Senior Manager Product Line Management – Blue Line

Who We Are:

Brooks is a team of passionate people united by a desire to do meaningful work, lead healthy lives and make a difference. We share a focused mission: to inspire everyone to run and be active. That’s it. No distractions—it’s all about the run. Through science, creativity, service, authenticity and connection, we obsess over delivering the best running gear on the planet. We do it our way, with our unique spirit, with a goal of being more relevant to runners than any other brand, day after day and mile after mile. We are determined to innovate, challenging ourselves to lead thought at every turn. Inside these walls and on the roads, tracks and trails, we live and breathe Run Happy, celebrating the positive impact running has on our lives and others. We inject it into all we do because it makes everything better, smarter, more fun and more memorable. Our company culture defines us, bonds us together and creates the conditions for success. It is lived daily as a behavioral expression of our collective set of brand values: Serve People, Lead Thought, Play As a Team, Compete Every Day, Demonstrate Integrity, Have Fun and Be Active. If you are on our team, it means you are part of creating something extraordinary. You’re part of Brooks.

Your Job:

As Senior Manager Product Line Management – Blue Line, you will work as the Principal Expert in Brooks Strategic Concepts with cross-functional teams to create strategies, product, technologies, processes and experiences that will help every runner be the best version of themselves.  You will manage collaborative projects across teams to discover opportunities, define clear objectives, scope runner research and lead projects interactively to create beautiful and delightful solutions that will shape the future of running.  To do this effectively you must be a confident and flexible leader of interdisciplinary teams where harmonious collaboration is imperative. Your approach and point of view starts and ends with the runner; your sweet spot is the intersection of experience, business and technology. 

You must be insights driven and great at spotting opportunities, creating and nurturing a cohesive vision, building out business and product concepts and finally bringing impactful product and service to market.

Your Responsibilities:

Leadership:

• Provide complete management palette skills to help projects and functional team members (internal & external) achieve their personal best and motivate them to higher levels of achievement, insuring the highest standards of Fit, Feel and Ride (Technical, Biomechanical, Experiential and Aesthetic). 
• Brief products (Who, What, How & How to win) to deliver against strategic initiatives, incorporating consumer and Market feedback; Biomechanical feedback (From Lab & Academic Experts) and Technical Capabilities (from Engineering).

• Provide active leadership of Blue Line Triads for Footwear.

• Act as liaison between next and Product line management for Innovative technologies as they transition from Blue Line to In–Line programs.

• Actively work within Blue Line Triad, representing consumer readiness and collaborating with the triad to achieve brief goals.

• Will act as a technical expert within the Brooks Academy on relevant areas (Technology Application for the proper Fit, Feel and Ride Experience). 

Planning & Strategy: 

• Participate in Footwear Strategic Planning; Align with In-line Footwear Management on Strategic Plan and aligning Blue Line with the goals of that plan.
• Lead high level cross functional project teams with the ability to uncover strategic opportunities.
• Participate with In-line Product Line Management and Human Performance Lab on selecting runner profiles (WHO 'Where to Play') and identify the wants and needs opportunities from these opportunities.    
• Compile relevant ideas & build effective proposals to make the plan actionable.
• Participate in global consumer research projects that mine for latent needs.  Be actively involved in the project synthesis and expressions.

Concept Development:

• Manage multiple complex and innovative projects from insights, through concepts, validation and into seasonal integrations in collaboration with project and functional teams
• Facilitate project team ideation on concepts, guiding them through synthesis, identifying potential solutions, identifying clear action plans and executing against them through rapid prototyping.
• Work with In-line Product Line Management to obtain factual consumer, athlete and marketplace cues and product goals (functional, emotional, competitive) to motivate, shape and validate concepts, ideas and theories throughout the creation process.
• Work with Business leadership on strategic initiative concepts, resourcing and development.  Assemble cross functional teams and manage projects through to completion.
• Contribute ideas for product design, construction, materials, compounds and components to enhance functionality, aesthetics, fit and profit margin. 
• Works with Wear Testing and Human Performance Lab on the testing and validation of all performance characteristics from early prototypes to final confirmation.

Communication/ Go to Market:

• Architect and develop competitive Go to Market plans in conjunction with Product Line Management, Sales and Marketing for Blue Line programs that includes: plan development; price points; sales allocations; forecasts; and marketing/ PR programs.   
• Responsible for driving all internal strategic Blue Line product meetings throughout the creation process to obtain alignment with Product, Business and Strategic Planning.
• Voice & Face of Blue Line to consumers, key accounts, media, trade, internal stakeholders (I2R) by taking complex ideas and turning them into relevant, impactful stories.
• Work with In-line Product Line Management on monitoring sell-in, sell-through, market acceptance and post mortem learnings to guide the transition of technology into in-line programs and inform next generation technology development.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelors’ degree in Engineering, Industrial Design, or related field.
• 10+ successful years of experience leading the creation of cutting edge, high performance footwear, innovation technology projects. High level Project Line Management, Development or Design experience preferred. 
• Proven ability to lead and influence in a collaborative, cross-functional, matrixed group to meet strategic objectives
• Knowledge in Biomechanics to ensure in depth dialogue with Engineering, with an ability to translate technical jargon into stories that resonate with the laymen.
• Must demonstrate a detailed and extensive expertise and application of business development principles and concepts. 
• Strong project management skills with proven success of building action plans and leading teams to execute against them across complex projects & multiple functions
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with an advanced ability to communicate new ideas, concepts and functional expertise within project teams and to external stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal skills that inspire and build trust resulting in effective working relationships across the company.
• Keen attention to detail in planning, organization and execution of tasks (self and through others), while still seeing the big picture and understanding how all of the pieces fit together and affect one another.
• Ability to anticipate how a decision made can affect our customers, our partners, our products or other departments’ operations and/or morale; “connecting the dots.”
• Demonstrates strong presentation skills.  Able to captivate an audience, simplify complexity, and inspire internal and external audiences to embrace the future.
• Demonstration of innovation and initiative – Curious and open minded: always open for a challenge.  Ability to challenge the status quo – always looking at improving our products and processes while also displaying a willingness to dive into the details.
• Proven ability to lead and influence in collaborative, team oriented and complex global environment. International and domestic travel as required to achieve a high level of product and technology development, including visits to manufacturing facilities, R&D partners, retail stores and consumers to assist in the creation, development, commercialization and integration of our products.
• Must be able to work virtually across multiple time zones
• Passionate participation in Brooks’ sports activities a plus, overridden by the ability to understand and empathize with the runner in order to develop loyal, engaging relationships with our customers and the Brooks community.
• Unwavering demonstration of Brooks’ corporate values:  Serve People; Lead Thought; Compete as a Team; Have Integrity; Be Active; Have Fun!

Reports to:              Director, Product Line Management

Department:            FTW PLM

Position Class:       Exempt, Salaried

Position Location:  Headquarters – Seattle, WA