Product Manager – Dallas

Company Name:

SocialHire

Position Type:

Part-time

This is a newly created position to support the company\'s strategic initiative to grow direct imports. The candidate will play a strong role in assisting the Director of Product Lifecycle Management to drive the process and lead the team to successfully execute the sourcing strategies and achieve the financial goals at the category level established by the company. Primary Responsibilities: Reporting to the Director of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) with a dotted line to the Sr. Buyer, the Product Manager will be charged with driving the execution of the Strategic Sourcing initiative at the buyer / category level. The primary goal is to reduce the cost of goods sold by driving increases in direct sourcing while spurring innovation. The Product Manager is responsible for the overall management of all product development and sourcing activities from project planning to delivery of products (from A to Z). -The PM will be responsible for building the category sourcing plan and the day to day execution of approved plans under the direction of the Sr. Buyer and Divisional Dir. of PLM. -The PM will be the owner of effective product lifecycle management, combining traditional roles of product development and sourcing together seamlessly. -The PM will be serving as the everyday link between the Sr. Buyer and the vendors, managing all the external and internal resources (sourcing agents, testing houses, quality control organizations, legal, quality assurance, etc) to develop and sourcing products. -Working closely with the Sr. Buyer, the PM is responsible to develop product road map, providing development costs, feasibility, time lines, resources and consumer insights that will form the basis of essential product features. -This individual will be responsible for the process of leveraging the current supplier base while researching and developing an expanded and superior global sourcing supplier network for the category. -Working closely with Trend and Design, the PM should have an active understanding of the market and customer insights and is the driving force to bring freshness and uniqueness into the product offerings. -The PM will support all processes to build quality into product, and to support long term growth by partnering with the Quality Assurance department and the agents. -The PM is responsible for price negotiation and meeting target product costs specified by the Creative Brief while maintaining quality standards. -The PM is responsible for project management and manages overall project time line. He or she will lead team meetings to execute Critical Path. He or she will identify risks that may affect the time line and lead effort to mitigate risks. -The PM is also responsible for the ongoing maintenance of existing products, including the execution of quality improvements, packaging changes, changes in design, appearance or origin, and changes in status (active or obsolete) under the direction of the Sr. Buyer. Major Activities: -Planning. -Sourcing Process Execution, including Sample Processes, Creative Brief, and Project Management. -Vendor relationship and management. -Sourcing and overseas trips. -Product development/management, innovation and quality improvement. -Packaging management. -Price Negotiation. Skills Required: -Bachelor degree is required and a MBA or a Master degree in related field is a plus.Business related major is preferred. -Minimum 5 years of experience of product development and sourcing with a major retailer, brand or product develop/sourcing company. -Solid product lifecycle management professional, with appropriate leadership, business and technical abilities. -Unquestionable integrity. -Responsive rather than reactive, and must have solid interpersonal and problem solving skills. -Experience and knowledge related to merchandising, product development, and sourcing. -Successful track record of project management and business process improvement. -Possess the strength of character and passion for building products that strives to be best quality in class. -Demonstrate his or her understanding and experience of supply chain management and on time delivery. -Global travel experiences, with an understanding of foreign culture in general and Chinese culture in particular. -Ability to travel over 15% globally will be required in this role, at least in the first two or three years.