Product Development Specialist - Skincare + Beauty Nutrition

Job Description

With the ultimate purpose of supporting our Independent Beauty Consultants in maximizing HER potential in both personal and business growth, this role supports and leads product development projects under the guidance of the Product Manager (Global Product Management). Participates in the development and implementation of global portfolio/ product development plans by gathering information and providing key reviews at various points in the planning process, develops analyses of pricing, cost, and competitor information for review, develops options for products and packaging for consideration, and ensures the accurate, consistent communication of information to the manager and to key partners. Generates and evaluates solutions to address timeline issues as they arise and provides recommendations to the Manager and project team.

Responsibilities

• Under the direction of the Manager, supports the commercialization of global and regional new product development projects (including but not limited to new product innovation, formula updates, and packaging changes); and commercial innovation projects (including but not limited to value engineering) to support the product lifecycle management of the assigned product portfolio, delivering on profitable growth for the company. Collaborates and communicates with R&D, program management, product research organization, creative, legal/regulatory, and region/ local marketing teams to manage/advance said projects' timelines.
• Supports and participates in the development of new product concepts and strategies in collaboration with the Manager. Completes market, competitive, and internal sales performance reviews to understand business/ product opportunities.
• Monitors trends in the competitive landscape.
• Supports the creation of New Product Development project requests to the product leadership team and regional marketing teams.
• May provide formula and package direction to internal partners for product development. Evaluates and provides preliminary approvals on product and package aesthetics.
• In partnership with the Manager, works with the brand positioning team to create product positioning documents for new products as well as update current product positioning documents for commercial innovation opportunities.
• In partnership with the Manager, prepares pricing recommendations based on competitive analysis, secondary research, and internal cost parameters.
• Partners with a product research organization to develop and recommend the scope and methodology of consumer and product research including qualitative consumer research, consumer claims tests, and, when required, clinical testing.
• Communicates effectively and builds key partnerships with key stakeholders across the business.
• In partnership with Manager, provides post-product launch analysis to senior management to evaluate the success of recent launches and to help design potential improvements for the future. Reviews independent sales force and industry feedback in the form of blogs, editor reviews, etc.
• Maintains activities in Agile on supporting projects. Uses other systems such as Tableau Qualtrics to provide insights into the work.
• Provides support on other projects within the category as needed to include research, trends, competitive landscape, etc.
• This job requires on-site work at a Mary Kay facility and may need to work at other Dallas locations.
  

Skills & Experience

Experience: 2+ years Portfolio planning in consumer products preferred

Education: Bachelor/University Degree in Business/marketing/strategy/technical field or related field;

• Ability to support and lead projects with multiple timelines.
• Ability to build strong relationships and collaborate across a multitude of functions and levels.
• The ability to learn the business and financial acumen along with analytical skills including an understanding of financial principles are important.
• Must have the ability to learn and build problem-solving and the ability to elevate issues to leadership.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to support and adapt to changing business and organizational dynamics.
• Must be organized, have solid detail on projects, and handle multiple activities/tasks at a time.
• Must be proficient in software applications such as MS Excel (development of spreadsheets, import/export, and linking); MS Word; MS PowerPoint; MS Project, MS Teams, and MS Outlook. Tableau Qualtrics or other research SaaS platforms is preferred. Oracle Agile software experience is desired.
• Experience in Asia Pacific market(s) is a plus
• Mandarin speaker is a plus
  
  

Company Overview

Looking for a career where you can make a difference?

At Mary Kay we are committed to enriching the lives of women and their families around the world, we offer careers with unlimited opportunities to do something beautiful every day. More than 5,000 employees work in locations around the world. They provide the products, marketing and other support to millions of Independent Beauty Consultants (IBCs) who work as independent contractors, selling our products directly to consumers in nearly 40 markets on five continents.

We are a company that believes in our people and cares for them with truly exceptional benefits. We offer:

• A comprehensive health plan which includes medical, dental, and vision with low premiums
• 401(k) plan
• A generous profit-sharing program
• Free access to on-site fitness center and on-site clinic