Product Manager

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Director of Product Management and Business Optimization, the Product Manager will be responsible for managing and leading the optimization of one of Conestoga Meats’ product categories. This role is a market expert on opportunities for their category and ensures that we remain competitive with pricing by providing cost recommendations to their Sales partners. Analytic and project work is done to ensure that category plans are being executed and for continued growth to be possible.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead category optimization by creating strategic plans 6 – 12 months in timeline including learnings from previous years, market opportunities, and key priorities
• Be a partner to the broader Sales team on opportunities for new business development and customer requests
• Work on strategic projects to support future planning and sales capabilities
• Review unsold product mix and make recommendations to the Sales team on optimal items to sell
• Prepare and present key category financial insights/pain points and initiatives weekly
• Provide leadership to Sales Planner (direct report) for dedicated category, supporting their development, training, and day to day production planning
• Responsible to develop and execute disposition plans for fresh/frozen inventories at optimal levels
• Weekly review and accountability for targeted KPI’s, i.e. sales results, mix, profit margins, etc.
• Provide short- and long-term cost forecasting to the Sales team to enable pricing decisions leveraging USDA, Chisholm and key industry benchmarks
• Research and gather industry market intel from internal experts and external sources, building a network, and reviewing industry newsletters/market reports

• Spend time in production weekly to understand and be accountable to ensure accurate product specifications for associated category (including updating product spec sheets)
• Responsible for knowing product yields for category; reporting on weekly, questioning variances and suggesting opportunities
• Prepare fresh offer (responsible for providing availability and forecasted cost)
• Lead commissioning on new product requests and product changes on approved items

Other:

• Demonstrates and promotes the Conestoga WAY (Company values)
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned
• Available for on call in evenings as well as Saturdays as required

Personal Development

• Attend company required training
• Remain current with technical knowledge in areas of responsibility
• Attend regular 1:1 coaching/update sessions

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of work experience working as a product manager or relevant role required
• 2-3 years of experience in managing production timing and pricing in the meat industry is required

• Understanding of commodity markets preferred
• University degree in Business Administration, Finance or Mathematics required
• Financial skills in order to prepare budgets, cost standards, analyze variances, etc.
• Office/project management software skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Strong Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, especially Word and Excel
• Team player: maintain a positive attitude, and work collaboratively cross functionally   
• Proactive problem solver with a focus on continuous improvement
• Strong initiative and drive to succeed

Key Competencies

Accountability and Initiative

• Takes initiative and demonstrates a “do whatever it takes” work ethic to get the job done
• Consistently delivers on personal targets

Service Excellence

• Displays personal ownership and a sense of urgency over any issues or complaints that arise from the customer experience
• Maintain an outstanding customer experience despite time pressures or obstacles

Communicating with Clarity

• Verifies the meaning of messages sent by others and confirms any next steps required

Key Performance Indicators

• Optimal daily production plans for assigned category
• Weekly review and accountability for targeted KPI’s
• Developing and executing short- and long-term pricing strategies  
• Ensure accurate costing, product specifications, and communication
• Financial return optimized