Sr. Manager Color, Fragrance & Innovation
Job Summary
This position is responsible for leading the Color, Fragrance & Innovation Category teams that drive the growth and profitability of the global product portfolio through category management, planning processes, and product portfolio analytics. In addition to the Color, Fragrance Category, this position is also responsible for overall Product Innovation direction across all product categories including Skin Care, Nutrition, Color and Fragrance. The leader in this role must be adept at influencing, gaining alignment, and meeting needs across a diverse set of customers, including Regions/Markets, Global Product Management, Senior Leadership, and Research & Development, while weighing complex inputs including the product strategy, consumer and market trends, category and portfolio performance, and the needs of the markets and the selling situation.
Color & Fragrance Category Lead -The responsibilities include accountability for the overall Color, Fragrance & Nutrition Categories in support of executing the company's Global Product Strategy. Specifically, this includes development and oversight of the Color, Fragrance & Nutrition category plans to include product category management managing product lifecycle with a focus on the entire product lineup and beyond NPD by defining the general product line parameters such as pricing, positional and promotional strategies/recommendations, phase-out recommendations, and providing business leadership to all Category product-related program management activities to ensure successful product lifecycle management. Oversees a large complex portfolio of products with interdependencies across multiple stakeholder functions with the expectation to integrate to Region Business Plans and deliver quantifiable growth for the markets from the Color, Fragrance & Nutrition categories. In partnership with Sr Director, Global Product Management, key stakeholders, and business leaders on strategic decision-making for the commercial success and operational efficiency of the product portfolio. Must collaborate cross-functionally across Operational and Commercial teams to deliver a Color, Fragrance & Nutrition portfolio that supports growth targets expected from Products. Responsible for leadership and oversight of the team supporting the Color, Fragrance & Nutrition Categories by effectively managing strategic output, team performance, and enabling key partnerships across the organization.
Product Innovation Lead – Responsible for establishing the longer-term innovation plans for all categories in partnership with the Skin Care and Nutrition category lead. Synthesizes information from product portfolio financial health assessments, market and consumer trends including CIA inputs, and Regional/Market input to guide innovation direction. Based on the Product Strategy, including financial objectives and desired product innovation cadences, and category plans and objectives, determines product innovation needs for all categories. Serves a key bridging role among Global Product Management and the Product Roadmap teams, and upstream research teams in Research & Development including Pre-Idea Research, Product Formulation, Products Research, and Package Engineering and Design. This bridging role helps ensure product pipeline building activity is sufficient to meet portfolio needs and informs R&D upstream teams of these needs to align their product innovation efforts with the required product roadmaps and category plans. Also serves as the conduit of R&D and other upstream function ideas to influence the product pipeline.
About the Role
Responsibilities:
- Color & Fragrance Lead
- Responsible for executing Mary Kay Inc Global Product Strategy to include accountability for the overall Color & Fragrance Category, and product portfolio performance.
- Provides oversight for the overall Color, Fragrance & Innovation Categories to deliver on Product-related financial goals and measurements.
- In partnership with the Sr Director, defines financial growth goals, metrics, and targets for the company and partners with key commercial leaders to deliver competitive, high-performing products for our Independent Beauty Consultants.
- Determines key levers of growth from Product for company P&L, must influence Executive and Senior Commercial leadership on Product Strategy Plans.
- In partnership with the Sr Director, Global Product Management, drives innovation in new product development. Requires long-term strategic focus on consumer and independent sales force needs as well as a competitive activity, and the ability to identify possible uses for technology from other industries.
- Responsible for identifying opportunities to support financial growth through effective management of the Cost Of Goods Sold relative to both regular line products and limited edition promotional items. Works closely with Program Management, Finance, Contract Services, and Package Quality and Engineering to ensure that cost targets are met. Proactively seeks opportunities to improve costs on existing products; carefully weighs benefits of additional cost against increased revenue when making product decisions.
- Partners with Sr Director, Global Product Development, and champions the development of strategies and plans to define Hard Working Portfolio for HER. In partnership with the assigned R&D team, identifies and recommends emerging ingredients and technologies that should be developed to a "market-ready" stage. Contributes to the identification and evaluation of potential technology partners.
- In partnership with the assigned R&D team, identifies and recommends emerging ingredients and technologies that should be developed to a "market-ready" stage. Contributes to the identification and evaluation of potential technology partners.
- Provides thought leadership in the development of the 3-5 year product portfolio growth plan. Provides recommendations and executes on launch calendars, end-to-end lifecycle management of products including product phase-outs prioritizing resources, and prioritization of product projects.
- Drives decisions on portfolio composition and advises on product positioning in partnership with Sales and Marketing leaders.
- Identifies, analyzes, and optimizes insights and translates them into recommendations for a value-based global product portfolio roadmap.
- Partners with Sr Director, Global Product Management, to achieve the strategic achievement of long-term supply chain objectives. Champions the achievement of supply chain strategies within the context of the roadmap planning process and highlights & removes barriers for the team.
- Color, Fragrance & Innovation Lead
- Provides leadership and oversight of the Color, Fragrance & Innovation Category teams, more specifically responsible for the sales and profit performance of products.
