Senior Product Development Analyst - Home Textiles

Position Purpose:

This role is essential in supporting the Associate Merchant Product Development (APDM) team. As a Senior Product Development Analyst for home textile products, you will spearhead the development process to ensure timely and successful product launches. Your responsibilities will include managing the entire project lifecycle, maintaining comprehensive project trackers, and overseeing SKU onboarding and sample management. Effective communication of project statuses with cross-functional teams, global sourcing offices, and vendors is crucial.

You will support cost negotiations through preparing quote sheets and conducting insightful cost analyses. As a subject matter expert in your category, you will ensure accurate data capture, data integrity, and system maintenance. Furthermore, you will assist in competitive research, prepare detailed agendas and recaps for vendor meetings, and tackle ad hoc projects. This highly collaborative role requires excellent communication skills to work with Merchandising, Inventory Planning, Quality Assurance, Creative teams, and external vendors. You will be encouraged to identify opportunities for process improvement and collaborate effectively to enhance efficiency and ensure timely launches.

Key Responsibilities:

• Analysis: Provide market, industry, and competitive insights to guide product positioning. Collaborate with cross-functional teams on marketing materials, new product launches, packaging development, and brand messaging to drive revenue and margins (10%).
• Liaison: Act as a bridge between Business Development and Supplier Factories while maintaining awareness of competitive benchmarks with customers, sales, and marketing (10%).
• Online: Create copy, key words, images, Q&A responses, and marketing text for the company’s online platform, utilizing feedback to enhance product listings (20%).
• Process Improvement: Develop and enhance internal processes to drive efficiencies in data enrichment and onboarding. Participate in project teams to provide insights on product data changes and resolve data issues with IT and business partners (10%).
• Tracking and Reporting: Monitor and report progress on goals, proactively address issues to prevent delays, and escalate when necessary (50%).

Direct Manager/Direct Reports:

• This position reports to the Associate PDM.
• This role has no direct reports.

Travel Requirements:

• Typically requires overnight travel less than 10% of the time.

Physical Requirements:

• Most of the time is spent sitting comfortably, with occasional opportunities to move. Rarely, there may be a need to lift light items.

Working Conditions:

• Work in a comfortable indoor environment with infrequent unpleasant conditions.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Must be at least eighteen years of age.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience in product development, particularly in home textiles or a related field.
• Strong project management skills with a record of ownership and results across multiple projects.
• Adept at working independently, with flexibility to adapt to shifting priorities.
• High attention to detail and exceptional organizational skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and global vendors.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint) and quick to learn new systems and processes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication capabilities.

Minimum Education:

• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field of study.

Minimum Years of Work Experience:

• 5 years.

Minimum Leadership Experience:

• None required.

Competencies:

• Action Oriented
• Business Insights
• Decision Quality
• Directs Work
• Collaborates
• Communicates Effectively
• Customer Focus
• Drives Results
• Optimizes Work Processes

Benefits include health care, 401K, ESPP, paid time off, and a success-sharing bonus.