Job Description

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Senior Product Development Manager is responsible for developing new product roads, leading the innovation process, and driving new physical product initiatives through the product development process from ideation to commercialization. This position requires experience bringing metal types of physical products to market and experience working with global sourcing . Success will ultimately be measured by product vitality (the amount of new product sold each year as a percentage of overall sales) and contribution margin improvement. This role is the cornerstone of the growth plans for the company.

The Senior Product Manager works closely with many internal Quality Craft departments, as well as outside resources:

• Sales to gather market and customer information and to assist with pricing and program development
• Marketing to assist in collateral and other sales tool development
• Overseas factories and the overseas Quality Craft office to ensure products are developed and launched on time and on budget
• Outside contractors for industrial design and development

The Senior Product Manager is responsible for profitability to the Contribution Margin of their respective product categories.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

For the assigned products and product category:

• Follows the established Stage Gate Product Development Progression from concept through commercialization, including: innovation and ideation; evaluation of product submissions from inventors; prioritization of new projects; coordination of packaging, testing, certifications, and merchandising deployment, and working with attorneys regarding patents and infringement
• Oversees all product testing and testing requirements necessary to ensure the performance and safety of products.
• Monitors Quality Control and Assurance development, monitoring and coordinating with operations to find corrective actions for identified issues.
• Identifies, develops and maintains a strong supplier base for both components and potentially finished goods.
• Leads communication of product lines internally with Sales, and externally with suppliers and other agencies; also supports Sales with communication to customers.
• Involved in forecasting with Sales and Operations, supporting upgrades in S&OP forecasting models
• In collaboration with the Sales Team, recommends pricing for products within assigned product categories , ensuring that duties / tariffs are accurate and up to date; all pricing is finalized by the Product Analyst.
• Owner and driver of market and competitive information. Keeps data and insights in repository for the organization to use in its new product / growth project plans.
• Reviews new government legislation that will impact product and product development. Maintains a library of certifications required to meet government regulations.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND REQUIREMENTS :

• Bachelor’s degree required (MBA a plus)
• Minimum 8 years of relevant product development experience, including experience:

• Successfully producing a metal/steel product from ideation to launch
• Presenting and selling ideas to the sales team
• Being involved in trade shows and on sales calls
• Working with and evaluating international factories (exp with factories in Asia required)

• Capability to travel approximately 25% of the time, including some international travel to Asia (potentially 1x/quarter).
• Experience managing others a plus

JOB SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS :

• Highly ethical – honesty and Integrity are the cornerstone of Quality Craft. A working style that exemplifies honesty, integrity, candor, and respect for all others is a must.
• Must have a basic understanding of materials and manufacturing processes, especially metal/steel.
• Hands On! Likes to get hands dirty. Not afraid to get onto jobsites and talk to contractors regarding product / application feedback.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; presentation skills must be strong enough to effectively communicate, negotiate, and/or persuade key stakeholders on product development actions.
• Ability to get it done – strong project management, problem solving, organizational and critical thinking skills; ability to analyze, evaluate and find ways around roadblocks in order to meet objectives.
• Possesses an entrepreneurial spirit – gets excited pursuing new business opportunities that often require creativity and resilience to nurture ideas from inception to launch
• Computer Literacy – Strong skills in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, MS Project, etc.
• Technical Orientation – a strong interest in exploring technical solutions for innovation, quality improvement, and/or cost reduction.

WHAT WE OFFER:

At Quality Craft we work hard to embody a culture of caring through QC Cares – an initiative to give back to our local and global communities , while aspiring to fulfill our vision – to inspire and improve the home, work and play environments and lifestyle for all.

We also recognize the personal investment required by each individual to ensure our success and in return, we work hard to make Quality Craft a place where our people can flourish including offering a comprehensive and competitive insurance benefits program, which includes medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, a retirement plan with company match, paid time off, etc.

WHO WE ARE

With over 40 years of experience in the industry, Quality Craft has built solid relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, designers, retailers and the end consumer.

Based in Vancouver, Canada Quality Craft was originally established in 1984 by John Brice as a full-service trading company. Over the last 3 decades Quality Craft has experience in and has supported over 100 different product categories and developed relationships with a wide variety of full-service factories and manufacturers across Asia.

As the business grew, Quality Craft opened its own office in China to better serve its clients and build stronger communications and oversite on the operations and production side, helping to ensure quality and on-time delivery. These deep relationships in Asia ensure that Quality Craft can produce and exceed the high-quality, on-time delivery requirements our customers are expecting.

Quality Craft’s heritage enabled us to create functional expertise to be nimble and respond to design trends, innovate product solutions, effectively manufacture, certify and deliver quality products at competitive prices.

To meet the ever-changing market, Quality Craft has evolved into a more disciplined consumer goods company.With specialized product development and engineering team, Quality Craft now leads product development, focused on developing solution based and trend right goods for the consumer. In support of this evolution, Quality Craft has also enhanced its marketing focus and developed its three key brands:

• Montezuma – Home storage and organization
• Blue Sky – Outdoor living
• Admira – Surfaces

Quality Craft prides itself on being a company that has the ability to respond quickly and resourcefully to the ever-changing consumer needs and expectations. We leverage and share our collective knowledge, industry expertise and global relationships to develop product solutions for the end consumer and deliver value to our retail partners.

Quality Craft is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

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