Category/Area of Expertise: Merchandising Marketing Support
Job Requisition: 539672
Address: USA-ME-Scarborough-145 Pleasant Hill Rd
Store Code: HAN Produce Merch SGA (2762619)
Hannaford Supermarkets started out as a fresh produce vendor in Portland, Maine way back in 1883, and is still connected to those early roots as a local market. Hannaford actively seeks out farmers and producers to join our Local program which celebrates not only local foods, but the preservation of farmland, local traditions and local jobs. The connection we have to the source of our fresh foods is core to the way we do business, becoming the first major supermarket in the United States to document that all its seafood products were sustainably harvested.
Hannaford offers a flexible work environment, with a hybrid work expectation for Home Office based positions of being physically present in the Scarborough Home Office 3 days a week. This expectation serves to nourish our culture, showcase care through flexibility, and strengthen our partnerships.
Position Summary:
Support Local Merchandising Specialist in the development, implementation and communication of merchandising objectives pertaining to local, in collaboration with Merchandising, Category, Pricing, Marketing, Shelf Merchandising, Legal, Contract Management, Risk Management, Food Safety, Consumer Insights, External Communications, Retail Ops, Retail and Competitive Marketplace. Support Retail Operations through effective communication of local merchandising programs, procedures, and product information. Reinforce the connection between strategy and execution by being a strong two-way communicator.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
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Collaborates with Merchandising, Category, Pricing, Retail, Marketing, Shelf Merchandising, Legal, Contract Management, Risk Management, Food Safety, Consumer Insights, External Communications, Competitive Marketplace, the Hannaford Digital Team and Retail Ops by helping to create and communicate out local programs, initiatives and tactics that deliver on our strategy.
- Co-creates all local programs, initiatives, processes and tactics that collectively deliver on the strategy with the Local Program Specialist and assists in continually improving internal and external local processes to create efficiency and sustainability for the local program.
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Helps to build, update and maintain standard practice training aids related to local, in collaboration with Merchandising. Assists in educating internal/external business partners on local program processes and policies.
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Primary priorities include facilitating the Local vendor application process by educating applicants on the steps for getting their product into stores and gathering complete information for internal processing.
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Works with appropriate business partners to ensure local applicants meet basic requirements including the expected level of insurance coverage (standard or high risk), Food Safety regulations and other required certifications, and verifies all packaging claims. Hands off viable applications and supporting documentation to Category Teams for evaluation, vendor setup, item setup, and onboarding. Tracks all local requests, records resulting decisions, and integrates vendor and item information into local program documents.
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Build and maintains solid relationships with local vendor partners to ensure positive personal experience, maintains retail and vendor local item request processes and standards and performs ad hoc local metric reporting.
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Maintains the list of all local products and vendors for monthly bib tag reporting, updates Local DSD store assortment document and the Local Brand Contacts list for retail on an as-needed basis.
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Monitors industry and regional competitor trends in local product, merchandising applications/programs, marketing and definitions of what consumers consider "local".
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Analyzes the relevancy of local brands across specific departments and across the store and retail footprint to provide recommendations for Category and Merchandising.
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Captures information that can be used in marketing campaigns (i.e.: "we support over 500 local farmers" or "we have over 5,000 local products, etc.") and/or for leadership (i.e. "over 15% of our Bakery sales come from local products", etc.). Assists in marketing input for everyday signage and special programs, local promotional events, marketing materials and standards, social media, fresh magazine, vendor stories and external articles.
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Travels to attend Local trade show events (Ag Shows, Dairy Producer's events, etc.), and our Stores to monitor overall execution of business plans for local.
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Provides support for motivating peers and function as an effective promoter of change and growth, support for the implementation of a continuous improvement culture and serves as a member of key teams/committees as needed and is responsible for the development, talent planning, and performance management of self.
Qualifications and Experience:
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Bachelor's Degree or equivalent combination of education and related work experience
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Basic understanding of Food Safety Requirements/Regulations
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Basic understanding of local production/farming/harvesting
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2-3 years combined experience in retail, merchandising, category, pricing, logistics, supply chain, procurement, and distribution
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Knowledgeable in Local, State and Federal Regulations relating to local
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Knowledge of Fresh and/or Center Store categories
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Basic professional level of knowledge for company, business and industry practices
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Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite of Programs
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Requires Travel: 10-20%
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Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience
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Retail Operations experience
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Merchandising experience
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Category experience
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Experience with local product production/farming/harvesting
Skills and Abilities:
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Highly motivated and detailed oriented
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Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to build and sustain supportive relationships with others
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Ability to manage day-to-day activity for identified responsibilities
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Ability to influence without authority
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Ability to work as part of a team
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Ability to think innovatively
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Demonstrate a personal acceptance of change and the ability to adapt and drive change
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Demonstrate an ability to implement and analyze retail business using consumer insights and analyzing trends
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Active listener with an ability to build trust across varying levels of the organization
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Ability to work with all levels of management
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Excellent organizational, planning, influence, communication and presentation skills
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Self-motivated and persuasive in presenting and selling ideas and executing their implementation
The Salary Range for this Position is $63,440 - $95,160
The statements contained herein reflect general details as necessary to describe the principle functions for this job, the level of knowledge and skill typically required, and the scope of responsibility, but should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned, including work in other functional areas to cover absences or relief, to equalize peak work period's, or otherwise to balance the workload.
Hannaford provides equal opportunity in employment to all associates and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions), age, veteran status, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.
