Director, Product Management - Industrial Brands at Rust-Oleum Corporation in Vernon Hills, Illinois

Job Description:

JOB DESCRIPTION



Job Title: Director, Product Management - Industrial Brands

Location: Vernon Hills, IL

Department: Rust-Oleum Product Management

Reports To: Senior Director, Product Management - Professional Platform

Date: March, 2025

JOB PURPOSE:

The Director Product Management is responsible for the platform strategy and end-to-end profitability and has P&L ownership of the Industrial Brands platform. 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 Senior Director of Product Management for the Professional Solutions Platform.

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 experience.
  
  Industrial paint and coatings experience 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

Salary Range: $125,000 - $150,000

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 and offer a company match. Associates are vested in the RPM Pension plan after completing five years of service. Rust-Oleum offers 9 paid holidays and two floating holidays 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. Apply Now