Organic Valley/Westby, WI
Summary of Role:
The Associate Product Manager is responsible for a portfolio of Organic Valley products, assisting the Product Manager in developing, implementing and managing annual strategic, financial, and operating plans.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Product Management Oversight: assist in planning, managing, and coordinating the product lines through all facets of marketing, including product development, initial pricing, promotion, and positioning; creating and managing marketing programs and business plans to achieve revenue, profit, and market share goals.
Lead brand strategy development fueled by consumer insights, category trends, brand equities and desire to grow organic dairy category, to include:
• brand messaging and positioning
• product promotion strategy
• research and analysis
• innovation strategy - packaging/flavor/development
• advertising and media strategy
o Lead in the identification of category opportunities by keeping abreast of Cooperative needs, consumer and industry insights.
• Conduct brand, segment and category analysis to evaluate performance against business objectives, identify competitive threats, and highlight product strengths/weaknesses to track performance of the brand and inform sales and marketing team decisions.
o Contribute to development of annual brand plan and long-term strategic plan with specific focus on objectives, strategies, and tactics for the dairy and juice products groups.
o Identify and bring New Product opportunities to life; drive the New Product development process by developing new products that are innovative, consumer/customer-driven and profitable; direct and integrate the new product functions of Product Design, Package Design, Sales Planning, Procurement, P&L, Go-to-Market Strategy (including Promotional Consumer and Trade programs).
o Assist in the development of powerful consumer communications, brand programming and product initiatives.
• Develop briefs for all creative projects associated with categories being managed (e.g., primary/secondary packaging, label copy, hard/soft pos, website, advertising, etc.) and providing feedback on creative output to ensure it supports brand strategy.
• Drive impactful, out-of-the-box, effective consumer promotions to build awareness, generate trial, and drive volume/distribution. Conduct post-promotion analysis to quantify and evaluate effectiveness.
Additional Duties and Responsibilities
o Other duties as assigned by supervisor.
Core Competencies- the following is a list of top Core Competencies needed for the job.
o Delivers Results: Self motivated to focus on the critical few objectives that add the most value and channels own and others' energy to consistently deliver results that meet or exceed expectations.
o Drives Innovative Business Improvements: Develops new insights into solutions that result in organizational improvements; promotes a work environment that fosters creative thinking, innovation and rational risk-taking.
o Balances Immediate and Long-Term Priorities: Seeks to meet critical objectives while considering the impact of those decisions and activities on the ability to achieve long-term goals.
o Imports and Exports Good Ideas: Relentlessly seeks, shares and adopts ideas and best practices in and outside the Company and embraces change introduced by others.
o Inspires Others: Builds and maintains relationships that motivate and/or reinforce the performance of others toward goal accomplishments. Seeks and provides feedback to enhance performance.
o Passion for Food and the Consumer: A love of quality food & understanding our consumers.
o Collaboration: Must be able to work cross-functionally with Marketing team members and other departments. Ability to interact with all levels of management, co-workers and clients.
o Lives the Values: Demonstrates the values of CROPP Cooperative and the Organic Valley brand through words, actions, and by example; fosters an environment that reflects the values of the company.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
o Minimum 2-4 years of progressive product management experience in branded consumer products company.
o Bachelor's degree highly preferred
o Dairy and/or beverage industry desired but not required; food experience preferred.
o Creative Skills: The ability to think out of the box (in a way that makes out of the box seem in the box) when approaching all aspects of brand and innovation management activities from advertising copy reviews to package design to new product ideas.
o Resourcefulness to improvise and adapt to deal with daily challenges via creative problem solving that would make a crime scene detective proud.
o Project management experience including P&L/budget management
o Communication Skills: Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills are required. The incumbent will present to diverse audiences, work cross-functionally for results and collaborate with external partners. Enthusiastically champion support for projects and ideas that drive existing brands and new business development
o Strong analysis, strategic thinking, creative thinking, team leadership, planning, organizing, problem solving skills.
o PowerPoint Jedi (be able to effectively communicate and dazzle us with your skills)
o Entrepreneurial mind-set: creative, resourceful, risk taker, business savvy, adaptable
o Syndicated Data experience including: SPINS, IRI, and Spectra Data.
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