In your role as General Merchandise Manager Special Projects at The North West Company (TNWC), you will be responsible for leading high-impact transformation initiatives across the General Merchandise division. You will redesign, standardize, and strengthen end-to-end procurement and merchandising processes, ensuring consistency, scalability, and operational excellence across all General Merchandise categories. Working closely with internal stakeholders and vendors, you will drive process improvements, enhance governance, support profitability initiatives, and establish the foundation for advanced category management practices.
Joining TNWC gives you the opportunity for development throughout the company, a competitive salary and benefits package, and to be part of a dynamic and diverse culture.
TNWC is a leading retailer to under-served rural communities and urban neighborhood markets in Northern Canada, Western Canada, rural Alaska, the South Pacific islands, and the Caribbean. Our stores offer a broad range of products and services with an emphasis on food. Our value offer is to be the best local shopping choice for everyday household and local lifestyle needs.
Your Role:
Conduct comprehensive reviews of General Merchandise procurement and merchandising processes to identify gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.
Document current-state workflows and operating procedures, and redesign standardized, scalable processes across the General Merchandise procurement lifecycle to support consistent and efficient business operations.
Define clear process ownership, controls, decision points, escalation paths, and performance measures.
Lead the assessment, reconciliation, and ongoing management of vendor contracts to establish a centralized source of truth.
Identify opportunities for cost recovery, rebate realization, margin improvement, and compliance enhancements.
Lead General Merchandise projects from vendor identification through onboarding, implementation, and stabilization, ensuring all vendors and products are introduced through standardized, compliant processes.
Develop, maintain, and analyze procurement, replenishment, and vendor performance reports, including vendor scorecards and performance metrics, to support data-driven business decision-making.
Provide analytical insights to identify risks, opportunities, and process improvement initiatives.
Develop training materials and job aids to support adoption of new processes.
Support changing management activities and reinforce adherence to established standards and best practices.
Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to drive continuous improvement initiatives across the General Merchandise business.
Desired Skills & Experience:
Post-secondary education in Business, Supply Chain Management, Commerce, or a related field is considered an asset.
Minimum 5 years of retail experience with strong exposure to data analytics.
Minimum 2 years of experience in merchandising, procurement, category management, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience in process design, process improvement, and business transformation initiatives.
Experience managing vendor relationships and contract administration.
Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder engagement skills, combined with strong analytical, reporting, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to influence stakeholders and drive change without direct authority.
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
Location: Gibraltar House, 77 Main Street, Winnipeg, MB
Reports To: Director of General Merchandise and Commercial Sales
We create a collaborative and constructive culture by: Being Enterprising • Committing to our Customer • Working with Passion • Leading and Developing Others • Demonstrating Respect and Inclusivity • Building Trust
The North West Company is committed to inclusion and diversity and encourages applications from all candidates including but not limited to: all religions and ethnicities, LGBTQ2S+, BIPOC, and persons with disabilities.
A competitive salary is being offered along with opportunities to learn, develop, and advance throughout the organization. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
This is an active job opening for a position that is currently available and we are actively seeking to fill.
This position adheres to the Corporate Application Process Guidelines.