Senior Manager Category Management and Strategy

Senior Manager, Category Management & Strategy

Title: Senior Manager, Category Management & Strategy

Location: Fredericton, NB – hybrid work is possible

Language requirement: Spoken and written competence in English

Closing date: June 21, 2026

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About ANBL

Alcool NB Liquor (ANBL) is a provincial Crown corporation responsible for the purchase, importation, distribution, and retail activity for all beverage alcohol in the province. As one of Atlantic Canada's Top Employers for 2025 and 2026, ANBL is proud of the people-first culture built with its team members.

Our sister company, Cannabis NB (CNB), manages retail cannabis sales for the province, providing safe and legal products while focusing on education, safety and responsible access.

Together, ANBL & CNB return 100% of profits to the Government of New Brunswick to benefit all New Brunswickers while responsibly serving customers and communities across the province.

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Corporate Social Responsibility

At ANBL, we are committed to:

• Responsible selling through our CHECK 30 program, which specifies that customers who look younger than 30 will be asked for valid photo identification.
• Food security through our partnership with Feed Nourrir NB to help get more food to New Brunswickers who need it.
• Helping New Brunswickers get home safely through our Safe Ride program, providing FREE transportation at ANBL-sponsored events.

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About the Role

The Senior Manager, Category Management & Strategy leads the development and execution of an integrated category strategy that focuses on customer, considers market factors and trends and aligns with our channel strategy. Reporting to the Director, Category Management, this role oversees the planning framework that guides the annual cycles, portfolio opportunities, product tactical development and execution, while leading the category managers responsible for the individual category plans.

This role plays a critical role in connecting business strategy to product and vendor goals and execution, ensuring a cohesive, insight-driven approach across all channels and touchpoints.

Working in a highly collaborative environment, the successful candidate will partner closely with the full category management team, internal stakeholders and external vendor partners to drive performance and continuous improvement in category and product lifecycles.

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Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and operationalization of overarching category and portfolio strategies, opportunities and plans, ensuring alignment with corporate priorities, business objectives and customer insights.
• Oversee the portfolio of products, providing strategic guidance and ensure consistency and optimization across all channels.
• Translate business goals, industry insights, market trends and customer insights into clear, actionable category priorities and integrated plans.
• Provide leadership to the Category Managers and their teams as well as the PLM Coordinator, enabling high-quality execution and fostering a collaborative, high-performing team culture focused on accountability, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Partner with internal stakeholders and external product vendor partners to embed data, insights and performance metrics into strategy development and execution.
• Oversee product vendor relationships to ensure alignment, effectiveness and contribution to category objectives.
• Lead the strategic evaluation of product performance, identifying opportunities to optimize effectiveness and ROI.
• Play a key role in annual product planning and budgeting processes, supporting prioritization and investment decisions.
• Champion a deep understanding of customer segments, behaviors and the end-to-end customer journey to inform all vendor and program efforts.

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Required Qualifications

• Degree in Business Administration, or equivalent. While a formal degree or diploma is preferred, we value practical experience and are open to considering candidates with equivalent experience in lieu of educational qualifications.
• 5+ years of progressive experience in Category Management strategy
• 5+ years of leadership experience, including building high-performing teams.
• Strong expertise in Category strategies and product lifecycle management with the ability to translate strategic direction into actionable plans.
• Proven experience developing and leading Category Plans that drive traffic, engagement and performance across owned channels.
• Deep understanding of industry trends and customer behaviors, with the ability to apply insights to optimize portfolio effectiveness.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage data and insights to inform decisions and continuously improve performance.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across all levels, including experience working with and managing external vendor partners.

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Assets

• Experience in Beverage Alcohol Industry, Retail, CPG or Food & Beverage industries.
• Experience in enterprise-level strategic planning and budget management.
• Strong understanding of product performance frameworks, attribution and ROI measurement.
• Familiarity with the New Brunswick market landscape.
• Experience with MS Office D365.
• Category management Certification

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Key Competencies

Communicates Effectively: Develops and delivers multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences. Tailors communication content and style to the needs of others. Pays attention to others' input and perspectives, asks questions, and summarizes to confirm understanding.

Plans and Aligns: Plans and prioritizes work to meet commitments aligned with organizational goals. Stays focused on plans and improvises in response to changes, including risks and contingencies. Aligns own team's work with other workgroups. Looks ahead to determine and obtain needed resources to complete plans.

Business Insight: Applies knowledge of business and the marketplace to advance the organization's goals. Has a sophisticated grasp of business drivers, finds new ways to increase own contribution. Stays attuned to business and industry changes, ensures own activities remain aligned to key objectives.

Balances Stakeholders: Anticipates and balances the needs of multiple stakeholders. Shares stakeholder feedback while inspiring others to consistently seek input and learn from their internal and external stakeholders. Promotes an environment of high ethical standards and cross-cultural sensitivity in working with all stakeholders.

Strategic Mindset: Sees ahead to future possibilities and translates them into breakthrough strategies. Provides a clear picture of the organization's vision and strategy and what the team needs to do to realize them. Develops longer-term strategies that capitalize on the organization's distinct capabilities and emerging trends in the market.

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Language Competencies

Bilingualism in both official languages is an asset, but not required.

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Work Location

• The Retail Operations Centre is located in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
• The successful candidate must be based in New Brunswick; hybrid work is possible.
• Semi-regular travel for meetings and project work may be required.

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Compensation and Benefits

Salary: $98,981 – $117,681

Benefits:

• Comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental coverage and a generous pension plan.
• Access to a Health Spending Account or Wellness Subsidy
• Opportunities to utilize flexible work arrangements, such as remote or hybrid work.

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What's in It for You

Being part of the team at ANBL means working in an organization that values its people and encourages every employee to have a voice. Our team takes pride in contributing to the communities and province we serve.

At ANBL, we support both personal and professional growth through internal and external development opportunities, including our Leadership Development Program.

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Additional Information

Only candidates with legal authorization to work in Canada will be considered.

Alcool NB Liquor (ANBL) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to reflecting the diverse communities we serve. We foster an inclusive and accessible workplace, and accommodations may be provided upon request, in all aspects of the selection process.