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Product Manager - NEW ROLE w/Food Manufacturer in Indiana

Our food production client, located in the central part of Indiana, is actively seeking a Product Manager. This role owns category strategy, innovation pipeline, pricing, margin management, customer insights, and cross-functional execution to drive revenue growth and market share expansion. The Product Manager serves as the subject matter expert for the Bacon portfolio and partners closely with FP&A, Sales, Planning & Scheduling, and others to ensure maximized profitability through customer reviews, efficiency through scheduling, inventory management, and sales pricing.

As a subject-matter expert, you will shape discussions and influence decision-making to drive sustained category growth and success. This individual and their peers will provide daily/ weekly/ monthly strategies to the commercial/sales team to ensure success. This is a new role within the organization and will begin with strict focus in the Bacon category.

Product Manager Responsibilities:

• Meeting product group profitability objectives for fiscal year based on specified budget. Objectives revolving around but not limited to; pricing, inventory, and product group assortment strategies.
• Managing pricing activities (daily/weekly/seasonal/ etc.) to maximize profit potential within product group. Pricing responsibilities are specific to the assigned product group and will be coordinated with the Director of Product Management and/or other leaders within the commercial leadership team.
• Inventory management within respective categories. Including the preparation and execution of any relevant seasonal needs, addressing distressed inventory with sales, fresh vs. frozen coordination as required, etc. Providing direction to respective planning team(s) as needed.
• Creating, organizing and overseeing general strategies amongst production areas that utilize raw materials within categories being managed. Meaning, boneless production vs bone-in, fresh vs, processed, etc.
• Work in conjunction with FP&A and Operations to create, maintain, and manage B/E models for respective categories. Using those to guide inventory and sales strategies within product group.
• Primary contact for the Sales team: Communicate product specifications, inventory levels, pricing, costing and lead time requirements.
• Negotiates, reviews and approves pricing and trade agreements in conjunction with Director level. Significant role in annualized RFPs and determining assortment growth within respective categories.
• Responsible for development and maintenance of processes and workflows with other functional areas and departments in respect to their category. Mainly but not limited to FP&A, Operations and Quality Assurance.
• Coordinates and attends product reviews to compare the execution of the written specs and gain insight into what drives variances and yields to standards.
• Monitor and address supply-demand imbalances and service level challenges
• Considered the category expert over a specific segment. Provides leadership and guidance to other areas of the business, including FPS, operations, and sales.
• May maintain a level of relationship with key customer(s) within product group. Ensuring a level of connection with sales and general industry tone.

Product Manager Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science, or related field required; MBA preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in category management, product management, brand management, or food manufacturing.
• Experience in protein (bacon), meat processing, or CPG industry strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical skills with experience using syndicated data (IRI, Nielsen, Circana, etc.).
• Demonstrated P&L management experience.
• SAP experience, preferred.
• May travel up to 30% of the time.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.

For more information, please submit a confidential resume to melva@mriz.net

Melva Lowry

1531 West Oak St.

Zionsville, IN 46077

Visit our website at www.mriz.net

Due to the high volume of resumes received, only applicants with SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE requested by our clients will be contacted. All replies are held in strict confidence. MRI Zionsville WILL NOT share your personally identifiable information WITHOUT your permission.

Keywords: Product Manager, Category Manager, Business Manager, Food Category Manager, Business Unit Manager,