Position Overview

Provide product management leadership to cross-functional development teams. Put customers at the center of development projects by maintaining a strong understanding of needs and the market. Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure that products are differentiated in ways that reinforce our brand-level value propositions. Leverage strong product marketing fundamentals to assist decision making in project prioritization and innovation processes. Keys for success will be a demonstrated ability to collaborate cross functionally, demonstrated market and product knowledge, an ability to support a recommendation with data, and strong communication skills.

Essential Job Functions

Product Development Leadership (65%)

• Provide marketing leadership to cross-functional development teams, ensuring that the customer stay at the center of the project.
• Mentorship of junior team members on marketing, product development, etc.
• Proactively work to build relationships cross-functionally, ensuring collaboration and a shared understanding of the customer and market
• Represent Voice of the Customer through a Stage-Gate product development process
• Ensure project teams quickly reach decisions that help balance customer and business objectives.               
• Translate product launch core benefits to inform successful go-to-market strategies
• Ownership of pricing strategy for each new product launch, with assistance of Pricing Department

Product Line Strategy (15%)

• Develop and substantiate a point of view on how to generate incremental growth, in line with the product strategy for an assigned category.
• Actively participate in portfolio level project review and selection process.
• Draft business cases to support growth opportunities and inform decision making.
• Gather customer and market needs, including synthesizing market research data, market, and competitive trends; monitor and manage product option sales information.

Product Expertise (15%)

• Act as internal expert on assigned products and/or focus area.
• Ensure product differentiation and value are represented consistently at all customer touch points.
• Create core content that accurately communicates product differentiation.
• Maintain thorough understanding of competitive product line strengths and weaknesses

Marketing & Sales Support (5%)

• Support departmental improvement initiatives.
• Input into monthly & annual planning, forecasting, and goal-setting.

• Passion for product and product development.
• Ability to distill information into insights and strategic recommendations.
• High energy, self-directed, highly confident, and self-motivated.
• Desire to collaborate and focus on making teams successful.
• Strong presentation skills and an ability to communicate at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities and make things happen in a fast-paced, dynamic environment; bias for action.
• Solid understanding of basic business fundamentals.
• Familiarity with market research methods and uses.
• High level of proficiency in MS Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to travel, including some overnights (approximately 25%)

Accountability Measures

• Establish and achieve new product contributions to revenue growth/profitability goals.
• Input into creation of a solid 5-year product line plan for assigned category.
• Demonstrated ability to informally lead teams to successful result.
• Demonstrated competence in product strategy as well as product development

Education / Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business or marketing.
• MBA with a marketing emphasis is highly desired
• 5+ years of related and successful work experience in new product development and product portfolio management

EOE