Product and Communications Manager - Edenvale Verfied

Salary Negotiable Edenvale, Gauteng Edenvale, Gauteng more than 14 days ago 11-10-2019 12:43:22 PM
16-10-2019 5:44:15 PM
Strategic Product & Communications Manager
Highly competitive with market related salaries
Edenvale

This position is responsible for the management of an assigned group of products marketed domestically and internationally with a strong focus on international growth & new product development. Specifically, you will initiate, coordinate and lead in the commercialization of new products and manage activities affecting profitability, including product life cycle management and cost-savings projects. You will direct the application of company resources to resolve any sales and customer issues for your assigned lines, driving product development activities and decisions that grow our position in the market as a premium supplier of chemical solutions and the highest level of customer satisfaction.

JOB REQUIREMENTS
? Bachelors in Business / Marketing or a related field. Technical background or education is a plus.
? Minimum 3- 5 years’ experience in a Marketing/Product Management/Sales function.
? A demonstrable record of success in new product ideation and commercialization
? Consumer Goods marketing, Automotive Aftermarket marketing and/or sales experience and/or MBA a plus.
? Up to 30% travel
? B2B and industrial channel experience from a chemical business is preferred.
? Experience in new product development and technical program management.
? New product commercialization experience.
? Knowledge of Strategic Product Planning and Product Road mapping
? Marketing and collateral development, including specification and technical writing

COMPETENCES REQUIRED FOR THE ROLE
• Excellence communication and presentation skills
• Passion and drive to deliver results
• Able to build productive business relationships
• Highly organized and efficient
• Solid business acumen
• Demonstrated negotiation skills
• Must have a passion for product ownership and business development.
• Must possess and demonstrate excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong computer proficiency with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
? Meet regularly with customers, sales teams, technical service, channel partners, specifiers, research and development teams and others to understand customer needs and product requirements (voice of the customer / observational VOC).
? Monthly meetings to be held with various stakeholders within different market segments and regions to identify customer needs and product requirements. To also keep abreast of new product offering and solutions in the local market and globally.
? Establish product requirements that ensure a strong and clear value proposition for the product by customer segment. Act as the link between customer and internal team (R&D, Operations) to translate customer needs into product specifications. As required, establish partnerships to compliment the range of products, services and solutions that can be offered to the customer.
? Develop new products and offerings with defined criteria and aligned to customer needs with a key focus on differentiation.
? Manage the product life cycle (including the Product Roadmaps) and assist with the communication and expectation setting with customers.
? Provide the correct Technical Data to quality so that the Technical Data Sheet can be created based on the correct tests performed and raw material COA verification.
? Create and maintain a product portfolio so that a controlled but shared database contains the correct information for the correct products.

TECHNICAL TRAINING AND SUPPORT
? Motivate and provide continuous technical product support to internal and external customers as needed (not limited to product training to agents, distributors, customers etc.) as well as compile technical data information for creation of Technical Data Sheets.
? Assisting finance to select and set priorities for process, price and margin improvement projects using the toolbox (FTB 80/20, PLS, USa, etc.) working with the operations teams.
? Assist fellow team members and workers in relation to marketing and technical product information as well as assisting in customer complaints and feedback.

MARKETING & SALES
? Perform Market research, competitive analysis and business data (unit volumes, revenues and margin) reporting to understand market and business trends and make informed decisions for current and future product direction.
? Prepare monthly competitor reports and analysis regarding market and product segment performance activities. Key account responsibility for specific customers.
? Work as part of a Marketing Team to create and maintain marketing plans, advertising and sales tools including brochures, product descriptions, technical data sheets, web content, attend seminars and tradeshows for customer interaction.
? Assisting the Sales Manager in creating professional, modern and high quality marketing material to be used across all spectrums of advertising from print to social media. This material must be readily available to all agents and staff as required with best application and usage.
? Management of selected Key account customers accordingly to the company requirements thereby ensuring positive growth per customer based on revenue generated and customer satisfaction feedback

Recruiter: MGI