About the position
The Product Manager is responsible for the overall growth of the assigned product segments under Fire Suppression, Firefighter Air Replenishment Systems (FARS). Major responsibilities include integrating newly acquired businesses into JCI, driving revenue growth and business scale through developing multi-generational product road maps for the product life cycle from idea inception to new product introduction through obsolescence. This individual will also oversee cost-out / value engineering initiatives, gather customer and market insights, and advocate for code adoptions via non-profit and/or third-party organizations. Significant cross functional interaction and project management leadership is required across the organization with global sales, engineering, manufacturing, sourcing, and other functions. This role will also support an adjacent non-profit organization to advocate and lobby for relevant code adoption and product acceptance. This position reports to the Senior Director, Product Management, will be based in North America, and work from either a JCI company office or remotely.
Responsibilities
- Assess the market, product trends & voice of customer information.
- Conduct sizing & segmentation of markets.
- Conduct regular competitive & regulatory research and analysis on product line.
- Develop the product line strategy based on all relevant data and insights to meet customer needs.
- Determine the value propositions of individual products in the product line.
- Communicate the strategy, value prop, and pricing guidelines plus gain alignment with the greater organization.
- Define the multi-generational product line roadmap.
- Develop new product concepts in existing and new markets/channels by following the JCI phase-gate process and by running multi-stakeholder development teams.
- Define product requirements including cost, quality, and timing targets.
- Deliver detailed business cases for new products/enhancements.
- Participate as the Subject Matter Expert for tradeshows, customer events, industry & regulatory associations.
- Collaborate with the complementary nonprofit org leadership teams and business development leads in setting annual new targets based on intelligence gathering.
- Lead cross functional team through product lifecycle process including introductions, product line analysis, value assessment and SKU rationalization activities.
- Understand product portfolio at a global level (SKUs, pricing, profitability, sales by customer/channel, quality, warranty).
- Analyze sales trends and communicate with end customers on market and product updates.
- Interface with end-users, sales, engineering, marketing, and operations.
Requirements
- Four (4) year degree in business or an engineering field.
- Minimum of 7 years business experience, with at least three years in a product management role with hard good/tangible products.
- Product management and product development in a phased-gate process experience.
- Comfort and experience in interacting with external customers.
- Success in accelerated business scaling from North America into global markets.
- Experience working in a matrix business structure and working collaboratively with multiple functions on joint programs.
- Excellent written & verbal English communication skills.
- Strong financial and general business acumen.
- Ability to travel to customer sites 10-20% of time.
Nice-to-haves
- Previous experience within a fire protection, fire service or infrastructure related industry; MBA a plus.
- Experience in New Venture Integrations (acquisitions) to incorporate small businesses into corporate entities.
- Advocacy for non-profit organizations in the fire service industry.
- Proven ability to drive results via disciplined execution amidst organizational ambiguity.
