Product Director

Product Director

Madison,WI

Seeking outstanding, customer-focused product leader to define, manage and leverage the company’s winning product portfolio.

Reporting to the General Manager, the Product Director will lead definition of the products the company will develop and sell in the future, will enable the sales channel to better sell its current offering, and will sustain current products through effective pricing, maintenance of line (MOL) and obsolescence activities. Additionally, the Product Director will play an important role in the development and execution of the company’s strategic plan, including entry into new market segments and geographies.

The Product Director will be the company’s product visionary and champion, leading the product management function and collaborating closely with peers across the senior leadership team in achieving the company’s growth and profitability goals.

The company has a rich history of innovation and a capable sales organization. The Product Director will work closely with the leadership of R&D, sales, marketing, production, quality, finance, IT and regulatory affairs to achieve unprecedented innovation, agility, execution and growth.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Define & Launch Future Product Portfolio:

• Propose, create and maintain the company’s product development roadmap through insightful voice-of-customer (VOC), voice-of-sales (VOS), market research and competitive analysis

• Lead the development of individual Product Requirement Specifications, proposing new products for development including specific functionality, volume and margin estimates and required cost points

• Propose the prioritization/reprioritization of New Product Development projects (NPD. Achieve via close engagement with R&D and Sales organizations

• Define and lead the introduction of new products into the market through outstanding product launches, thoughtfully leveraging both the sales and marketing channels.

• Act as a passionate and articulate champion of new product launches to the market, direct sales teams and international channel partners, including through outstanding sales guidance and training

• Monitor and report-out on the financial and functional performance of new products against NPD goals in the 12 months following launch, executing cross-functional countermeasures as necessary

• Leverage Current Product Portfolio

• Create, maintain and share a first-hand understanding of the market by traveling with sales representatives and engaging frequently with customers and key industry experts

• Identify and define best practices among the sales organization related to product sales, including optimal product positioning and product demonstration.

• Establish a cadence of regular communications to the sales organization, ensuring that Product Management is providing actionable, evidence-based guidance.

• Define and deploy sales tools that demonstrate the performance, difference or value of company products

• Regularly analyze product sales data to identify trends, opportunities and risks

• Define and manage the product training that company employees receive during initial onboarding and as part of continuing education

• Report in senior leadership meetings on the status of product management initiatives (weekly) and on the trends and performance of company products vs. expectations (monthly)

• Monitor and manage the product mix sold through the sales channels, implementing countermeasures where necessary to meet company growth, margin and strategic targets

• Identify and launch promotional packages and pricing to support the sales organization, encouraging focus appropriately within the product portfolio

• Set and monitor product pricing by utilizing market research data, balancing profitability and volume goals

• Create and distribute all product line communications to internal company audiences, especially guidance to the direct and distributor sales organizations

• Define core product messaging and positioning to be used by marketing organization for all communications to external audiences

• Support marketing organization in the development of effective lead generation materials, leveraging selected products to engage existing and prospective new customers

• Engage directly with the company’s largest distribution partners in support of account growth strategies

• Directly own sales performance results of select distributors in international markets

• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks with dental/medical customers and opinion leaders; participating in professional societies and fairs

Sustain Current Product Portfolio:

• Collaborate with the manufacturing and quality teams to identify and prioritize production and quality improvements based on relevance to customers and sales channel

• Facilitate inventory turnover and product availability by developing and maintaining product model sales forecasts. Partners with the Materials Management/PSI team.

• Support Quality Assurance, Sustaining Engineering, Regulatory Affairs, and Production to ensure appropriate Maintenance of Line (MOL) activities are completed to sustain availability of the existing product portfolio

• Support, in partnership with Finance and Sales, the annual price evaluation/increase process

• Provide product line volume and ASP estimates necessary for the company’s annual financial planning

• Communicate all changes to product features, availability or obsolesce plans to internal and external constituencies, including customers (through Marketing/Customer Care), direct sales representatives and international distributors

Supervisory Responsibility:

• Directly lead a Product Management team of 1-2 team members, including definition of roles, daily management, goals & objectives, reviews, engagement and development

REQUIRMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree required

• 8+ years’ experience in product management, marketing, sales or similar commercial experience, including defining, deploying and selling great products in close collaboration with direct and indirect sales teams

• 5+ years strong leadership skills, including inspiring and guiding teams of direct/indirect reports and cross-functional colleagues

PREFERRED SKILLS:

• MBA strongly preferred

• Excellent leadership experience and growth potential, including demonstrated experience gaining action and followership from sales and marketing teams

• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, including proficiency using Excel and product/market data to develop and articulate viewpoints

• Ability to deliver inspiring presentations to customer gatherings and sales meetings as the company’s product leader

• Ability to identify and articulate commercial obstacles and opportunities

• Ability to build consensus and generate alignment across peers on the senior leadership team regarding product management performance, priorities and opportunities

• Eagerness to go into the market to build perspective, traveling to engage directly and regularly with customers, sales representatives, distributors and dental/medical opinion leaders

• Ability to identify, articulate and countermeasure commercial obstacles to growth

• Commercial instincts and ability to achieve both customer experience and revenue objectives

• Clear and swift critical thinking abilities to contribute on a daily and strategic level

• Facility with data and ability to use to uncover insights and drive decisions about daily and strategic priorities

• Ability to develop and manage a team, take initiative and follow through on tasks and commitments

• Ability to create followership through cross-functional collaboration

• Ability to implement strong Daily Management practices within the Product Management function and in support of Sales and Marketing teams

• Ability to run reports and analyze data, working within key business applications to define trends and opportunities (i.e. Oracle, Tableau, MicrosoftDynamics CRM, Excel. etc.)

• Ability to develop and own an annual Product Management operating budget

• Ability to manage talent in accordance with the organizations objectives, policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training team members; planning, assigning and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining; addressing complaints and resolving concerns

• Demonstrated ability to critically evaluate new geographies and segments for investment

• Intellectual agility necessary to take ownership for assigned chapter in Company’s annual strategic plan. Job Ref: R1093013