Product Manager

Are you an experienced outdoor Product Manager who has a passion for Products who is looking for their next move to have ownership of a large global patch within in a vibrant, steady growth consumer product sector.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Product management team is responsible for the creation, performance, profitability, management & execution of all products within the European, Middle East and African market. The department is a key central function that supplies our local markets with the products and support they need to deliver the company’s financial growth targets.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Working with the Vice President of Outdoor Products you will be fully responsible for developing & executing the product strategy for your product categories that will allow the company to successfully achieve key financial metrics.
• To be the Senior “go-to” Products expert in your category, having in-depth knowledge of the products, technology and key manufacturing processes. With your knowledge, you will be able to identify emerging trends in technology, be able to map them against future customer needs allowing the company to define ‘futures’ products with key competitive advantages.
• Manage team member(s) consisting of (Assistant) Product Manager(s), including the interviewing, hiring and training of product managers when needed.
• You will take ownership in the development of best-in-class materials to support our products at launch together with our European Brand & Communications department. You will also ensure best practices around Europe are visible to all the relevant business areas.
• For your product categories, you will lead regional conferences and meetings as the industry Outdoor Products expert.
• You will lead and manage the entire product line life cycle; from strategic planning to tactical activities and end of life phase out.
• Launch package to include communication strategy and plans, packaging and launch materials for sales.
• Lead cross functional project teams.
• Develop category and competitive analysis to optimize the business performance and growth potential of new products and initiatives. Grow and maintain knowledge base as industry expert, including consumer/customer trends, market analysis, competitive positioning, products, and pricing, and segment opportunities and threats.
• Evaluate, categorize, and prioritize current internal and external new product ideas based on agreed upon cross-functional ranking criteria providing proposals to Senior Management.
• Develop customer/channel strategies including good/better/best product and marketing differentiation.
• Develop and maintain a three-year new business and new product plan / roadmap for your product categories.
• Lead the efforts to conduct primary consumer and trade/customer research and seek out relevant secondary research as necessary.
• Actively participate in key customer planning and presentations including sales meetings and customer events.
• Lead the cross-functional teams to keep all projects on schedule with timelines and milestone tracking, while being fully responsible to meet required quality and target cost levels.
• In conjunction with Engineering and Manufacturing, report on emerging / converging technologies and their potential impact on industry.
• Working closely with the local product marketing teams to ensure that we operate as a single function, single voice, when defining the product lifecycle features & specifications required to ensure successful launches within Europe.
• Working closely with our North American and Asian (HK plus mainland China and Vietnam) based facilities to ensure that the EMEA requirements are being prioritized appropriately and being tracked and measured against time, cost and quality metrics
• Develop tools to effectively capture and analyse “Voice-of-Customer” information.
• Presentations to cross-functional global and European teams including management.
• Manufacturing site visits to monitor progress on production launches.
• Working with our Marketing team & outside agencies to develop product catalogues & literature.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• Min. 4 yrs. extensive hands-on experience in product management and / or sales & marketing, with a proven track record as a senior level Product Manager, specializing in consumer and / or professional outdoor garden products in durable goods/consumer goods company.
• Bachelor’s degree in marketing. MBA preferred.
• Knowledge of basic manufacturing processes as it relates to your product categories.
• A clear understanding of working within a European structure.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal & written.
• Excellent presentation skills, both oral and visual.
• A strong working knowledge of relevant software packages used in the office environment (Excel, Word, PowerPoint etc).
• The ability to interact at all levels of the business including senior management.
• A strong determination to achieve & drive commercial opportunities into the business.
• A good team spirit, but critically, being a strong self-starter.
• Excellent organization and project management skills.
• Strong management and leadership skills and entrepreneurial spirit.

If you have not been contacted within 5 working days, then unfortunately on this occasion your CV has not been shortlisted.