Job Description

Job Title: Manager of Space Planning

Location: Corporate

Department: Marketing

Job Summary: The Manager of Space Planning will develop and employ the packaged goods space planning strategy related to category merchandising, testing and space utilization.  Monitors merchandising trends through partnerships with key vendors, competitive market place tours and industry trade shows. Oversees packaged goods category planograms and ensures that the merchandising strategy aligns with the Marketing LRP.  Owner of JDA partnership and tool.  Provides reports, analysis and insights to key partners for enhanced decision making.  Provide analysis and insights to Store Design and Floor Planning teams through qualitative and quantitative testing of packaged merchandising and space allocation. Lead Article Management elements through Stibo & Blue Yonder processes.

Principal Duties:Oversee the design and development of the packaged goods category planograms. Ensure that category merchandising strategies are developed and employed to attract customers, increase market basket, and drive gross profit.Develop space planning strategies for new markets through customization of planograms, manage offer alterations, influence layout changes that highlight marketplace dynamics and nuances.Work with Category Teams to develop annual category reset calendar. Hold internal partners accountable to meet timelines. Manage Space Planning resources to meet the needs of the business and identify JDA system enhancements and process improvements to drive efficiencies and reduce complexity for the team and our business partners.Work across functions to increase product speed to market while maintaining a high level of store order accuracy by aligning Marketing systems and processes with Supply Chain processes.Overall ownership of JDA Tool for Wawa.  Manage contract and tool facilitation throughout the organization.  Lead the development and utilization of JDA & other tools to best allocate space. Leverage data science tools to analyze food service performance to ensure we are driving sales and improving store productivity. Establish metrics and measures to determine the value of space, category and store profitability.Develop and execute the strategic vision for Blue Yonder.  Manage the full Suite, including Space and Floor Planning, CKB and Web Publisher.  Work cross functionally with key partners including IT and Category Teams to develop strategy and actions required to support LRP.  Identify advancements and new integration capabilities and build the road map to ensure a strong foundation that promotes ease of maintenance, supportability and a clear path to future upgradesManage packaged goods space-related analysis including but not limited to space to sales by category and impact of store-specific merchandising changes.Collaborate with Packaged Goods Category Teams, as well as external consultants to identify growth opportunities and gain alignment to test merchandising concepts. Develop and implement the testing methodology that defines the level/degree of testing and how tests are prioritized.Oversee the communication of packaged goods testing objectives, status, results (including customer and associate surveys, focus groups, financial test results), and recommendations to key stakeholders. Partner with Store Design and Floor Planning Teams to support store layouts and fixtures and to ensure that merchandising changes can be integrated into current and future store designs.Lead and determine project budgets for packaged goods merchandising tests and rollouts, build the business cases to support project applications, (i.e. labor impact, internal/external resources, fixture, transportation and warehousing costs, etc.) and work cross functionally to secure external vendor funding when applicable.    Develop and manage a network of external vendor relationships to promote the sourcing, design and specifications for new fixtures with the support of Strategic Sourcing Department.Keep close to latest trends and innovations in Space and Marketing Technology and adopt them in a meaningful way to drive leverage. Network and benchmark with retailers and vendors to understand up and coming trends and technology. Identify opportunities and gaps.Partner and influence processes to improve accuracy and speed to market and to reduce complexity from article selection to implementation at store level.Champion innovation through research with vendor partners, participation with industry forums and groups, attendance of industry trade shows, competitive bench marking tours and development of an industry network.Provide overall direction and support for team and monitor and assess individual work in accordance with high standards of excellence.  Provide feedback, coaching, support, opportunities for development, complete performance appraisals, take corrective action when appropriate, and participate in hiring decisions.Responsible for daily management of Packaged Goods articles as it relates to setup and system accuracy.Communicate and ensure execution article requirements within with Blue Yonder and STIBO systems.

Essential Functions:

Communicate effectively both orally and in writingAnalyze information and effectively propose solutionsHighly developed consultative, facilitation, project management and presentation skillsHigh degree of professionalism and confidentialityHandle multiple priorities simultaneouslyWork independentlyWork collaboratively with cross-functional teamsEstablish and maintain a working environment conducive to positive morale, individual style, quality, creativity, and teamworkSome travel required, mostly day tripsStrong knowledge of Category Management, Retail Operations and Supply Chain LogisticsAbility to establish and maintain a working environment conducive to positive morale, individual style, quality, creativity, and teamworkStrong negotiation and conflict resolution skillsProven leader with demonstrated ability to make decisions and hold people accountableForward thinking skills; ability to identify resource savings and process improvementsDetail-oriented and excellent organizational skills

Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree preferred5 + years of experience in retail merchandising or consumer products3 +  years of experience with Space Management Platform in a retail environment, JDA preferredPeople/Project management experience preferredExperience with AutoCad and JDA SoftwareProficient in Microsoft Office Suite

Wawa will provide reasonable accommodation to complete an application upon request, consistent with applicable law. If you require an accommodation, please contact our Associate Service Center at asc@wawa.com or 1-800-444-9292.

Wawa, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. Wawa maintains a work environment in which Associates are treated fairly and with respect and in which discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. In accordance with federal, state and local laws, we recruit, hire, promote and evaluate all applicants and Associates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, familial status, marital status, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity or expression, citizenship status, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, domestic or sexual violence victim status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Unlawful discrimination will not be a factor in any employment decision.