The Director Product Strategy and Management - Food manages a portfolio of product lines within the Food Business Team, driving business and product strategy, execution, and results in a manner that maximizes long-term profitability. The incumbent in this role will deliver P&L results and is responsible for the health of an assigned product portfolio for the U.S. Foodservice and National Account Food Business.
Day-to-Day Role:
Proactively manage a portfolio of products, and plan and drive growth through revenue and profit building blocks.
Develop, implement and drive multi-year and annual strategies for the assigned product lines through close collaboration with other functions.
Collaborate with his/her VP and as applicable others to create annual financial goals and budgets including revenue, gross margin, COGS, price and portfolio mix aligned to strategic priorities.
Support his/her VP in developing and implementing pricing strategy for the assigned product lines, and make or recommend pricing decisions for certain large customers.
Lead and assume the Sponsor role for cross-functional efforts to discover and execute cost-reduction initiatives that do not negatively impact the customer/consumer experience.
Lead all aspects of product life-cycle management for assigned products including the product portfolio strategy, product management, pricing guidelines, product development, product enhancements, and SKU optimization.
Identify and then champion and commercialize, through collaboration with other functions, new product development and innovation projects. Assume project Sponsor role, ensuring that projects deliver the predicted business benefits.
Develop a deep understanding of our customers and markets, and use these insights to develop, and then drive successful implementation of, strategies.
In collaboration with his/her VP, partner with Sales to drive relationships with key customers and provide direction on product line focus areas to maximize sales and profitability.
Collaborate with Marketing and Sales on product-line marketing including brand strategy, brand standards, channel marketing messaging, and brand activation to achieve desired customer outcomes and financial results.
Collaborate closely with Sales, FP&A, and Supply Chain Management on demand planning and forecasting to achieve desired financial and customer outcomes (e.g. minimize excess inventory and maximize fill rates for key product lines).
Gain executive leadership alignment on financial plans and new products via internal processes by building a robust business case to support innovation and capacity expansion efforts, ensuring alignment to business and product strategy.
Collaborate with other business units where needed to ensure the best overall outcome for the business.
Model/promote a culture of accountability within the Business team and throughout the organization.
Core Skills and Qualifications:
The ideal candidate must possess all of the following:
Bachelor's degree in business or related field of study; MBA or equivalent degree preferred.
Seven (7) years of experience in product line management (e.g. pricing, new product development, SKU optimization, P&L management, Marketing).
Seven (7) years of supervisory experience with strong executive leadership and management skills developing high-performing and effective teams.
Strategic thinking and collaboration skills.
Knowledge of New Product Development processes; Stage Gate experience preferred.
Proven ability to drive change including the ability to influence all levels, streamline processes, integrate, and associate pieces of information gathered from multiple sources.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills to persuade and influence decision-making of individuals, groups, or work teams, and to explain complex issues to a variety of audiences.
Ability to blend creative problem solving with data driven, analytical, financial (e.g. NPV, financial statements, DCF), and quantitative skills with a demonstrated ability to analyze complex problems with data, assumptions, and judgment using best practices and analysis to formulate solutions.
Ability to recognize all relevant issues, and their relative importance, when making decisions.
High level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness with a strong work ethic and the ability to work independently with minimal direction.
Experience using Microsoft Office, including the ability to create professional reports, documents, presentations and spreadsheets in MS Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint.
Preferred Skills and Qualifications:
Experience in the foodservice packaging industry preferred.
Overview:Dart makes everyday products that give people the freedom to enjoy the food & drinks they love, wherever they are. From to-go containers and dinnerware to tamper-evident food packaging and even the red Solo cup, Dart products have been keeping people on the go and having fun for more than 50 years. Dart is a family-owned, family-focused company of 13,000 employees united by a shared set of values. Headquartered in Mason, MI, Dart has 30 locations in four countries.
Benefits: Dart Container full-time employees enjoy great benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401(k) with company matching contributions, paid vacation, paid holidays, short-term disability, tuition assistance, product discounts and more.
Dart Container is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are subject to a drug test (excluding THC*/marijuana/cannabis) and background check at the time of offer.
*THC testing ONLY when such testing is required... For full info follow application link.
Dart Container is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all candidates for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
