Sr. Forecasting Analytics Consultant

Help us boldly shape retail in Canada

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (“CTC”) is one of Canada’s most admired and trusted companies. With world-class Owned Brands and exciting market-leading merchandising strategies, we are continually innovating with purpose: to be there for Canadians from coast-to-coast. We are relentlessly focused on innovating at every level of our business, investing in new technologies and products, and doubling down on the best talent to drive the company forward. It is an especially exciting time to join Canadian Tire and its group of companies.

The goal of the Forecasting and Inventory Support team is to enable Canadian Tire to become the top forecasting retailer in the world, and to drive best-in-class inventory management. We own the processes, tools and reports used in product forecasting. We use data science, analysis and business knowledge to transform data into insights that can be actioned. We work closely with Category Business Management, Forecasting, Replenishment, Allocations, Promotions and IT teams. We are constantly striving to challenge the way we think, improve the way we operate and drive results.

To help define where and how we work, CTC has introduced Hybrid Workplace Personas. While each role fits into a different persona category, this may evolve as employees progress in their career or business needs change. The Sr. Forecasting Analytics Consultant position is categorized as a Connector, which means that the incumbent will be working with a variety of colleagues and partners to achieve business outcomes that require a mixed use of virtual and CTC campus presence.

What you’ll do

The Sr. Forecasting Analytics Consultant develops predictive models that can be integrated into key merchandising decisions (assortment selection, pricing strategy, product forecasting and replenishment). You will conduct traditional and machine learning analytics to identify and quantify cause-and-effect relationships, build/optimize tools that are used by Forecast Analysts, and design/publish digestible reporting on key business metrics. You will play a key role in the delivery of our advanced analytics roadmap and the development of predictive modelling/machine learning capabilities, while continuing to support the business with traditional analysis and established processes.

The primary responsibilities of this role include:

• Use predictive/statistical modelling techniques and traditional analytics to identify and quantify sales drivers, conduct what-if scenario analysis and measure the causal impacts
• Work with the Merchandising, Forecasting, and Promotions teams to ensure model predictions are consistent with business expertise, explainable and efficiently integrated into processes
• Design and build tools/reporting that is user friendly and actionable
• Plan, track and manage multiple projects and requests – these initiatives can range from formal long-term project implementations, medium-scale process improvement initiatives, urgent system/tool support issues, or quick ad-hoc analysis requests
• Proactively identify opportunities and deliver data-supported insights to Merchandising and Forecasting, to help improve the accuracy of forecasts and key business decisions
• Provide leadership and direction to the team, including training and coaching in advanced analytics
• Ensure the forecasting systems, reports and EUC tools are operational and support the business processes; lead projects to implement new functionality, including automation
• Act as a subject matter expert for Forecasting processes and provide expertise and direction in special projects

Who you are

We are looking for individuals who are:

• Action oriented, and comfortable taking calculated risks to better serve our customers and business
• Outcome focused, critical thinkers with the ability to analyze and visualize, to ensure continuous improvement across our entire business
• Collaborative team players with superior influencing skills, who build relationships easily across various stakeholder groups to move initiatives forward

If you’re curious, ready to take on new challenges and open to doing things differently to help us evolve rapidly, then this is definitely the place to be.

What you bring

The dynamic environment requires individuals with a cross functional background, excellent organizational skills, experience working in a project environment, advanced analytical ability, strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a team as well as independently.

• 4+ years work experience in various roles within forecasting, analytics, merchandising or supply chain.
• University degree in engineering, math, computer science, statistics, business or related field
• Proficiency with programming in Python, Spark, SQL. Knowledge of R and VBA would also be an asset.
• Direct experience with data science / machine learning models, including successful implementations & productionizing of projects.
• Strong analytical, problem solving, and data mining skills with the ability to summarize and deliver actionable insights and recommendations.
• Experience with Cloud computing environments for data science.
• Advanced technical skills in Microsoft Access, Excel, Database systems.
• Results-oriented, with proven project and time management skills (planning, prioritizing, executing, delegating, and tracking).
• Business mindset with an understanding of the retail industry.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, influence, and motivate peers as well as others without direct authority.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, including presentation abilities.

About Canadian Tire Corporation

As one of the most trusted brands in Canada, our employees take pride in the work we do across the country. It’s more than the iconic triangle that keeps our employees around. From benefits and perks, to learning and development opportunities, to our commitment to Jumpstart – these are some of the many reasons why Canadian Tire Corporation is one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies. To learn more follow us on LinkedIn.

CTC is committed to the fight against COVID-19 and being there for Canadians. In support of this, we have adopted a COVID-19 Vaccination Policy to protect the health and well-being of our employees. Employees will be required either to be fully vaccinated or undergo regular COVID-19 testing in order to access the workplace until further notice.

#LI-GM1

Canadian Tire is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace for all. We recognize that our future success depends on the perspectives and contributions of all our employees — their diverse backgrounds, abilities and experiences make our business stronger. If you are contacted for a job opportunity, please advise us of any accommodations needed to ensure fair and equitable access throughout the recruitment and selection process. All accommodation information provided will be treated as confidential and used only for the purpose of providing an accessible candidate experience.