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.
Knowledge / Skills / Abilities
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