- Ensures the team executes the strategy for commercial innovation, product innovation, Go to Market plans, and product activation for both new and existing product categories.
- Ensures the team has a deep understanding and awareness of both internal/external Categories.
- Provides guidance on pricing, manages the mix of each product across the portfolio, and serves as the business expert for Color, Fragrance, and Innovation.
- Oversees strategic output, and team performance, and enables key partnerships with key stakeholders across the business.
- Ensures team executes across multiple brands within the Color, Fragrance & Innovation Categories who serve as Business Lead for new product development projects; including all aspects of formula direction/3PL brief, claims direction & consumer insights research, CPVs, naming/positioning direction & packaging/artwork direction.
- Provides direction to the team on the design, forecasting, and implementation of re-promotional recommendations to achieve Company objectives for sales and profitability.
- Ensures team partners and communicates effectively with key partners across multiple business functions.
- Identifies roadblocks and removes barriers for the team by elevating business issues and solving them to allow the team to work effectively and meet business objectives.
- Product Innovation Lead
- Responsible for establishing the longer-term innovation plans for all categories in partnership with the Skin Care and Nutrition category lead. Synthesizes information from product portfolio financial health assessments, market and consumer trends including CIA inputs, and Regional/Market input to guide innovation direction. Based on the Product Strategy, including financial objectives and desired product innovation cadences, and category plans and objectives, determines product innovation needs for all categories. Serves a key bridging role among Global Product Management and the Product Roadmap teams, and upstream research teams in Research & Development including Pre-Idea Research, Product Formulation, Products Research, and Package Engineering and Design. This bridging role helps ensure product pipeline building activity is sufficient to meet portfolio needs and informs R&D upstream teams of these needs to align their product innovation efforts with the required product roadmaps and category plans. Also serves as the conduit of R&D and other upstream function ideas to influence the product pipeline.
- Product Innovation Lead
- Responsible for ensuring the sufficiency of the product innovation pipeline to meet the Skin Care, Nutrition, Color, and Fragrance long-term, new and improved product needs.
- Ensures that the product innovation pipeline needs are translated and communicated to the upstream research teams in R&D and other upstream functions to help in setting innovation direction and focusing discovery efforts.
- Ensures that insights gained by other functions such as CIA, Corporate Insights, Regions/Markets and R&D are considered and/or incorporated into category plans and roadmaps made by the Product Brand Management teams.
- Responsible for synthesizing information and data from Product Portfolio financial Health, Trends in Action (consumer and market trends), and Category Plans into potential product/portfolio direction and for gaining alignment on which trends to pursue and/or take action against.
- This job requires on-site work at a Mary Kay facility & may need to work at other Dallas locations.
Skills & Experience
Experience: 7+ years of experience in portfolio management planning in consumer product preferred; 3+ years of supervisory experience in a leadership role, with particular focus on cross-functional partnership and management of individuals. Global experience in consumer goods beneficial. Beauty industry experience preferred.
Education: Bachelor/University Degree in Business/Marketing/Strategy/Technical field or related field. Master's degree preferred.
Additional Skills & Abilities:
- Demonstrated ability to lead others as well as technically complex color, fragrance, and/or nutrition projects.
- Must possess a global perspective and understanding of different cultures and how those cultures can impact and drive unique business strategies, and variations in communication styles.
In-depth understanding of R&D upstream research methods and practices, and strategies and success requirements. - Must be adept at influencing, gaining alignment, and meeting needs across a diverse set of customers, including Regions/Markets, Global Product Management, Senior Leadership, and Research & Development while weighing complex inputs including the product strategy, consumer and market trends, category and portfolio performance, and the needs of the markets and the selling situation.
- A working understanding of the direct sales business model is highly beneficial.
- The ability to effectively influence and exchange information on complex concepts with various levels of leadership with a broad and global cross-section of key partners is a must.
- Proven ability to forge strong relationships and collaborate, particularly in a global setting across a multitude of functions and levels.
- Strong business and financial acumen with proven analytical skills including understanding of financial principles and how to demonstrate this knowledge to make sound business recommendations to achieve business goals in a complex environment with multiple layers of partners.
- Must have the ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills, problem-solve, assess risks, and coordinate plans across multiple global cross-functional teams.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to act as a change agent and adapt to changing business and organizational dynamics, along with well-honed facilitation and conflict resolution skills.
- Demonstrated experience handling ambiguity and white space while challenging conventional thinking.
- Proven track record to identify appropriate methods to collect and analyze a diverse set of data and understand issues to develop appropriate solutions based on the findings.
- Must have a strong understanding of the core principles of product portfolio management.
- Must be well organized, capable of managing a team, and have high levels of detail on highly complex projects and handling multiple activities/tasks under pressure.
- Must be proficient in software applications such as MS Excel (development of spreadsheets, import/export, and linking); MS Word; MS PowerPoint; MS Project, MS Teams and MS Outlook, Tableau Qualtrics, or other research SaaS platforms. Oracle Agile software experience is desired.
