assortment, distribution, pricing, promotions, and inventory management strategies for an assigned portfolio within SNDL's Cannabis Retail network. This is a highly visible, analytical role, ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of data and retail operations.\nReporting to the Senior Director, Retail Merchandising & Commercial Strategy, you’ll be accountable for driving sales, margin, and other objectives whilst ensuring strategies are tailored to local market dynamics and consumer preferences.\nCandidates who can work a hybrid schedule out of SNDL's Toronto (49 Spadina Ave) or Edmonton Offices (17220 Stony Plain Rd) are strongly preferred. Exceptional candidates working remotely from Ontario, Alberta, or British Columbia may also be considered\nResponsibilities\nCategory management and merchandisingDevelop portfolio-specific strategies across key category management levers: assortment, distribution, pricing, promotions, and inventory management\nTranslate category strategies and playbooks into localized, region- and/or store-specific programs that reflect unique market dynamics and consumer preferences\nBuild and maintain compelling cannabis product assortments, balancing national priorities with regional/banner-specific opportunities\nDevelop and maintain optimal shelf pricing by analyzing margin targets, competitive benchmarks, consumer price sensitivity, and promotional elasticity\nActively manage inventory health by monitoring sell-through and weeks of supply with a focus on mitigating aging inventory through assortment changes and/or promotional markdowns\nPrepare product and vendor setup and maintenance requests, ensuring accuracy of all master data attributes in close partnership with Merchandising Operations\nMaintain planograms and menu boards, ensuring timely preparation, clarity of instruction for stores, and optimal slotting based on business, customer, and vendor objectives\n\nVendor and trade managementAct as the primary relationship lead for 50+ suppliers, managing all aspects of the partnership lifecycle including onboarding, business reviews, commercial negotiations, billing, collections, and issue resolution\nPartner with key suppliers to continuously refine joint business plans, aligning on growth targets, investment priorities, and commercial opportunities\nLead the sourcing and set up of new suppliers to address assortment gaps and evolving customer needs, including the negotiation of commercial agreements\nDesign and continuously improve supplier engagement processes, governance frameworks, planning cycles, and performance review cadences to create a consistent and scalable partnership model\nDevelop reporting, scorecards, and business reviews that measure supplier performance, evaluate commercial program effectiveness, and identify growth opportunities\n\nReporting, analytics, and insightsPrepare regular category performance reporting and actionable insights for internal stakeholders\nProactively conduct item-level and category-level performance reviews, recommending actions such as pricing adjustments, promotional optimization, distribution changes, or SKU rationalization\nLeverage internal performance data and external market sources to assess competitive positioning, identify emerging trends, and surface innovation opportunities\nStay current on industry developments, macro trends, regulatory shifts, and competitive activity to inform category and banner-level decision-making\n\nCross-functional enablementAct as a key point of contact for portfolio-specific category questions and day-to-day operational needs\nAcross all the above, partner closely with Merchandising Operations, Retail Planning & Analytics, Supply Chain, Retail Marketing, Store Operations, Finance, and other teams to ensure cross-functional alignment\n\nKey qualifications\n7+ years of experience in category management, merchandising, or a related role\nExperience working in a fast-paced retail and/or consumer goods environment. Bonus points if you have experience working in cannabis\nProven experience managing external partnerships, negotiating commercial agreements, and influencing senior stakeholders\nExceptional analytical skills with the ability to turn large amounts of disparate data into clear, actionable insights. Advanced proficiency in Excel with experience working with large datasets, financial analysis, and performance reporting is required\nExperience working with enterprise-grade BI systems. Bonus points if you have experience working with PowerBI\nStrong financial acumen with a solid understanding of retail KPIs, margin mechanics, promotional economics, and inventory metrics\nHigh attention to detail, strong communication skills, and the ability to manage multiple priorities across regions and timelines\nWhat Makes SNDL a Great Place to Grow:\nCompetitive compensation including performance-based bonuses and annual salary reviews.\nComprehensive health and dental benefits, including a Healthcare Spending Account.\nThree weeks of paid vacation with annual rollover.\nFlexible, hybrid work arrangements to support work-life balance.\nRecognition and rewards programs that celebrate individual and team achievements.\nEmployee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP) with mental health, financial, and family support.\nEmployee perks and discounts program, offering savings across fitness, wellness, lifestyle, retail, and everyday services\nWe are grateful for the interest in this role from all candidates, however, we will be contacting only those that are selected for next steps in the hiring process.\nOur Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion\nSNDL is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a welcoming, inclusive, diverse and safe workplace where all of our team members have equal opportunity to succeed. We know this begins with recruitment. To honor our commitment, SNDL encourages applications from individuals of all backgrounds, sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, ages and abilities.\nTargeted Base Salary - $95,000 - $109,000\nAbout SNDL\nSNDL is one of Canada’s leading and fastest-growing liquor and cannabis companies. As the country’s largest private-sector retailer, our portfolio includes well-known banners such as Wine and Beyond, Liquor Depot, Ace Liquor, Value Buds, Spiritleaf, and Cost Cannabis.\nWe’re also one of Canada’s largest vertically integrated cannabis producers, recognized for our innovation, low-cost manufacturing, and award-winning brands including Top Leaf, Contraband, Palmetto, Bon Jak, La Plogue, Versus, Grasslands, Vacay, Pearls by Grön, No Future, and Bhang Chocolate.\nDriven by purpose, performance, and people, SNDL is shaping the future of retail and cannabis by bringing people together through exceptional products and experiences.\nRate Of Pay\n102000CAD\nSalary PlanLearn more about SNDL","description_format":"text","description_chars":6940,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":7,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Growth opportunities","Hybrid work"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"Canada","iso":"CA","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":[],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-25T05:26:54Z"}],"liveness":{"score":43,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":0.9,"p_active":0.529,"p_room":0.9,"age_days":21,"expected_fill_days":40,"reasons":["conf:53","stale_co","win:mid"],"computed_at":"2026-09-29T05:45:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":109000,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/spiritleaf-inc-senior-category-manager","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/spiritleaf-inc-senior-category-manager.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-09-30T02:45:07Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","usage":{"tier":"crawler","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":1953,"day_limit":5000,"remaining_today":3047,"minute_limit":60,"resets_at":"2026-10-01T00:00:00Z"}}}