Senior Product Manager

THE ORGANIZATION

Our client, The Little Potato Company, began its journey in 1996 with the owners (Jacob and Angela – father and daughter) wanting to be able to produce little creamer potatoes, like what Jacob knew from his Dutch roots. They grew their first acre by hand; planting, weeding, harvesting, and washing it themselves. They then packed them into the back of Angela's hatchback, setting off to farmers markets and restaurants. The potatoes were popular with chefs early on, with one of their first accounts being the Banff Springs Hotel. Jacob and Angela bought their first plant in 2000 and with their continued success, have expanded to increasingly larger facilities over the years with their new state of the art facility located just outside of Edmonton in Nisku. With further expansion and growth across Canada and into the United States, LPC partnered with a co-packing plant in PEI and opened a second production plant in DeForest, Wisconsin. Today, Angela leads the organization as CEO and Jacob runs a research and breeding company for little potatoes. The Little Potato Company has grown to have products on store shelves in every Province in Canada and State in the United States and operates with over 360 employees across Canada and the United States.

The Little Potato Company continues to experience growth year over year and continue to be the market leading producer of Creamer potatoes. They continue to set their sights high with their purpose being to "Save the Potato. Feed the World, better" where "everyone, everywhere deserves to have healthy, great food". At The Little Potato Company, they believe in living by a set of deeply held core values representing both their history and how they strive to live every day to make the world a better place. The core values that guide their corporate family are:

• Family
• Go Beyond
• Elevate others
• Down To Earth
• Do What You Say

It is a great time to join The Little Potato Company as they continue to grow and be a North American producer of their unique, healthy, and delicious Little Potatoes

For a complete position description, please visit: Senior Product Manager - ProFound Talent. For further information on The Little Potato Company, please visit their website at

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Vice President of Marketing, the Senior Product Manager will lead The Little Potato Company's (LPC) product strategy to ensure the right products are developed and marketed to the right consumer/customer segments. This role works closely with the Consumer Insights team, Product Development team, Brand team & Sales team, to bring product ideas to market, and collaborates extensively with team members across all departments throughout North America operations.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Product Strategy

• Develop a comprehensive Product strategy for the full product portfolio to ensure we have the "right products" for the most lucrative target consumer by bringing differentiated, high-value, profitable products to the consumers.
• Develop product strategy that allows for sustainable competitive advantage & category development (as a Brand leader).
• Work closely with Brand & Consumer Insights teams to understand key consumer wants & pain points, key trends & behaviors.
• Lead the Product Strategy by engaging & aligning Executives, key stakeholders & cross functional teams.
• Conduct Product Lifecycle & product portfolio analysis to assess the role of each product & how to extend its profitable & scalable life in our portfolio.
• Implement strategies for product refresh, repositioning, phase-out & discontinuation as advised by aligned Product Strategy.
• Mastery in ability to ask critical questions & verifying with trusted data sources to stay true to Brand positioning & consumer objectives.

Product Innovation & Development

• Lead new Product innovation projects by engaging & aligning all cross functional teams & stakeholders.
• As the Project Lead, execute complex product innovation projects by developing detailed project timelines, key milestones & action plan, identifying potential risks, budget implications & developing contingency plans.
• Mastery in project execution by working closely with Project Management team, removing roadblocks, building strong cross-functional relationships, doing agile follow ups & showcasing deep product & process understanding (critical thinking).
• Work closely with Brand & Consumer Insights Manager to stay on top of & conduct regular consumer research & tests to optimize product launch success.
• Lead the process of collecting & evaluating new ideas to build on Product Innovation roadmap.
• Lead the stage-gate process to execute product launches.
• Conduct & share detailed post analysis after each test market or commercial launch to understand performance & results.

Stakeholder Relationship Management

• Work with & report to the VP Marketing (initially), to ensure alignment with Business goals & objectives.
• Work with Senior Brand Manager for all Branded product & packaging launches & renovation.
• Work with Consumer Insights Manager & Senior Brand Manager to ensure all products are aligned with consumer needs & trends.
• Work with the Project team to execute Product innovation & renovation projects.
• Work with Sales & Shopper Marketing manager to align products with Customer growth & expansion objectives.
• Work with Product & Variety development teams to ensure their objectives are aligned with Product strategy.
• Work with Operations team & Supply chain for seamless execution, meeting deadlines & ensuring minimum wastage.

FIRST YEAR – MEASURES OF SUCCESS

• Optimize current product portfolio, making strategic recommendations on areas of improvement, and opportunities for growth.
• Understand the current product mix and identify opportunities for channel or region-specific product offerings.
• Validate the 3–5-year product roadmap and ensure that products are being launched on time.
• Launch and assess performance of new products in market.

THE INDIVIDUAL

Given the pivotal role this individual will be expected to play in achieving the strategic objectives of the company and in supporting the success of the organization, it is essential that the successful candidate possess the following core competencies, experience, and attributes:

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, with a focus on marketing and product.

Experience

• 7+ years of working as a Senior Product Manager in CPG, ideally for a food or Branded produce business.
• Experience in leading & executing, complex, end-to-end Product launches, that involve multiple cross-functional teams.
• Experience in developing multi-year product roadmaps in a matrix organizational environment.
• Experience in developing go-to-market strategies for a range of products within a parent brand.
• Experience in developing comprehensive Product Strategy by deep-diving & addressing critical questions.
• Proficiency in project management, financial management & execution of strategy in market
• Experience in working with co-manufacturing & 3rd party vendors to develop new products from concept.
• Experience in working with Consumer Insights & Brand teams to develop Consumer research & testing roadmap for any new product innovation project.

Competencies and Knowledge

• Understanding of food, produce and/or consumer-packaging goods brands.
• Understanding of Food service channel & private label products.
• Familiarity with product marketing in the US and Canada.
• Ability to take decisions & keeping projects on track by removing all road-blocks.
• Adept in using both sides of the brain – equally creative and analytical.
• Ability to leverage consumer insights, research, financials, and other data inputs to create robust product strategies.
• Strong ability to project manage simultaneous projects with many inter-dependencies.
• Ability to lead through influence at all organizational levels, across teams and departments.
• Ability to work in an entrepreneurial, unstructured, and highly changing environment without constant supervision.

Personal Profile

• Highly accountable
• Solution focused using tactics to solve problems
• Able to respond and pivot quickly to new initiatives and business needs
• Proactive
• Exhibit determination
• Demonstrate resilience
• Strong influencer and collaborator
• Action oriented
• Self starter/activator personality
• Naturally curious
• Critical thinker with problem solving skills
• Respectful of others

COMPENSATION

An excellent compensation package awaits the successful candidate.

LOCATION

Edmonton, Alberta preferred. Willing to look at remote candidates able to work MST operating hours.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Edmonton office and/or remote office. Ability to travel when required (average once every two months).

HOW TO APPLY

For the opportunity to join The Little Potato Company in the role of Senior Product Manager, please email your resume to referencing Position ID # ABJY-154435

Should you have an inquiry regarding this position, please contact Tammy Berge at ext. 103.

For further information on ProFound Talent Inc. please visit:

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

ProFound Talent is a woman owned and operated business, recognized and certified by Women Business Enterprise (WBE). We pride ourselves in supporting equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives in our recruitment processes and in our work environment, where every individual feels valued and respected. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals to which you may confidentially share your accommodation needs at time of application. We will adjust our processes to ensure you have an inclusive, fair, and respectful experience that allows you to represent yourself in your unique and most authentic way.

* We thank all applicants for your submissions, however only candidates being considered for this role will be contacted. *