Brand Manager

Job Title: Brand Manager

Location: Toronto, ON (Hybrid)

Estimated Duration: Fulltime

Brand Manager – Canadian Tire Corporation

About Us
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (“CTC”) is one of Canada’s most admired and trusted companies. With more than 90 Owned Brands, 1,700 retail locations, financial services, exemplary e-commerce capabilities, and exciting market-leading merchandising strategies. We dream big and work as one to innovate with purpose for our customers at every level of our business, investing in new technologies and products, and doubling down on top talent to drive the company forward. We offer competitive salaries and wages to CTC employees, as well as store discounts, supported learning through our Triangle Learning Academy, Canadian Tire Profit Sharing, and retirement and savings programs for eligible employees. As part of our enhanced flex benefits program, we offer mental health benefits in the amount of $5,000 per year for benefits-eligible employees and their families, including total well-being, and mental health tools and resources for all employees. Join us in helping to make life in Canada better through living and working our Core Values: we are innovators and entrepreneurs at our core, outcomes drive us, inclusion is a must, we are stronger together and we take personal responsibility. It is an especially exciting time to join CTC and its family of companies where career opportunities are wide-ranging! Join us, where there's a place for you here.

Job Profile: Brand Manager
Our Consumer Brands organization is an excellent example of our retail evolution, bringing together all the Owned Brands (OB) from across our family of companies to drive our growth strategy further. We provide Canadians with unprecedented innovation, value and excitement through great new brands such as PADERNO, Type A, and NOMA, and the renovation of long-established brands such as Motomaster, Mastercraft, and Sherwood.  
The strategic components required to build, manage and grow our OBs are essential to differentiating Canadian Tire as a retailer in the Canadian marketplace and beyond. Brand building and management is at the core of what we do within the Consumer Brands function. Working closely with our Consumer Brands counterparts, Merchandising, Marketing, and other cross-functional experts, the Brand Manager will leverage insights and experience to plan and deliver multi-year strategic plans, develop innovation pipelines, and execute key initiatives in support of long-term brand health, financial performance, and penetration growth – across the Style Portfolio, inclusive of brands such as CANVAS, Type A and our newly acquired Hudson’s Bay Stripes.
Key areas of responsibility included, but not limited to are noted as follows.

• Brand Management: Be the key lead and champion for your portfolio – supporting day-to-day brand management and building the future vision and required architecture for the portfolio.
• Brand Planning: Lead the development and execution of strategic brand planning initiatives, such as multi-year and annual brand plans, and related brand program development and Go-To-Market activations.  
• Brand Launch: Lead and champion the launch of acquired brands by developing and executing comprehensive go-to-market strategies and coordinating with cross-functional teams to ensure a seamless and impactful market introduction. Oversee all aspects of the launch process, from initial planning and budgeting to post mortems, ensuring every detail aligns with the overall brand vision and goals.
• Financial Planning: Support the annual and long-term Financial Outlook process through management and tracking of building blocks and opportunity seeking new growth initiatives.
• Brand Performance Management: Lead ongoing brand performance reviews and gap closure against plan targets across key financial and brand health metrics, including Sales, Margin, Penetration, NPS, Awareness, Consideration, Ratings/Reviews, and Defect and Return Rates.
• Commercialization of New Initiatives: Work closely with core cross-functional stakeholders, such as Merchandising, Product Development, Product Quality, Program Delivery, Strategic Marketing, Packaging, and Consumer Insights throughout the product development cycle to launch new innovations on time with excellence and within brand guidelines.
• Packaging Development: Lead packaging design development or revitalization, and execution to drive breakthrough impact at shelf, while ensuring brand standards are met.
• Insights Discovery: Understand consumer behaviour and uncover relevant business insights by commissioning and leveraging consumer data (both internal and external) to drive meaningful action and inform decisions across the portfolio.
• Marketplace Analysis: Analyze and understand the market, retail sales data, forecasting inputs, and industry trends to be able to align the vision for the brand with the broader retailer strategy and drive to desired outcomes.
• On-Budget Management: Management of brand budgets and plans to ensure all brand initiatives and activations are delivered in accordance with estimates and includes timely invoice processing.
• Legal Governance: Ensure timely and appropriate Legal review and support of brand Intellectual Property, trademarks and claims development as relevant across the portfolio.
• Team Building and Management: Manage, coach and support the development of 3 direct reports, while fostering a connected and inclusive team culture.  
• Personal Learning Agenda: Contribute to professional development efforts, including attending relevant conferences and continuing education courses.

What you bring

• 5+ years demonstrated brand management experience – from a Global CPG company or private label experience within a mass retailer preferred (Brand Management & B2C experience is a must)
• MBA or Undergraduate degree in Business with major in Marketing, or a related field.
• Seasoned candidate with solid experience in managing direct reports, cross-functional teams and external agencies (e.g. Packaging, Advertising, Research, Strategic Consultancies, etc.) – including briefing, selection, and project management.
• Comfortable navigating through ambiguity and complex businesses, in the pursuit of new growth opportunities and advancing strategic programs.
• Strong interpersonal, oral, and written communications skills, including the ability to comfortably and effectively present in front of different types of audiences.
• Customer centric mindset, with a bias for action.
• Excellent project management experience, with the ability to lead multiple cross-functional projects.
• Advanced user of MS Suite of Products (PowerPoint, Excel, etc.).

Our Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging 

• We are committed to fostering an environment where belonging thrives, and diversity, inclusion and equity are infused into everything we do. We believe in building an organizational culture where people are consistently treated with dignity while respecting individual religion, nationality, gender, race, age, perceived ability, spoken language, sexual orientation, and identification. We are united in our purpose of being here to help make life in Canada better.

Accommodations  

• We stand firm in our Core Value that inclusion is a must. We welcome and encourage candidates from equity-seeking groups such as people who identify as racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, women, people with disabilities, and beyond. Should you require any accommodation in applying for this role, or throughout the interview process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to help meet your needs.