Retail Specialist (Grocery Promotions and Merchandising)

Summary

INFRA is seeking a Retail Specialist to support independent member businesses across its North East territory. The role focuses on maximizing promotional programs, improving merchandising practices, analyzing retail performance, and coaching members through store-specific recommendations, with travel of up to 65% required.

Responsibilities

• In collaboration with INFRA team, Champion members to fully utilize the benefits and opportunities of Promotional Programs (EDLP, INFRA Deals) participation
• Support success of other INFRA strategies and programs (operational strategies, pricing recommendations, and participation agreement requirements) by helping members understand how promotions or merchandising programs align and complement
• Lead in-store program onboarding as needed and/or reinforce orientation elements into each member situation while in store
• Partner with store employees to create/implement tangible plans from recommendations to improve execution and impact
• Support or lead planning, implementation, and outcome tracking of store merchandising planograms
• Support or lead planning, implementation, and outcome tracking for new store setups, store resets, and store expansions/contractions
• Assist staff and members with merchandising best practices by providing training, development of systems and documentation, and introduction of new-and-next ideas
• Keep abreast of new-and-next ideas and/or exciting merchandising and promotional program best practice changes
• Plan and perform competitive analysis with identified data-driven and anecdotal goals
• Support outcomes with data and share story of program impact. (Member data/KPIs, promotions/store performance metrics, retail data, distribution data, and/or available trend information)
• Support and coach members toward solutions unique to their stores. Highlight value provided and the “why” a member would want to commit to recommendations
• Collaborate with INFRA Team to develop new or improved strategies and tactics to grow association-wide participation and alignment with Promotions Programs (EDLP, INFRA Deals, New Item), including increasing member participation, consumer, and brand participation as appropriate
• Create member-specific recommendations based on identified potential participation obstacles, performance gaps or wins, competitive analysis findings, and opportunities. Connect member feedback to INFRA team. Capture in-the-moment or anecdotal feedback and support formal INFRA feedback processes. Incorporate outcomes from feedback into future work

Skills

• 4+ years' experience in creating and implementing broad-scale promotions and merchandising planning, multi-store buying and resets, or digital marketing and promotion program implementation
• Retail grocery and/or natural foods experience required
• Proven experience defining and applying merchandising best practices
• Skilled with a variety of technology platforms including Microsoft365, Sharepoint, CRMs, Project Management tools, planogram tools, or equivalents
• Proven leadership through influence. Ability to inspire others by communicating benefits/value propositions, leading by example, and utilizing a spirit of service approach
• Self-directed and comfortable prioritizing time
• Comfortable navigating multiple projects, complex logistics and relationships, tight deadlines, and high-pressure situations, all while producing results with exceptional attention to goal attainment, detail and accuracy
• Depth of communication expertise, active listening, determining root causes, incorporating feedback, giving presentations, and keeping everyone up to date
• Proactive, solution-oriented, iterative mindset with high value on continual improvement
• Demonstrated experience working with businesses in a consultative role or professional services partnership role strongly preferred
• Experience working with independently owned businesses strongly preferred

Qualifications

Must Haves

• 4+ years' experience in creating and implementing broad-scale promotions and merchandising planning, multi-store buying and resets, or digital marketing and promotion program implementation
• Retail grocery and/or natural foods experience required
• Proven experience defining and applying merchandising best practices
• Skilled with a variety of technology platforms including Microsoft365, Sharepoint, CRMs, Project Management tools, planogram tools, or equivalents
• Proven leadership through influence. Ability to inspire others by communicating benefits/value propositions, leading by example, and utilizing a spirit of service approach
• Self-directed and comfortable prioritizing time
• Comfortable navigating multiple projects, complex logistics and relationships, tight deadlines, and high-pressure situations, all while producing results with exceptional attention to goal attainment, detail and accuracy
• Depth of communication expertise, active listening, determining root causes, incorporating feedback, giving presentations, and keeping everyone up to date
• Proactive, solution-oriented, iterative mindset with high value on continual improvement

Nice to Haves

• Demonstrated experience working with businesses in a consultative role or professional services partnership role strongly preferred
• Experience working with independently owned businesses strongly preferred

Benefits

• These are remote roles based in the region they support.
• How to personalize your work to meet the needs and goals of each unique, independently owned retailer.
• How to integrate story-telling, analysis of trends, insights, and program performance data to expand impact of your role.
• How to build on your consultative skills, growing into promotional strategy, store operational excellence, and member education.
• As this role grows and progresses, you will have the opportunity to create and directly deliver more strategic recommendations to members.