Product Development Manager CPG

Product Development Manager CPG

Location: Bedford Heights, Ohio

Position: Full-time, in-office, Monday through Friday

Salary: $65,000-$110,000, depending on relevant experience

About Treat Yourself Brands

Treat Yourself Brands is a growing consumer-products company that develops and manufactures creative food and activity kits sold through many of the country's largest retailers. Our products move quickly from initial concept through design, development, manufacturing and retail launch.

As our product assortment and customer base continue to grow, we are adding a second Product Development Manager to our team. This is a new position created to support that growth.

The Position

We are looking for an experienced Product Development Manager with a strong background in consumer packaged goods. Food-product experience is strongly preferred but not required.

This is a hands-on project-management role with a heavy emphasis on new product development. You will own assigned projects and manage every phase of the development process, making sure responsibilities are clearly defined, decisions are made and deadlines are met.

This is a project-management and commercialization position rather than a laboratory-based product-development role.

You will work closely with colleagues throughout the company as well as outside suppliers, designers, licensing partners and other service providers. The position shares direct reports. You must be comfortable leading cross-functional projects, driving follow-through and keeping internal and external participants aligned with agreed-upon responsibilities and deadlines.

Responsibilities

· Manage new consumer products from initial concept through commercialization and retail launch

· Develop and maintain project timelines, milestones and priorities

· Coordinate the work of internal departments and outside suppliers

· Proactively identify delays, unresolved decisions and other obstacles that could affect timing

· Follow up with project participants and keep development moving forward

· Coordinate packaging, graphics and artwork development and approvals

· Gather and verify complete specifications for all new products

· Ensure approved specifications are accurately maintained and kept current across the company's databases and systems

· Work with suppliers on product components, pricing, tooling and production requirements

· Support product costing and margin analysis

· Coordinate recipe development and formulation priorities for food products

· Work with Quality Assurance on product testing, food-safety requirements, audits and documentation

· Help manage licensed-product development, approval requirements and licensor portals

· Assist with retail presentations, seasonal assortments and planograms

· Conduct competitive shopping and research consumer, product and merchandising trends

· Maintain accurate project plans, deadlines, responsibilities and status updates using Trello

· Communicate project priorities, risks and next steps clearly to company leadership

Qualifications

· Three or more years of professional project-management or product-development experience

· Direct experience within consumer packaged goods

· Food-product development experience strongly preferred

· Five or more years of directly relevant experience preferred for senior-level consideration

· Demonstrated success managing multiple products or projects simultaneously

· Ability to manage a high volume of concurrent, deadline-driven projects in a seasonal business

· Strong organizational skills and consistent attention to detail

· Ability to establish timelines, anticipate problems and drive projects to completion

· Strong follow-through and the ability to keep participants focused on agreed-upon responsibilities and deadlines

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills

· Experience working with outside suppliers, designers or other business partners

· Proficiency with Trello or a comparable project-management platform

· Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and other standard business software

· Bachelor's degree preferred but not required

What We Offer

· Salary of $65,000-$110,000, based on relevant experience

· Generous paid vacation

· Some flexibility around daily starting and ending times

· A highly creative, entrepreneurial work environment

· The opportunity to influence products from the earliest idea through retail launch

· The satisfaction of seeing products you helped create on the shelves of major national retailers

This is a full-time, in-office position at our Bedford Heights location. Regular collaboration with colleagues throughout the company is an essential part of the role.

To apply, please submit your resume along with a brief introduction describing your experience managing the development and launch of consumer products.

Treat Yourself Brands is an equal-opportunity employer.

Pay: $65,000.00 - $92,800.00 per year

Work Location: In person