Manager of Product Development and Sourcing

The Role:

We are looking to hire a Manager of Product Development and Sourcing to be the key contributing member of our Merchandise team. At Minted, we are passionate about art and science. We are a community-driven marketplace of artists and makers, and utilize data to drive our decision making.

This role will be responsible for leading the physical product development process for specific product initiatives in Minted’s Wedding, Holiday, Greeting Cards, for e-commerce, wholesale and other categories, including competitive research, product specifications, prototyping, testing, and SOP definition to ensure quality standards are met.

**Must have design portfolio as part of application process as well as a cover letter*

This role is based in our San Francisco, CA office. Our SF-based team has an in-person 3x a week schedule.

As part of our recruitment process, we want to ensure the security and legitimacy of all communication channels. Therefore, please be advised that all official correspondences from our team will be sent from email addresses ending with "@minted.com"

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You Will:

• Lead the physical product development process for specific product initiatives in Minted’s Wedding, Holiday, Greeting Cards, for ecomm, wholesale and other categories, including competitive research, product specifications, prototyping, testing, and SOP definition to ensure quality standards are met.
• Deliver the best in design to consumers and hit our sales and profitability targets. Drive revenue growth in your category business, while ensuring profitability and scalability of the business, including qualitative and quantitative research.
• Co-develop the category new product roadmap, drive product strategy and product positioning decisions, lead the development cross functionally, and track and report on program statuses and deliverables.
• Collaborate closely with the Senior Director of Product Strategy, Development & Sourcing and category teams to test customer interest in new products, refine concepts and prototypes, and ensure that the key product benefits are being effectively communicated via positioning, naming, and site experience.
• Source new manufacturing techniques and innovative competitors. Ensure Minted leads the world in what can be offered in stationery.
• Build and manage effective strategic relationships with overseas suppliers to support the company’s new product development, quality and cost goals.
• Negotiate with offshore partners to obtain competitive pricing and improve margin structures, while also ensuring quality standards remain aligned to the Minted brand.
• Occasionally move equipment weighing up to 50 pounds. This role entails physically moving displays, boxes and other visual materials.

You Are:

• A strategic, consumer-centric thinker who has proven the ability to identify opportunities and a sound strategic path to achieve them. You understand consumer segments deeply and intuitively, and you naturally gravitate to the consumer when answering questions or considering strategies.
• Results oriented. You are most comfortable in work environments which are outcome-oriented and merit-based, and are highly motivated by goal accomplishment.
• A passionate customer advocate. You are ready to put the customer first and influence others across the company to think similarly.
• Receptive to change. You are flexible, adaptable, innovative, and open in response to competitive pressure and market change.
• A collaborative thinker. You enjoy an environment that has been structured for collaboration and interdependency, drawing on strong functional areas to build your business.
• Highly analytical. You have incredibly strong analytical skills and are willing to dive in to metrics, build robust models and performance measurement processes, and develop best in class reporting to drive the growth and profitability of the business.
• A shopper or collector. You have strong natural retail insights and an understanding of how and why consumers use Minted products, informed by a personal interest in shopping or collecting design or fashion goods. You have a strong personal passion for Minted’s categories of products.
• A systems thinker. You intuitively understand interdependencies, ask follow-up questions, and drive to solutions that balance the success of initiatives across revenue, quality, brand, and cost goals.
• A self-starter with the ability to prioritize in a fast paced environment and meet changing deadlines and priorities on multiple simultaneous projects.
• Able to work independently, driving projects to completion with little oversight.
• Willing to roll up your sleeves to execute tasks as needed, get things done quickly and with limited resources.

You Have:

• 5-7+ years of increasing stationery, art, home decor, consumer packaged goods or e-commerce product development experience.
• An eye for great design and intuitive understanding of what customers want, but also what constitutes truly differentiated and high-quality products.
• Project management skills: ability to work cross-functionally and outside the organization, and have a track record of achieving the results expected. You are extremely detailed and process oriented, balancing short-term and long-term needs.
• Exceptional presentation and communication skills with a strong ability to influence others across the organization, vendors, and suppliers.
• Analytical skills: You can make decisions quickly with imperfect data. You know how to measure and monitor results to move key metrics in the right direction. You are adept at Excel.
• Strong prototyping skills and understanding of print, art, textile, home decor manufacturing capabilities and substrates.
• Strong command of Adobe Creative Suite, G-Suite or Microsoft Office and a thirst for knowledge and passion for new tools and equipment.
• Work ethic: You do what it takes to ensure every customer has a great experience with Minted, which involves working with cross-functional teams and sometimes making fast decisions and executing tasks quickly.
• 4 year degree in relevant field, highly preferred.