Product Specialist
: Job Details :

Job Title: Product Specialist

Job Code: 05311

FLSA Status: Exempt

Band: Mid/Specialist

Department: Marketing

Location: Pella

Reports To: Product Manager

SUMMARY

Brand Product Specialists are responsible for research and analysis that provides insight and direction for market growth initiatives and serve as key inputs for corporate strategy and demand planning. At Pella, they serve as strong advocates of the customer and help their teams make better decisions, address key challenges and concerns, and identify new ways to grow through their insight and in-depth customer and market knowledge. These positions serve as an important and effective development path to future roles in brand product management and general management at Pella Corporation. Brand Product Specialists provide leadership and coordination across multiple business functions in areas such as strategic portfolio maintenance, problem resolution, competitive comparison, price/cost analysis, and customer market understanding.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Other responsibilities may be assigned.

Competitive Analysis?& Market Research

Develop understanding of key competitors' products, features, and pricing. Use this knowledge to make recommendations that align with core business competencies and strategies.

Responsible for understanding and documenting market trends at the feature, product, brand, segment, distribution, and geographic market level. Ability to use and create primary and secondary data, including field visits, feedback from sales team members, and external market research to gain a working knowledge of the market. Use this information to make strategic recommendations.

Provide and leverage actionable insights to define, recommend and /or co-create strategic solutions.

Develop business specific market, product, and customer knowledge to better serve the needs of senior staff and customers.

Supporting role in projects that help shape long-term strategy, including evaluating new opportunities, strategic approaches, and marketplace trends.

Business Case and Product Specification Development

Translate market needs and competitive insight into a product/project spec to enable cross-functional understanding and alignment.

Create market forecasts to size the prize for strategic organizational initiatives.

Ability to lead cross-functional teams in the high-level development of project scope and financial business cases to allow for strategic roadmap prioritization.

Business Performance Analysis

Working business and financial acumen. Support analysis of monthly P&Ls and helps identify problems/trends/anomalies.

Provide regular market and business analysis regarding market trends and Pella brand/program adoption. Work with finance, sales, product development & delivery, operations, and merchandising to evaluate and manage win/loss data to understand and quantify customer decisions.

Identify potential business issues and develop contingency plans to effectively mitigate risks.

Strategic Initiative Enablement

Provide market insight and voice of customer support on growth initiatives operationally across product development & delivery, sales, marketing, and merchandising to ensure delivery of strategic intent.

Work closely with department teammates to assist in evaluating, implementing, and monitoring progress on key development opportunities.

Other Essential Responsibilities

Develop dashboards, executive summaries, and weekly/monthly reports to measure against KPIs and market dynamics. Including ad-hoc analytical support for proper leaders.

Summarize and provide digestible information regarding analysis and insight to communicate to external and internal clients/stakeholders.

Support less experienced peers through mentoring and project-based development and coaching.

Use a professional presentation style to communicate and create effective visuals that convey data/info in a comprehensive & easily consumable manner, with clear takeaways.

Leverage sound decision making and problem-solving skills.

Ability to develop strong collaborative relationships with internal and external partners.

Ability to manage competing priorities effectively and work efficiently in a fast-paced environment.

TRAVEL

The position will require some travel (approx. 25 percent).

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience

Bachelor's or Graduate's Degree in Business, Business Administration, Marketing, Computer Science or Engineering.

Minimum of 3-5 years' experience in a professional setting.

Working Technical Product Knowledge and Pella go-to-market knowledge - OR - prior strategic market analysis or product management experience preferred.

Language Skills

Ability to read and interpret documents such as drawings, installation instructions, and procedure manuals.? Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.? Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of an organization.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.? Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.? Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

Computer Skills

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations

None required.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear.? The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands to handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.? The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.? Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Pella Corporation

Product Specialist

Pella, IA

Brand Product Specialists are responsible for research and analysis that provides insight and direction for market growth initiatives and serve as key inputs for corporate strategy and demand planning. At Pella, they serve as strong advocates of the customer and help their teams make better decisions, address key challenges and concerns, and identify new ways to grow through their insight and in-depth customer and market knowledge. These positions serve as an important and effective development path to future roles in brand product management and general management at Pella Corporation. Brand Product Specialists provide leadership and coordination across multiple business functions in areas such as strategic portfolio maintenance, problem resolution, competitive comparison, price/cost analysis, and customer market understanding.

Product Specialist Responsibilities:

Competitive Analysis?& Market Research

Develop understanding of key competitors' products, features, and pricing. Use this knowledge to make recommendations that align with core business competencies and strategies.

Responsible for understanding and documenting market trends at the feature, product, brand, segment, distribution, and geographic market level. Ability to use and create primary and secondary data, including field visits, feedback from sales team members, and external market research to gain a working knowledge of the market. Use this information to make strategic recommendations.

Provide and leverage actionable insights to define, recommend and /or co-create strategic solutions.

Develop business specific market, product, and customer knowledge to better serve the needs of senior staff and customers.

Supporting role in projects that help shape long-term strategy, including evaluating new opportunities, strategic approaches, and marketplace trends.

Business Case and Product Specification Development

Translate market needs and competitive insight into a product/project spec to enable cross-functional understanding and alignment.

Create market forecasts to size the prize for strategic organizational initiatives.

Ability to lead cross-functional teams in the high-level development of project scope and financial business cases to allow for strategic roadmap prioritization.

Business Performance Analysis

Working business and financial acumen. Support analysis of monthly P&Ls and helps identify problems/trends/anomalies.

Provide regular market and business analysis regarding market trends and Pella brand/program adoption. Work with finance, sales, product development & delivery, operations, and merchandising to evaluate and manage win/loss data to understand and quantify customer decisions.

Identify potential business issues and develop contingency plans to effectively mitigate risks.

Strategic Initiative Enablement

Provide market insight and voice of customer support on growth initiatives operationally across product development & delivery, sales, marketing, and merchandising to ensure delivery of strategic intent.

Work closely with department teammates to assist in evaluating, implementing, and monitoring progress on key development opportunities.

Other Essential Responsibilities

Develop dashboards, executive summaries, and weekly/monthly reports to measure against KPIs and market dynamics. Including ad-hoc analytical support for proper leaders.

Summarize and provide digestible information regarding analysis and insight to communicate to external and internal clients/stakeholders.

Support less experienced peers through mentoring and project-based development and coaching.

Use a professional presentation style to communicate and create effective visuals that convey data/info in a comprehensive & easily consumable manner, with clear takeaways.

Leverage sound decision making and problem-solving skills.

Ability to develop strong collaborative relationships with internal and external partners.

Ability to manage competing priorities effectively and work efficiently in a fast-paced environment.

TRAVEL:

The position will require some travel (approx. 25 percent).

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience

Bachelor's or Graduate's Degree in Business, Business Administration, Marketing, Computer Science or Engineering.

Minimum of 3-5 years' experience in a professional setting.

Working Technical Product Knowledge and Pella go-to-market knowledge - OR - prior strategic market analysis or product management experience preferred.

Language Skills

Ability to read and interpret documents such as drawings, installation instructions, and procedure manuals.? Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.? Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of an organization.

Computer Skills

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint