Associate Product Specialist

About the Role

Grows an understanding of establishing the vision and direction through all phases of the product lifecycle and assists in the execution objectives through cross-functional teams in the areas of product strategy, product development, and product quality.

Key Responsibilities

LEADERSHIP

• Identifies and utilizes key resources.
• Seeks to understand the needs, motivations and values of others.
• Takes initiative to understand processes and ask thoughtful questions to process owners.
• Develops relationships with cross-functional team members.
• Asks for and receives feedback appropriately and constructively acts upon feedback.

TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION

• Supports multiple product teams on a wide variety of projects.
• Contributes to the team by being engaged and present at meetings, trainings and summits.
• Actively listens to gain knowledge from other teams and departments.
• Gathers data, input, and opinions from cross-functional team members to make informed decisions for the product line.
• Listens to understand feedback from cross-functional team members regarding changes or decisions to better understand impact to timelines, cost, or product specifications.

COMMUNICATION

• Basic presentation skills, including verbal and written communication.
• Supports the creation of visual presentation content.
• Effectively communicates through verbal and written communication, providing support for basic product-related needs with guidance.
• Possesses basic verbal and written communication skills.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Supports product management activities with specifically assigned tasks.
• Completes tasks with well-defined objectives and outcomes.
• Receives guidance with prioritization of assigned tasks.
• Basic knowledge of project management tools.

NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

• Observes ideation process for specific product and/or specific needs.
• Reviews product requirements / product platforms created by other team members to gain an understanding of the requirements documentation process.
• Makes suggestions to provide clarity and consistency.
• Supports user/alpha/beta testing.
• Gains an understanding of product testing and goals.
• Begins to understand the usage of product trademarks and trade dress and patents.
• Gains an understanding of product development processes and procedures, as well as key technologies associated with assigned product.
• Supports activities and accomplishes basic tasks with supervision that lead up to a product, system, and/or sample book from development through the completion of the launch.

QUALITY/SUSTAINING

• Periodically attends quality-focused meetings.
• Grows understanding of current product and analysis behind planned product discontinuations.
• Grows understanding of project objectives and how objectives relate to product quality and/or improvements.

PRODUCT STRATEGY

• Grows a basic understanding of all product features, benefits, and user applications.
• Realizes product positioning within the category hierarchy and how it ladders to the master brand.
• Has basic understanding of key differences in the market, category, and competitive landscape.
• Understands product fit within category and adjacent categories.
• Understands product channel differentiation.
• Basic understanding of prioritization within assigned product category.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

• Basic understanding of data collection and sales reporting.
• Basic understanding of financial analysis.
• Ability to create and submit purchase requisitions.
• Ability to pull sales reports to assist with forecast projections.

RESEARCH

• Basic understanding of trends and insights related to product line.
• Articulates top consumer or dealer frustrations.
• Basic understanding of product line and key competitors.
• Basic understanding of qualitative and quantitative data, leveraging data to generate insight and/or analysis for the product.
• Grows an understanding of voice of customer data.
• Grows an understanding of setting research objectives.
• Assists in research activities.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• SAP (ability to quickly learn)
• Word, Excel, Google suite

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• 0 to 2 years of related product management and demonstrated project management is required.
• Continuing commitment to ongoing knowledge-based training.
• Hunter Douglas product management experience preferred.
• Ability to learn the principles of finance to prepare budgets and understand all costs connected with line extensions, product enhancements, and resampling of the product.
• Basic knowledge of consumer needs in the home fashion industry.
• Basic knowledge of project management.
• Ability to learn analyzing and comparing competitive data.
• Basic knowledge of communication skills (oral and written) and how to adapt to various situations when dealing with or providing feedback.
• Basic knowledge of correct grammar usage to compose and proofread correspondence for spelling, sentence construction, and punctuation errors.
• Basic ability to conduct presentations to all small audiences.
• Basic ability to develop and maintain effective work relationships.
• Ability to learn technical product information.
• Skill in presenting recommendations for action plans to supervisor based on analysis.
• Ability to utilize creative thinking and problem-solving techniques on a daily basis.
• Ability to prioritize and organize multiple work assignments across various product lines.
• Ability to conduct work in a self-directed manner with limited supervision.