Job Title:          Vice President of Product and Sourcing

Company:        Confidential

Location:          Burlington, Vermont

Reports To:      President

Supervises:      Product Team and Asia Office

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COMPANY & HISTORY

COMPANY is a successful, stable, and growing full-service brand development partner to some of the world’s most innovative brands. Since 1988, they have built a unique toolkit to connect their brand partners to their consumers in meaningful ways. From design and identity to branded merchandise and apparel, from content creation to retail activation, they know success is built on equal parts creative vision and a relentless attention to detail. Some of COMPANY’s hundreds of global clients include Timberland, Facebook, Jim Beam, Dunkin Donuts, Pepsi, Tinder, Google, Ben & Jerry’s...to name a few. COMPANY is privately-owned by its original founders. Recently the owners decided to step back from daily business management and hired a new President to run the day-to-day operations of the company. President is focused on building his senior leadership team.

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LOCATION

In 2017, Burlington, Vermont was named among the “Top 100 Best Places to Live” by Livability. Nestled on the shores of Lake Champlain, Burlington is surrounded by some of the most dramatically beautiful landscapes in the country. It mixes historic charm with modern amenities, enjoys a vibrant intellectual and cultural life, and offers unparalleled outdoor recreational opportunities year round. With an economy strong in health care and education, Burlington is home to the largest hospital in the state, the University of Vermont Medical Center, as well as the University of Vermont and Champlain College. Conveniently located near two major interstate systems and the Burlington International Airport, Burlington has a solid infrastructure that offers convenience to residents and tourists alike.

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This position will be located in Burlington,Vermont but will be expected to travel to the Asia office in Shanghai, China approximately 2-3 times per year.

 

CULTURE

COMPANY boasts a flat hierarchy, with a functional structure in an iconic, edgy workspace and with staff who have a “can-do” attitude. They are 100 people strong and make up a diverse and creative team that’s united in its commitment to always deliver, while still having fun. COMPANY describes its culture as client-focused, outcome-based, and thrives on problem-solving. With trust and integrity at its core, COMPANY is able to move fast with agility allowing for employees to experience both high responsibility and high autonomy. Staff are rewarded for being both self-directed AND team-oriented.

 

POSITION SCOPE

As a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Vice President of Product & Sourcing plays an integral role in leading the sourcing and development of all the Company’s products and participating in strategically developing and implementing goals, directives, and activities that will enable the Company to achieve its full market potential, without sacrificing a best workplace culture.

 

KEY DELIVERABLES

As a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Vice President of Product & Sourcing’s mission is to drive the Company’s product capabilities for a wide range of clients ensuring forward thinking product solutions while protecting on-time delivery and a balanced portfolio of supply chain partners.

• Build a high performance Product team through best-in-class leadership and process

• Create compelling product solutions for a wide range of consumer brand clients

• Differentiate Select through a diverse supply chain built on strong relationships

• Foster an innovative product culture

• Identify new product-based business unit opportunities both near and long term

 

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

 

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

• Participates in and contributes to senior leadership meetings to develop Company’s strategic direction and future evolution using knowledge of the industry landscape and understanding of product development and sourcing

• Interprets Company strategic plan to develop, implement and regularly refine Product Development operating business plan

• Creates strong, effective, and trusted internal partnerships and collaborates across the Company; listens and values the opinions of others; supports both the leadership and product teams by pitching in at any level and effectively working across the organization to meet the needs of the business

 

TEAM LEADERSHIP

• Provides daily servant leadership to the product teams by coaching and motivating; creates a culture that drives and celebrates growth, goal achievement and successes

• Is an inspiring role model through presence and actions

• Stays closely connected to internal project teams, monitoring progress of ongoing projects, as needed, and helping to address and resolve promptly, accurately, effectively, and to the client’s satisfaction, any issues or problems that may arise

• Communicates timely, relevant information to product team, as appropriate, so they understand Company performance, business direction and initiatives, and how they contribute to and benefit from the Company’s success

• Sets high and clearly defined standards for direct reports; provides current, objective, and complete positive and constructive feedback and addresses performance concerns directly, fairly, and in a timely manner

• Sets and maintains business and client priorities throughout the fiscal year and holds team members accountable

 

