PRODUCT MANAGER

The Hygenic Corporation, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, is the leading manufacturer and marketer of branded healthcare and fitness products for the rehabilitation, therapy, and professional wellness markets.   Through its Performance Health portfolio of market leading products---including Thera-Band^®,,  Biofreeze^® , and Prossage brands--- Hygenic is the number one provider of product solutions to physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, chiropractors, podiatrists, and licensed massage therapists. Here are a few of the things that some of our new employees are saying about working at Hygenic ..

“A great place to work … As a business with fun and impactful products, it's a real joy to be a marketer here…As a strong branded business, we do a lot of marketing with a full spectrum of media …This is a principle-led organization, where employees are encouraged to grow and even fail (and they really mean it)”

Due to our continuing growth, Hygenic is seeking another experienced Product Manager to join our team   If you want to love your job and join our Team, you should be a creative, results-oriented, self-starter who enjoys working in a fast-paced, team environment.  The successful candidate should be customer oriented with a strong bias to action.  Someone with a strong work ethic, down-to-earth approach, and healthy sense of humor will fit in well with our team.

The Product Manager completely owns her/his assigned products and associated projects—most of which will be conceived by the Product Manager as a means for achieving the objectives tied to his/her assigned product category.  This is a leadership position with a good deal of autonomy and the Product Manager will lead his/her business by delivering on three primary objectives.

1. Achieve profitable growth in identified market segments and geographies consistent with company objectives.


2. Achieve market share increases by growing the assigned product category faster than the rate of market expansion and consistent with company objectives.


3. Achieve increased brand awareness among practitioners and end users.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Product Strategy




• Participate in the creation of the product strategy.


• Own the three-year product road map.


• Perform strategic analysis and planning, including competitive analysis and market sensing activities.

·        Customer Knowledge

• Know the economics of the target customer’s business and the specific reimbursement and financial details related the product category.


• Develop and maintain relationships with key opinion leaders and endorsers, particularly tied to the product category.


• Regularly visit the practitioners in their businesses while they are treating patients, as well as meeting with them at trade shows and in sales calls.


• Conduct market research with practitioners and end users around goals, challenges, needs, and acceptance of product and services at various levels of development.  Use qualitative and quantitative methodologies.


• Product Development




• Lead product concept identification by providing enough concepts to achieve required profitable revenue growth and market share increases.


• Develop product business cases with financial modeling and strategic and tactical considerations surrounding the perceived opportunity.


• Write crystal clear product requirements.


• Deliver according to project commitments.


• Lead out in product development teams to ensure that the significant efforts of the team are directionally correct and commitments are met.


• Partner with sales to define and execute access to appropriate distribution channels necessary to realize business plans.


• Launch products with complete pricing, collateral, advertising, packaging, and sales training programs.

·        Brand Awareness

• Create and execute media plans including advertising, direct mail and email, sponsorships, events and tradeshows, public relations, and in-clinic marketing, etc.


• Maintain preference by practitioners for company brand in product category and create preference among end users.


• Project/Marketing Plan Management




• Create, own, and execute the annual marketing plan, including its budget and the activities necessary to achieve set product category financial goals.


• Lead and participate in cross-functional project teams with both internal and external resources. 


• Set project goals, timelines, and commitments and manage team’s effectiveness and ability to meet commitments and goals. 


• Report, as needed, project status to senior management.

• Channel Development




• As will be increasingly appropriate, work with the brand and marketing plans and the Sales team to build effective trade and channel presence including trade advertising, channel research, trade promotions, collateral support, training, and merchandising aids.

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

• Undergraduate degree in Business or MBA.  MBA preferred.


• 3-5 years product or brand management experience.  Business to business, particularly in healthcare markets preferred. 


• A history of developing concepts into new product development projects, launching those projects, and reaching or exceeding targeted results.


• Experience working with graphics teams and vendors to create compelling packaging, advertising, collateral, and other sales support materials.


• Demonstrated track record of successful work and achievement in businesses with a breadth of channels, markets, and diverse/complex products.


• Agility in working in an entrepreneurial environment where pace is fast and leveraging resources, matrix decision-making, and interpersonal selling of ideas are critical.


• Capacity for hands-on, high energy action complemented by the ability to be a team player.


• Possessed of confidence presenting and promoting ideas, suggestions and responses to senior management.

• Innate customer sensibilities and advocacy.


• Good at making decisions, living according to priorities, keeping commitments, and getting things done well.


• Willingness to “roll up sleeves” when necessary.


• Ability to balance analytical and creative thinking with solving customer and end-user needs.


• Demonstrated experience successfully building strong internal and external working relationships.


• Effective participation in trade shows, conferences, and other customer and end-user events.


• Travel to work with sales team members, clinical education team members, distributor customers, and other members of the external environment.


• Demonstrated project management skills.


• Experience with managing a diverse marketing mix including budget resource allocation, execution, and measurement of activities.


• Experience with P&L and budget management.


• Proven ability to effectively manage vendor resources to maximize efficiencies and outputs to meet commitments and timelines.


• Proficiency with Microsoft Office.

The Hygenic Corporation offers a comprehensive benefits package with a salary commensurate with your experience.  Please forward your resume with salary requirements.  We are an equal opportunity employer. M/F/V/H