Product Manager, Innovation
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Neiman Marcus Product Innovation Team is looking for a skilled Product Innovation Manager who is passionate about advocating for the customer, has excellent product instincts, a passion for consumer insights, and a desire to creating great experiences aimed at the future and challenging the status quo.
The Product Innovation Manager will be responsible for creating a ‘center of excellence’ around future-forward product innovation insight and strategy. Focused on building a proactive vision for the luxury experiences of tomorrow, they will keep a pulse on new and emerging technologies, identify key vendor and partner opportunities, and identify new feature and initiative opportunities not yet captured on existing roadmaps.
This is a new role that will collaborate closely across channels to think omni – and will also work cross-functionally, building strong relationships with business, eCommerce, digital and store teams to envision where luxury experiences should go next.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Build and manage a ‘center of excellence’ for future-forward insight and intelligence
- Develop and distribute ongoing communications aimed at keeping team/partners informed of the most important technology advancements, retail/shopper trends, and marketplace opportunities
- Build strong relationships across teams, playing a key role in cross-functional ideation and workshops to deliver transformative future planning
- Partner with senior leaders to develop strategies for future initiatives and product technology/capabilities (or investments)
- Vet potential vendor partners and technology opportunities, connecting dots with appropriate teams and acting as a gatekeeper/filter to mitigate noise
- Reviews tactical implications to products or business areas ensuring long-term goals and an enterprise view are represented in requirements, plans or other relevant deliverables
- Manage and leverage a collaborative hub for data, research and insights in partnership with key research and data teams (and any relevant/necessary agencies or partners)
- Troubleshoot and research issues related to changing trends, behaviors, or performance to identify what is impacting the business and determine how to address
- Builds strong working relationships with teams across the organization & key stakeholders to help facilitate awareness and support of business strategies and initiatives
- Leverage market awareness of industry trends and competitive landscape to identify the most important new opportunities and areas of focus, and be seen as the go-to for knowledge and POVs against new and emerging tech and other innovations
- Own and maintain ongoing omni shopper journey mapping tools and inputs
- Prepare case studies, ROI/analysis and future-of-omni/retail tools or sell-ins
- Own/enhance relationships with internal and external research partners to drive innovation that best meet business needs and strategy
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- Ability to craft strategic business proposals, case studies, briefs and other influential communications grounded in data, research and insight
- Detail-oriented, with strong organizational skills, able to work under deadlines in a changing environment, and ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously
- Deep appreciation for (and ability to tap-into) research, trends and insights
- Ability to multi-task, work independently and to collaborate with cross functional teams
- Proven ability to prioritize, communicate clearly, a consistent track record of delivery, and an obsession about the customer experience/journey
- Familiarity with analytics tools and experience using data to make decisions
- Highly organized and able to prioritize
- Ability to influence and achieve cross-functional support/alignment
- Experience in retail, eCommerce and Omni-Channel shopper strategy and execution; luxury services and experiences background is a bonus
KEY COMPETENCIES
- Strong strategic, creative thinking and decision-making skills
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work up, down and across organizational levels
- Strong business acumen, operations and problem-solving skills, along with the ability to assess current practices, identify opportunities for improvement, and build consensus
- Research-motivated, leveraging data and insight to drive key deliverables
EDUCATION & TRAINING
- 5-8 years of Strategic Planning, Consumer Insights, Marketplace, or similar shopper insights/retail/eCommerce technology related field
- Bachelor’s degree