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & SOURCING

• Leads all aspects of sourcing, merchandising, product development and production internally and with vendors to achieve multiple objectives including high standards for sales, profit, quality, execution, and delivery

• Partners with and builds strong relationships with domestic and international suppliers and external stakeholders to ensure projects are developed, purchased and executed in a way that ensures quality and competitive pricing while overseeing and executing a high volume of complex projects

• Develops outstanding working relationships across departments (Sales, Creative, Marketing, Production, etc.) to ensure that product plans are synergistic

• Analyzes business from multiple perspectives such as competition, customer needs, and trends

• Evaluates current and potential vendors and suppliers based upon price, quality, service support, availability, reliability, and selection

• Drives process improvement to enhance profitability and increase speed to market

• Manages and controls inventory levels to achieve budgeted sales, inventory, profit and turnover objectives

• Oversees transactions with vendors to ensure optimal stock levels are maintained for all channels and assist in maintaining vendor compliances with business policies

• Works within established operating budgets and maintains daily tracking and analysis of benchmarking information

 

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

• Bachelor’s Degree in commercial, industrial, or product design; architecture; or engineering, or related discipline. Master’s or MBA preferred

• 10+ years of senior-level product development, sourcing and marketing management/leadership experience with strategic planning and full P&L responsibility of relevant product lines

• 10+ years of experience within a manufacturing, consumer goods, client, and/or agency environment. Experience working in founder-led, entrepreneurial, private organization a plus

• Solid understanding of product procurement and the management of assorted brand merchandise

• Demonstrated ability to build new relationships and nurturing existing relationships with vendors, suppliers, clients, and peer groups

• Strong knowledge of business models, objectives, financial metrics, etc. used in decision-making; ability to build sound business cases to support innovative initiatives

• Strong understanding of effective Creative Design practices, trends, techniques, and processes across various touchpoints or mediums (e.g. design, packaging, branded apparel, POP/POS & displays, etc.)

• Successful experience and demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and manage a team of direct reports; monitoring and evaluating team progress against stated expectations, in addition to aligning and changing behavior with performance expectations; creating a strong internal desire for both personal achievement and team successes

• Experience leading change management

• Strong problem-solving skills; ability to proactively identify and implement effective solutions

• Demonstrated ability to influence decisions at all levels; excellent negotiation skills

• Demonstrated ability to make effective decisions in challenging situations and/or under pressure

• Demonstrated ability to manage heavy workloads, prioritize work appropriately, and meet assigned deadlines; excellent organizational and analytical skills (including attention to detail)

• Highly proficient with MS Office software and Google Chrome; working knowledge of Adobe creative suite and 3D design software

• Outstanding communication and presentation skills with the ability to interface with all levels of professionals

• 25% international travel as needed

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SUCCESS FACTORS/CHARACTER COMPETENCIES

• Business acumen. Knows how businesses work. Knowledgeable in current and possible future trends, technology, and information in sourcing and product development. Is aware of how strategies and tactics work in the marketplace. Knows the competition.

• Drives for results. Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully. Bottom-line oriented. Steadfastly pushes self and others for results.

• Builds effective teams by operating in a team format. Talks “we”, “us”, and “the team” versus “I”. Gets the whole team motivated and enthused. Runs participative meetings and processes. Shares credit with the team for successes. Trusts the team to perform.

• Problem-Solving. Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions. Can see hidden problems. Is excellent at honest analysis. Looks beyond the obvious and doesn’t stop at first answers.

• Learning on the fly. Learns quickly when facing new problems. A relentless and versatile learner. Open to change. Experiments and will try anything to find solutions. Enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks.

• Decision quality. Makes good decisions based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment. Sought out by others for advice and solutions.

• Motivating others. Creates a climate in which people want to do their best. Empowers others. Invites input from each person and shares ownership and visibility. Is someone people like working for and with.

 

COMPENSATION and BENEFITS

COMPANY is offering a strong compensation package, including competitive base salary, annual target bonus, retirement and healthcare benefits, etc.

 

RELOCATION

COMPANY will pay to relocate the Vice President of Product and his/her family to the Chittenden County of Vermont.

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TO APPLY

Email your resume or CV with cover letter to mara@mararaeconsulting.com.

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