About this Sr Manager - Fresh Produce Commodity Intelligence role at Loblaw
Come make your difference in communities across Canada, where authenticity, trust and making connections is valued – as we shape the future of Canadian retail, together. Our unique position as one of the country's largest employers, coupled with our commitment to positively impact the lives of all Canadians, provides our colleagues a range of opportunities and experiences to help Canadians Live Life Well®.
At Loblaw Companies Limited, we succeed through collaboration and commitment and set a high bar for ourselves and those around us. Whether you are just starting your career, re-entering the workforce, or looking for a new job, this is where you belong.
As the Senior Manager, Fresh Produce Commodity Intelligence, you will lead the development of forward-looking commodity insights and input-cost analysis that strengthen commercial decisions across Loblaw’s Fresh businesses. You will translate volatile market dynamics, supply conditions and cost drivers into clear implications for cost baselines, sourcing strategies, supplier discussions and inflation risk management.
Reporting to the Senior Director, Commodity & Market Intelligence, you will be a trusted analytical partner to Fresh Sourcing and Merchandising teams. Your mandate combines deep market understanding, robust forecasting and cost modelling, and the ability to turn complex intelligence into timely, commercially relevant recommendations. You will also strengthen the tools, data sources and recurring intelligence products that underpin the broader commodity intelligence capability.
Core Responsibilities:
Commodity Market Intelligence & Outlook
- Lead ongoing intelligence across relevant Fresh produce commodity markets, monitoring supply and demand, seasonality, weather, production, trade flows and other material price drivers.
- Develop forward-looking market outlooks, risk assessments and opportunity scenarios tailored to sourcing and category decision cycles.
- Distinguish structural trends from short-term volatility and communicate implications for procurement timing, supplier discussions and category exposure.
- Cost Modelling, Benchmarking & Forecasting
- Build and maintain transparent input-cost models, commodity benchmarks and scenario forecasts to assess expected changes in supplier cost structures and market-justified baselines for Sourcing events
- Translate movements in commodity prices and related inputs into category-relevant cost implications, documenting assumptions and model limitations.
- Continuously improve forecast accuracy, model governance and the consistency of intelligence across Fresh categories.
- Surface inflation, deflation and supply risks early, with pragmatic commercial responses and mitigation options.
- Equip Sourcing and Merchandising partners with fact-based briefing materials, market evidence and cost scenarios for supplier discussions.
Cross-Functional Commercial Partnership
- Build trusted relationships with Fresh Sourcing, Merchandising, Finance and other relevant teams to ensure intelligence informs real decisions.
- Translate complex market information into concise executive-ready narratives and recommendations, balancing financial opportunity with supply, quality and operational considerations.
- Coordinate with Category Analytics to connect market and cost intelligence to RFPs, supplier evaluations and negotiation strategies while maintaining distinct functional accountabilities.
Intelligence Capability & Continuous Improvement
- Develop scalable market-monitoring processes, data-source standards, analytical templates and recurring intelligence products.
- Evaluate new data sources and advanced analytical techniques, including appropriate automation and AI-enabled tools, to improve insight quality and responsiveness.
- Share specialist expertise and coach colleagues on commodity economics and interpretation without assuming direct people-management responsibility.
Key Skills and Qualifications
- 7+ years of progressive experience in commodity intelligence, agricultural or food markets, Fresh sourcing, procurement, commercial analytics or related fields.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze commodity supply-demand fundamentals, build cost models and translate forecasts into commercial implications.
- Knowledge of Fresh produce market dynamics, seasonality, input-cost structures and supplier cost-change processes is strongly preferred.
- Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Agriculture, Finance, Business, Mathematics or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience considered.
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex quantitative findings into clear commercial recommendations and influence senior cross-functional stakeholders.
- Strong commercial judgment, structured problem-solving and comfort navigating ambiguity, competing priorities and sensitive supplier information.
- Advanced Excel and financial modelling capabilities; experience with business intelligence, analytics or automation tools is an asset.
- Proven ability to independently lead high-impact workstreams, build effective relationships and improve analytical methodologies.
Our commitment to Sustainability and Social Impact is an essential part of the way we do business, and we focus our attention on areas where we can have the greatest impact. Our approach to sustainability and social impact is based on three pillars – Environment, Sourcing and Community – and we are constantly looking for ways to demonstrate leadership in these important areas. Our CORE Values – Care, Ownership, Respect and Excellence – guide all our decision-making and come to life through our Blue Culture. We offer our colleagues progressive careers, comprehensive training, flexibility, and other competitive benefits – these are some of the many reasons why we are one of Canada’s Top Employers, Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, Canada’s Greenest Employers & Canada’s Top Employers for Young People.
If you are unsure whether your experience matches every requirement above, we encourage you to apply anyway. We are looking for varied perspectives which include diverse experiences that we can add to our team.
We have a long-standing focus on diversity, equity and inclusion because we know it will make our company a better place to work and shop. We are committed to creating accessible environments for our colleagues, candidates and customers. Requests for accommodation due to a disability (which may be visible or invisible, temporary or permanent) can be made at any stage of application and employment. We encourage candidates to make their accommodation needs known so that we can provide equitable opportunities.
Please Note:
Candidates who are 18 years or older are required to complete a criminal background check. Details will be provided through the application process.
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