Product Development - Director Product Management

OVERVIEW

Reporting to the Vice President of Product Management and Supply Chain, the Director of Product Management is responsible for the business’s product development process and the product portfolio life cycle management of several brands and product categories in the automotive industry.

This is inclusive of gathering and prioritizing requirements for the product, defining the vision for the product portfolio, and collaborating with other directors from the technical services, marketing, sales, procurement, S&OP and operations departments to ensure that the financial and consumer satisfaction goals are met.

In addition to this, the Director of Product Management also ensures that the company’s overall strategy and goals are supported by those of the product.

He performs all other related duties, all in accordance with internal procedures and rules of the organization.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Management (20%)

• Lead a team of Product Managers, Product Development engineers and Industrial Designers.
• Set expectations, Roles and Responsibilities and communicates them to his employees.
• Manages the daily team and Product lifecycle management performance using actionable KPIs: gives positive feedback if deserved and realigns when necessary.
• Develop and deploy tools to improve the Product management performance especially on data management.
• Ensure proper training and development of his employees.
• Ensures the recruitment of employees under his responsibility.
• Determine and manage the Product Management department budget.
• Review and examine business processes and workflows to find out how they can be improved and automated.

Product Portfolio Lifecycle (55%)

• Lead the entire Lifecycle of a growing portfolio of over 12 brands and several product categories including but not limited to Alloy Wheels, Steel Wheels, Accessories related to the automotive industry or any other new or relevant categories.
• Define Customer’s need: Responsible for identifying and defining the needs from all departments and consolidate requirements to give clear guidance to his Product Managers.
• Responsible for developing and overseeing the product’s roadmap and managing it as required for the purpose of meeting deliverables for the business.
• Lead the Product Development team from Ideation to Launch (Ideation, Design, Prototyping, Validation, Launch)
• Establish a relationship of trust with suppliers around the world.
• Coordinate with the Customer Support department to ensure proper knowledge of the products and services.
• Acquire data from the Quality Assurance department to continuously improve product quality.
• Develop and maintain relevant and actionable KPIs and allow visibility to the Executive team using clear dashboards.

Product / Market Strategy (25%)

• Responsible for product / market fit definition for several market segments in the automotive industry.
• Partner up with the S&OP, sales and marketing departments to build on product unit sales forecast as well as support strategies.
• Responsible for end of life of products deciding on product mixt and drop SKUs.
• Prepare, plan and have his team and marketing department execute competitive intelligence and market studies including traveling to tradeshows and customers and then recommend potential new developments and future markets for the company:
• Brings new products to market by analyzing proposed product requirements and product development programs and preparing return-on-investment analysis using a business case approach.

• Strong leadership skills.
• Organized and detail oriented.
• Excellent ability to solve problems.
• Demonstrate excellent ability of interpersonal communication, based on respect, diplomacy and discernment.
• Demonstrate a positive attitude in work, exercising calm and being stress resistant in more difficult situations.
• Demonstrate a good sense of planning and organization.
• Demonstrate strong ability to adapt, to lead and show initiative.
• Strong capability of analysis & synthesis using data driven decision making process.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
• A minimum of 5 years of direct Product Management experience or leading Product Development activities.
• Experience in managing the full product development lifecycle including product line development, costing, prototyping, specification development.
• A proven track record in product planning, defining and launching successful products.
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
• Experience with PowerBI would be an asset.
• Strong blend of analytical, decision-making and creative problem-solving skills.
• Strong detail orientation with the ability to work with overseas vendors is a must.
• A clear understanding of the consumer products is a must.
• Experience in the field of automotive and tire industry would be an asset.
• Solid written and verbal communication skills are required.
• Excellent command of spoken and written French. Knowledge of English is required due to the nature of the position, particularly for communications with external partners located outside Quebec. Knowledge of Mandarin is considered an asset.

Any combination of education and relevant experience will be considered.

A valid passport is required as the position involves travel within Canada and abroad: 10 to 20% of the year.