Director, Business and Product Development

Director, Business and Product Development

Remote (West Coast), USA

Job Overview

The Director of Business and Product Development plays a key role in the company, providing broad, strategic vision for Soko Glam and identifying and evaluating new growth initiatives - leading both Product Development and Business Development opportunities. This role will advise on long term growth strategy, competitive strategy, and insights into future trends. Additionally, it will lead and coordinate the investment, and partnership processes, working closely with functional leaders to clearly articulate the rationale for individual opportunities and ensure alignment with overall strategic direction. Reporting directly into the VP of Business Development + Marketing, this individual will lead highly visible projects that will have a significant impact on the direction and performance of the company.

• Build strategic direction of Soko Glam's owned brands as part of overall merchandising strategy - including conceptualization, development, and execution of all new product launches with a strong focus on innovation 
• Lead new product concepts and product development initiatives from concept to approval, to ensure new product quality and safety, appearance and effectiveness meets brand standards
• Identify and evaluate white space opportunities and new growth initiatives through analysis of sales data, consumer insights, competitive analysis, emerging/future trends, category shifts, etc. 
• Partner with brand marketing and creative to produce innovative go-to-market plans that incorporate creative storytelling, designs and artwork, and packaging that meets the brand DNA
• Responsible for financial performance of owned brands, drive increased revenue and profit to achieve the company's ambitious growth
• Manage and negotiate with third party manufacturers/vendors 
• Have a deep understanding of the beauty / skincare space including industry trends, from ingredient, texture, form, application, and storytelling aspect; keep current with new ingredients and technologies and recommend new techniques to management as appropriate
• Develop processes for cross-functional teams to adhere to; possess high level project management and prioritization skill set while working cross-functionally to meet timelines - Merchandising, Marketing, Supply Chain, and CX
• Responsible for all products to meet the required specifications, target costs, design and packaging standards, testing protocols, and certifications; Work closely with internal and external partners to ensure product regulatory compliance (FDA approval)
• Partner with supply chain team to manage buy process and inventory needs
• Oversee digital merchandising opportunities
• Own competitive & market positioning / scenario analysis with all new business development opportunities
• Build external relationships to identify and capitalize on new growth / venture opportunities
• Present concepts to senior leadership for approval; keep Management informed of project status & related issues
• Coach and develop team members – set OKRs and KPIs that will support the development of the team 

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience 
• Minimum 5 years of beauty experience (brand, manufacturing, or product) and D2C e-commerce experience
• Minimum 5 years of management experience
• A self starter who is able to work autonomously to complete projects and assignments as well as work cross-functionally to achieve short and long-term brand objectives
• Highly responsible, accountable, organized, detail oriented and results driven
• Has the ability and potential to handle a multitude of detail-oriented projects at one time
• Well versed in ingredient types, textures, products, branding and packaging 
• Ability to work in fast-paced, often-changing collaborative environment
• Strategic mind with an ability to think broadly to lead and facilitate the assessment of unique opportunities
• Ability to build strong relationships with brand partners 
• Strong communication skills (written and verbal) and negotiation skills 
• Proven leadership and excellent managerial skills
• Previous experience scaling a direct-to-consumer company
• Must have an analytical and business minded approach to meet financial targets

Job description is not all inclusive. Soko Glam reserves the right to amend this job description at any time. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) Employer. It has been and will continue to be a fundamental policy of Soko Glam not to discriminate on the basis of race,color, creed, religion, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, marital status, partnership status, domestic violence victim status, sexual orientation, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, veteran or military status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, caregiver status, unemployment status or any other characteristic prohibited by federal, state and/or local laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, demotion, compensation, training, working conditions, transfer, job assignment, benefits, layoff, and termination.