Canada Retail Director

Hello potential future Oatly employee. It’s us, the original oatmilk company that started in Sweden back 25 or so years ago and has since expanded to the U.S. where we’ve continued growing at a rate such that we need more brilliant minds to come work with us to keep the momentum going and the oatmilk flowing.

Sustainability, health, and transparency are the core values that guide everything we do. Basically, we exist to make it easy for people to eat better and live healthier lives without recklessly taxing the planet’s resources in the process. If any of this resonates with you, then maybe you’d like work for Oatly, too. Now onto the formal stuff.

We are looking for a Canada Retail Director to join our team reporting to our VP Commercial Canada. The Canada Retail Director is responsible for developing and advancing a go to market strategy that will increase customer loyalty, distribution growth, and company profitability by continuing and building relationships with existing and new retailers , distributors and broker.

Here are the things we want to hire you to do:

Customer Leadership

• Plan Development and Execution – Develop and execute joint business plans for your customers. Translate the Oatly’s brand strategy, category, financial, and retailer requirements into a JBP plan / customer plan that achieves mutual profitable growth
• Business Development – identify and drive business development opportunities within the customer(s) from all available data sources in conjunction with Category and Marketing colleagues to exceed performance ahead of plan short, medium, and long term
• Call on (Core) Key Accounts to ensure distribution, ordering, programming, brand familiarity, and proper visibility
• Drive the Regionality Agenda in Quebec with differentiated plans
• Communicate customer requirements/standards, identify opportunities for improvement, and help drive change
  
  

Planning Support

• Coordinate All Customer Requirements – interact and coordinate with other colleagues in the business across the following functions (supply chain, finance, marketing, commercial) to meet customer requirements and deadlines. Build the customer relationship and resolve any conflicts that could impact the business plan Recommend new revenue growth potential by identifying new product opportunities, surveying customer needs and trends, tracking competitors, and researching and analyzing marketplace trends
• Communicate effectively both internally and externally on all matters pertaining to the efficient day to day running of the customer’s business so that initiatives happen fast and first time
• Maximize Spend Effectiveness – Maximize the effectiveness of Oatly’s promotional spend within the customer(s), constantly striving for more impactful (shopper) and more effective (customer/Oatly) activities
• Maintain accurate records regarding distributor profiles, non-dairy retail and competitive activity and pricing
• Build and manage promotional planners
  
  

Results Delivery

• Sells Oatly’s standards in a way that resonates with customer values
• Execute short and long-term sales objectives and strategies
• Lead The Instore Agenda – Lead the development of Oatly’s Instore impact within the customer by constantly striving to improve Oatly’s product position and presence both on-shelf and off-shelf using category driven insight
• Manage all sales expenses and budgets for the market/region
  
  

Here are things we think you need:

• At least 7+ years of relevant commercial leadership experience
• Strong experience within the natural foods industry across Natural and Grocery customers
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office products
• An ability to thrive in a challenging, fast-paced environment with an entrepreneurial mindset
• Strong strategic and analytical skills and vision to identify how various stakeholder relationships can be developed and nurtured
• Willingness to grow, learn, expand knowledge and responsibility to support a growing business and sales model – applying insights from previous roles and assignments but also being open to adapting that style and learn new approaches as well
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to thrive in a dynamic small-team environment building great relationships across the organization to get things done
• Optimism and resilience – building a great brand business is hard work with many challenges. Ability to overcome challenges and keep progress moving forward is a key attribute
• Ability and desire to travel extensively for the demands of the job
• Bilingual: English/French is an asset
  
  

And here’s another list of qualities we think make a good Oatly team member:

• You feel connected to our mission of encouraging health, sustainability, and transparency
• You are a self-starter who doesn’t need direct supervision to motivate you for success – we believe strongly in building a culture of individual accountability and ownership and need partners that can embrace that mentality
• You are ready to make your mark in a smaller, growing brand leveraging your experience to deliver amazing results and build an outstanding company
• You have an entrepreneurial spirit in that you’re comfortable with ambiguity and are energized by the process of building something lasting from the ground up
• You enjoy sharing your quirkiness and talents with your coworkers
  
  

Another bulleted list felt redundant, so we wrote this long sentence with all the ways we sweeten the deal to work with us, like providing flexible vacation for starters, really great benefits, genuinely great coworkers who want to see the company and each other succeed, and a start-up vibe with an established company history.

We value diversity and inclusion and welcome people from all backgrounds who see sustainability and health as important values. Even if your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. If you have the curiosity, passion, and collaborative spirit, it’s already a fantastic start.

We kindly ask that you apply in English.

The salary for this role will be based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to geographic location, internal equity, experience, education, specialty, and training. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. Compensation may also include bonus, commission, or equity as applicable. Our good faith estimate for base salary is $145,000 CAD.

Oatly welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. We are committed to accommodating the needs of people with disabilities and providing a workplace and recruitment process that is inclusive and accessible to all. Accommodations are available on request for candidates in all aspects of the selection process. Should you require accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact [email protected]. Any information received relating to accommodation will be treated as confidential.

Oatly is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.