Product Manager

Job Summary:

Product management links the market to manufacturing and translates market needs into the language of scientist, sales and operations. They drive insights and facilitate choice at the intersection of competition dynamics and market dynamics to illuminate "when to compete". Product Management works closely with Senior Marketing Management (where to play) and Sales Enablement Management (How to win) to develop and implement our strategy of accelerating the almond evolution and ensuring the annual sales budget is met or exceeded. They can strike a balance between understanding customer priorities and establishing a realistic sense of urgency to drive our organization to be responsive to the market.

The product manager supports the "when to compete" by optimizing our cost to serve through product portfolio optimization, competitive advantage optimization and optimizing value for service. This role combines analysis and execution by building, scoping, presenting and steering business cases to critically evaluate solutions, facilitates choice around options and project manages implementation to ensure the best global solution is made for BDG. This role also serves as liaison with operations groups (i.e. quality, manufacturing, product value enhancement, R&D, etc.,) assuring their input is reflected in business cases and support is aligned for execution while also assuring GID input is reflected in operations initiatives. Lastly collaborates with the marketing manager and sales enablement to implement value-based pricing tools and strategies to support profit margin goals.

Job Description:

Essential Job Functions

Product Portfolio OptimizationLeverage insights to facilitate choice around what products/services respond to the customers jobs-to-be done and "when to compete."

• Ensure product portfolio supports the product strategy and profit margin goals through regular SKU rationalization, reviews of product positioning and overall portfolio architecture; maintain alignment with product portfolio and price list
• Collaborate with global supply to routinely look for ways to enhance margins, packaging and the GID product line; Maintain a living portfolio of projects that identify potential improvements and develop business cases that rank, prioritize and facilitate choice; Provides insight and guidance to ensure new products / projects are in alignment with GID strategic, volume and financial objectives.
• Develop business cases that critically evaluate, prioritize and balance solution elements (product, service, price, capabilities, technology, etc., ) and facilitate choice around new SKU request or product value enhancement projects; In collaboration with sales management and global supply, ensure the best global solution is made for BDG
• Lead the cross functional team to commercialize new products, new SKUs or product improvement and effectively leveraging our commercialization checklist, PDR/MMRF forms and the SAP system.
• Partner with marketing, sales enablement, and technical service to prepare market introduction and implement training for new product launches/product changes.
• Represents GID across various cross functional teams and enable bi-directional communication around key initiatives, advocating for balance between BDG -centric and customer-centric approach in production of product, delivery of products/services and implementation of new processing technology.
• Makes regular site visits to the respective manufacturing plants to ensure product policy and processes is aligned between GID and Operations, documented, and executed accurately. Engage with stakeholders to synchronize on the needs of the business and initiate further review if required with Quality Assurance, Operations, etc. to evolve the product line.

Competitive Advantage Optimization: Develop a deep understanding of the competitive products and technologies, macro and market trends aligned with almond market dynamics to communicate insights

• Be the product champion and product portfolio expert to ensure our products/services meet customer requirements, responds to customer pain points and reflects user stories/jobs-to be done across multiple market segments/business models
• Develop a deep understanding of competitive products and technologies to drive insights and recommend actions plans to inform "when to compete" strategies.
• Build a database of competitive product datasheets, benchmarking key specifications by product type and utilize this data to help support our how to win charters for each product category.
• Combine a deep understanding of product technical details with analysis of trends, market and competitive dynamics to equip our sales partners with powerful selling stories that enable us to achieve higher value for our products/services
• Work with strategic marketing and sales enablement to develop presentations, support materials and selling aids for key customer presentations and for our product portfolio.
• Drive key conclusions, implications, insights and action plans that leverage trends, awareness of competitor activity and knowledge of GID capabilities and competencies to contribute to sale enablement roadmaps, division strategy and recommended action plans.
• Collaborates with quality and operations to ensure delivery of service and product are aligned with customer value expectations and product value propositions; monitor metrics and troubleshoot as needed.
• Assists the sales team in times of serious quality alerts to ensure Quality Assurance and Manufacturing were working to implement corrective action.

Optimizing Value for Service: Solve problems, deliver innovative solutions and engage stakeholders to maintain the ability to drive value through our products and services by adhering to our quality, reliability and service metrics.

• Provide deep product and competitive insights to assist our sales partners in optimizing pricing using value-based pricing methodologies and tools such as economic value estimation or perceived value map.
• Facilitate an objective view of value pricing applied to each customers unique perspective and apply value pricing methodologies theoretically to tactically where applicable across business model, segment, customer and product.
• Equip our sales partners with data, support materials and selling aids that highlights the value of our solutions.
• Identify and communicate potential risk at the customer/project/opportunity level that create an imbalance between our value received and our cost to serve.
• Leverage a deep understanding of our product portfolio, differentiated value, messaging, competitive landscape and market strategies to help build pricing strategies and capabilities that respond to the marketplace and support profitable growth.
• Develop business cases that critically evaluate, prioritize and balance solution elements (product, service, price, capabilities, technology, etc., ) and facilitate choice when considering standard and non-standard service request; In collaboration with sales management and global supply, ensure the best global solution is made for BDG
• Assist in the identification, lead the evaluation and manage the execution of new business opportunities; ensure business cases balances the value for service, input from solution elements (quality, regulatory, manufacturing, etc.,), business model/segment strategy and positioning in overall product portfolio
• When required, assists customers in specifying product requirements, understanding the value of our solutions and sharing of macro/market insights by conducting on-site visits.

MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's Degree in business administration, marketing, engineering or food science. MBA Preferred
• 8-10 years of marketing, product development, product management or operations experience within the food industry.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES

• Strong leadership qualities.
• Financial, commercial, technical, and marketing acumen.
• Proficiency in data analysis, both quantitative and qualitative.
• Ability to lead cross functional teams through project execution to drive results
• Strong ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment while demonstrating the competency to prioritize and meet deadlines
• Ability to develop sound business cases that depict the market opportunity, product volume and margin analysis.
• Ability to develop training materials and lead training efforts as it pertains to the product line.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel.
• Advanced spreadsheet and numerical analysis skills.

Demonstrated leadership skills include ability to:

• Influence middle/senior management through informal communication as well as structured presentations.
• Work effectively at all levels and network across the organization to build relationships.
• Lead cross-functional teams and develop project plans, including management of both internal and external resources (e.g. management consultants).
• Capable of mentoring and training staff, as well as holding people accountable.

Demonstrated personal skills include:

• Ability to influence and persuade senior leadership across the company on key strategic marketing topics.
• Be a strong team player within the marketing team and across functional areas.
• Be a strong communicator.
• Be innovative, flexible and tenacious.
• Have a strong results-orientation and be able to operate well without extensive supervision.
• Attention to detail and strong sense of logic.
• Highly organized.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Office demands include extensive use of telephone and computer.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Typical office setting. Position stressful and demanding. May work remotely part time.

Education:

Bachelors

Other Job Details:

Work Shift:

Day

Pay Type:

Salary

Hourly Rate (if applicable):

N/A

Targeted Exempt Salary Range (if applicable):

$90,100.00 - $116,900.00

Grow your career. Partner with us. We Are the Almond People!

Blue Diamond Growers (BDG) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. BDG provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, color, age, religion, protected veteran or disability status, or genetic information. BDG also complies with all provisions of the U.S. Government's Executive Order 11246 dated September 24, 1965 and the rules, regulations and relevant orders of the Secretary of Labor.