Associate Brand Manager, Woods and Outbound

The Consumer Brands team at Canadian Tire Corporation is a great example of our retail evolution, bringing together all the owned brands from across our family of companies, to drive our growth strategy further. We are providing Canadians with unprecedented innovation, value, and excitement through great new brands such as Forward by Design and Diamondback, and the renovation of long-established brands such as Helly Hansen, Woods, Sherwood Hockey and Ripzone. Many of our Owned brands have earned a level of credibility that is on par with National brands and are sought after by consumers from across the country.

Brand Management is at the core of what we do within the Consumer Brands team, and a fundamental training ground for those looking to build their Brand/Marketing careers, and leadership capabilities.

The portfolio of brands that the Associate Brand Manager position will oversee has a keen focus on the outdoors (camping, hiking, kayaking, adventure travel, and more). At the core, this category has an innate energy and passion that needs to be matched and harnessed by the successful candidate. Understanding the culture and subtle nuances within the outdoor industry will help the Associate Brand Manager connect with the consumer on an intimate level, while building/protecting/evolving their brands into desirable product families within Sport Chek, Atmosphere, Sports Experts, and Canadian Tire retail stores. Key brands that the Associate Brand Manager will support include Woods, Outbound, and McKinley.

What you'll do

The Associate Brand Manager will support the development and execution of multi-year and annual brand plans, including shared growth and financial targets designed to build equity and strengthen the brands' financial contributions. Other key responsibilities include:

• Act as a brand steward, helping to protect and communicate the brands and their respective guidelines both internally and externally

• Proactively coordinate and communicate with cross-functional teams including Product, Design, Merchandising, and Strategic Marketing to develop and execute seasonal marketing initiatives, product launches, and special projects

• Support new product launches by leading and developing go-to-market strategies, key storylines and messaging, and owned channel marketing tactics (in-store, digital, social, print, ecommerce, etc.)

• Analysis of market, competitive, retail sales and consumer data to generate insights and provide recommendations in support of annual and multi-year strategic brand planning

• Support the development of brand management processes and capabilities, including competitive analysis, architecture mapping, planning, measurement, standards, and governance

• Monitor brand financial performance through identification of key drivers to support financial planning efforts and brand reporting

• Guide packaging execution to ensure brand standards are met, while delivering break through of key features and benefits in support of a better customer experience

• Provide brand support and content to retail marketing teams to ensure the brand is properly represented online and in-store

• Write creative briefs, lead campaign development, and coordinate with external contractors such as agencies, photographers, producers, graphic designers, and copywriters

• Coordinate and attend brand photoshoots, providing creative direction on set to achieve the desired look and feel of content per brand

What you bring

• Post-secondary education in business, marketing and/or a related field

• 2-5 years brand management, marketing, category management, or consulting experience, ideally with a Tier 1 Packaged Goods organization or within a Mass Retailer

• Demonstrated ability to think creatively and strategically, with a strong business acumen and mindset

• Proven ability to formulate recommendations based upon robust research, and assessment of risk/rewards

• Strong presentation skills with ability to adjust style, content, and format as required to suit the audience

• Strong verbal and written communication skills; experience writing marketing copy is a plus

• Strong financial planning, analytical and data-driven decision-making skills

• Ability to work well cross-functionally; demonstrated ability to collaborate, influence and negotiate.

• Solid project management experience, with the ability to lead multiple cross-functional projects and budgets

• Customer focused, with a drive for action and results.

• Experience in the outdoor industry and/or a passion for the outdoors (you live and breathe it)

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint

• Adobe Creative suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator) experience is preferred but not required

Hybrid

We value flexibility. We have adopted a hybrid work model whereby employees use a combination of working in office and virtually in service of outcomes. Each leader is empowered to decide what work is best achieved in person based on the unique needs of their team. Currently working onsite one day a week but this is subject to change.

#LI-NV1

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.

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.