Job Title: Director Product Management - Architectural Coatings

Location: Vernon Hills, IL

Department: Rust-Oleum US Marketing

Reports To: Vice President of Product Management

Direct Reports/Manages others: Yes

Hybrid Schedule: Our hybrid work environment includes two (2) remote days/week.

Rust-Oleum Corporation is a worldwide leader in protective paints and coatings for both home and industry. We offer a wide range of products including decorative fashion paints, durable industrial roof repair coatings and, of course, our famous rust-fighting formula that started it all.

JOB PURPOSE:

The Director Product Management is responsible for the platform strategy and end-to-end profitability and has P&L ownership of the platform(e.g., Small Project Paints, Primers, Automotive, etc.). This position identifies profitable growth opportunities, complexity and cost reduction levers and sets the platform’s long-term strategy and roadmap to create sustainable competitive advantage and profitable growth at 10% CAGR or 3X market growth (whichever is greater). In order to do this, this individual will work cross functionally across multiple organizations such as Sales, Marketing, R&D, Manufacturing & Supply Chain in order to gain a deep understanding of user & market insights, STEEP factors, operational capability, innovation & technology pipelines, channel dynamics, and competitive dynamics.

The Director of Product Management is supported by a team of Product Managers dedicated to the platform as well as by a team of Strategic Project Managers and Product Operations Managers that are dedicated or shared across platforms. She/he reports into the Vice President of Product Management (Segment).

RESPONSIBILITIES

Platform P&L ownership

• P&L ownership of the platform, balancing cost and growth opportunities to achieve profitability and growth targets.
• Identification of profitable growth opportunities, complexity and cost reduction levers from an end-to-end perspective involving all relevant functions across the company to drive impact and success for the platform (incl. Operations, Supply Chain, Sales and Marketing).
• Utilization of a data-driven approach towards decision making, leveraging datasets spanning consumer insights, market data, service levels, sales data, and more.

Platform and portfolio strategy, innovation, and new product introductions

• Develop a competitive platform strategy following strategic frameworks and processes as part of the company’s Strategic Portfolio Review and Planning process.
• Develop deep understanding of the target audiences to ensure that new products and services solve real consumer problems.
• Design, execute, and track success of the strategic initiatives of the platform, including platform’s go-to-market strategy, brand and value proposition, demand generation strategy, operational and supply chain strategy, and pricing and promotional strategy.
• Innovation pipeline management to meet user needs, optimize portfolio mix, better serve our customers, and grow the platform.
• Responsibility over managing new product launches, including working closely with R&D to ensure end user needs are met, executing a launch marketing and sales strategy, and quantifying success of initiatives.
• Share best practices, identifying opportunities to drive synergy and scale across the business together with the wider Product Management team.

People Management

• Manage direct reports on day-to-day activities including planning & allocating tasks as required in collaboration with senior leaders.
• Coach and mentor staff, ensure employee development & retention, maintain a positive employee relations environment.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 8 years of relevant Product Management or Brand Management required.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Business, Marketing, or Engineering, with an MBA being an advantage.
• Profitability and growth orientation; does not hesitate in challenging sales force when required; willingness and mindset to get into details.
• Strong financial skills to utilize the decision support systems to interface with the sales and marketing organizations to drive specific action plans and programs.
• Entrepreneurial mindset to quickly capitalize on market opportunities with an innate desire to build businesses and keep happy users & customers.
• Analytic and strategic thinking skills, with ability to digest complex information and make data-driven decisions.
• Passionate problem solver and creative thinker, with ability to pitch new ideas and be open to feedback.
• Dynamic and agile: Ability to think in a creative and strategic way, but are adept at delivering operationally to ensure tasks are followed through to completion. Ability to work efficiently and flexibly to deliver results.
• Experience managing large teams in product development organizations with strong technical leadership capabilities to develop a high performing team.
• Insights-driven with the ability to take a spark of an idea and translate it to an unmet user need and/or market opportunity.
• Leader with the ability to exert formal and informal influence across functions.
• Strong decision making and prioritization skills, especially when multiple trade-offs are involved, and faster decision are required.

LEADERSHIP TRAITS

• Strategic Planning: Is proactive, forward-looking and can anticipate trends. Has vision and can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
• Change Management: Ability to adapt to change, anticipate future needs, is flexible, overcomes resistance to change, and demonstrates managerial courage.
• Problem Solving: Is able to understand and evaluate complex issues and devise and implement successful solutions. Is focused on results, can see hidden problems, and takes logical approach and probes fruitful sources for answers. Is proactive and decisive in nature.
• Communication: Has effective verbal communication and presentation skills, has effective writing abilities (clear and succinct), had executive presence, has active listening abilities, and can convey important or critical messages that have the desired effect.
• Collaboration: Identifies opportunities for shared resources, seeks partnerships, is a team player, and involves others. Builds commitment, fosters open dialogue, and supports diversity and input from all team members. Is open minded and transparent.
• Decision Making: Uses critical thinking skills, has a track record of making high quality decisions, does not hesitate when making decision, is confident, and is action oriented.
• Developing Others: Coaches others and nurtures emerging leaders. Is a keen listener, provides challenging/stretch assignments, encourages development, confronts and deals with performance issues effectively and delegates tasks effectively in order to develop others.
• Judgment: Adopts strategic, analytical and carefully weighted decision-making process in the evaluations of alternative scenarios.
• Financial Acumen: Has demonstrated financial acumen, can successfully budget and forecast, and understands cost implications of decisions.
• Integrity & Commitment: Demonstrates integrity, has commitment, shows moral courage, demonstrates emotional intelligence, is values-driven, respects the Company culture, and demonstrates responsible entrepreneurship. Has a can-do attitude and the desire to go above and beyond.

From big benefits to small, we take care of our associates! After 30 days of employment, you will be eligible for a benefits package that includes medical, dental, life, disability and business travel insurance, flexible spending accounts, EAP, stock purchases and vacation/sick days/parental leave. We also offer a 401(k) plan after three months of employment. Associates are vested in the RPM Pension plan after completing five years of service. Rust-Oleum offers 9 paid holidays and one floating holiday per year. You are also eligible to earn three weeks of vacation on an annualized basis.

Rust-Oleum is an equal opportunity employer. Employment selection and related decisions are made without regard to sex, race, age, disability, religion, national origin, color, or any other protected class.