The Product Category Manager with Safco Products directs and influences Safco's product roadmap by leading the development, management and sourcing strategies for consumer office products in partnership with external suppliers. They will drive strategic business objectives by efficiently and effectively developing and managing products through their entire lifecycle.

This full-time position reports directly to the Product Business Leader and is located at Safco’s headquarters in New Hope, Minnesota.

Required Skills

IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL:

• Set the vision and strategy for new portfolio of products
• Define the success metrics and track performance. Use metrics to understand issues, opportunities, trends, and patterns.
• Identifying unmet customer needs and growth opportunities
• Proactively partner with Sourcing to identify, partner and collaborate with overseas and domestic suppliers to help set the design and quality expectations, and production of new products to add to our portfolio of products.
• Lead new product development projects, ensuring that customer and consumer requirements are met, and that schedule and financial targets are achieved
• Work with Marketing and eCommerce team members to effectively launch new products strongly and successfully while providing clear direction regarding other day-to-day product management tasks
• Deliver against annual sales, profit, and inventory goals for product line(s).
• Collaborate with engineering and Quality to ensure appropriate design criteria and test plan for quality and appropriate warranty.
• Coordinate Voice of the Customer (VOC) activities and other market research required to fully understand customer requirements and drive decisions for assigned product line(s).
• Plan and deliver product training, including participation in live training events and recorded product webinars.
• Monitor competitive product activity, and develop competitive product comparisons
• Contribute and participate in the long-term product planning process
• Ability to travel, international and domestic
• Other duties as assigned

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• New product or product collection conception, launch
• Current category management, maintenance
• Future product & category vision, execution of same
• Category project / initiative owner

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications or another related field. MBA a plus.
• 3-5 years of experience within a PM role
• Leadership experience including proven track record of strong project management experience
• Change agent
• Strong communication skills to rally teams towards a vision and plan
• Proven Financial Acumen skill set to drive P&L ownership of product categories
• Ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical audiences
• Ability to influence teams directly and indirectly under your authority
• Stellar organizational skills to keep all projects and product introductions and launches on track

COMPETENCIES/TALENTS/PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Caring:
  • Uses listening and empathy to connect with others
• Innovation:
  • Creative thinker who looks for better ways
• Trust:
  • Delivers on promises and follows through
• Excellence:
  • Persistent when seeking the best solution

 ABOUT OUR COMPANY:

SAFCO® offers an array of furniture solutions to create top-notch spaces everyone will be talking about. The team delivers a memorable experience because they truly care about how and where people work. To create work spaces that energize and inspire people, they use market knowledge and employee know-how to spread workspace product innovation. Safco® is committed to excellence in serving our customers for the long-term and building strong relationships.

As part of the LIBERTY DIVERSIFIED INTERNATIONAL (LDI) family of companies, SAFCO'S headquarters are based in Minneapolis, Minnesota with manufacturing and distribution centers in Iowa, Virginia, California and Georgia. The LDI family of companies includes LIBERTY PACKAGING, LIBERTY PAPER, LIBERTY PLASTICS (CUSTOM SOLUTIONS and QUARRIX BUILDING PRODUCTS) AND SAFCO.

◊ ◊ ◊

Liberty Diversified International is an equal opportunity employer and makes all employment decisions without regard to race, color, sex, religion, age, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, disability, or any other protected class.

Required Experience

IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL:

• Set the vision and strategy for new portfolio of products
• Define the success metrics and track performance. Use metrics to understand issues, opportunities, trends, and patterns.
• Identifying unmet customer needs and growth opportunities
• Proactively partner with Sourcing to identify, partner and collaborate with overseas and domestic suppliers to help set the design and quality expectations, and production of new products to add to our portfolio of products.
• Lead new product development projects, ensuring that customer and consumer requirements are met, and that schedule and financial targets are achieved
• Work with Marketing and eCommerce team members to effectively launch new products strongly and successfully while providing clear direction regarding other day-to-day product management tasks
• Deliver against annual sales, profit, and inventory goals for product line(s).
• Collaborate with engineering and Quality to ensure appropriate design criteria and test plan for quality and appropriate warranty.
• Coordinate Voice of the Customer (VOC) activities and other market research required to fully understand customer requirements and drive decisions for assigned product line(s).
• Plan and deliver product training, including participation in live training events and recorded product webinars.
• Monitor competitive product activity, and develop competitive product comparisons
• Contribute and participate in the long-term product planning process
• Ability to travel, international and domestic
• Other duties as assigned

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• New product or product collection conception, launch
• Current category management, maintenance
• Future product & category vision, execution of same
• Category project / initiative owner

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications or another related field. MBA a plus.
• 3-5 years of experience within a PM role
• Leadership experience including proven track record of strong project management experience
• Change agent
• Strong communication skills to rally teams towards a vision and plan
• Proven Financial Acumen skill set to drive P&L ownership of product categories
• Ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical audiences
• Ability to influence teams directly and indirectly under your authority
• Stellar organizational skills to keep all projects and product introductions and launches on track

COMPETENCIES/TALENTS/PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Caring:
  • Uses listening and empathy to connect with others
• Innovation:
  • Creative thinker who looks for better ways
• Trust:
  • Delivers on promises and follows through
• Excellence:
  • Persistent when seeking the best solution

 ABOUT OUR COMPANY:

SAFCO® offers an array of furniture solutions to create top-notch spaces everyone will be talking about. The team delivers a memorable experience because they truly care about how and where people work. To create work spaces that energize and inspire people, they use market knowledge and employee know-how to spread workspace product innovation. Safco® is committed to excellence in serving our customers for the long-term and building strong relationships.

As part of the LIBERTY DIVERSIFIED INTERNATIONAL (LDI) family of companies, SAFCO'S headquarters are based in Minneapolis, Minnesota with manufacturing and distribution centers in Iowa, Virginia, California and Georgia. The LDI family of companies includes LIBERTY PACKAGING, LIBERTY PAPER, LIBERTY PLASTICS (CUSTOM SOLUTIONS and QUARRIX BUILDING PRODUCTS) AND SAFCO.

◊ ◊ ◊

Liberty Diversified International is an equal opportunity employer and makes all employment decisions without regard to race, color, sex, religion, age, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, disability, or any other protected class.