Apparel Product Activation Manager

Avery Dennison•Dallas, TX

About The Position

The Product Activation Manager is the central operational driver for Apparel product innovation roadmapping and global product activation (release cycles). This role is responsible for operationalizing product strategy by managing all necessary tools, processes, and metrics for product teams to effectively build and maintain their roadmaps. You will ensure a cohesive vision is communicated to cross-functional teams and leadership. This role is responsible for the Global Product Activation (GPA) process for all scaling innovations, by ensuring successful, coordinated product launches worldwide, with a focus on operationalizing product strategy and driving team enablement. Finally, the role manages communication and reporting by providing clear, data-driven insights on product delivery and managing the communication of key performance indicators (KPIs) related to roadmap and GPA execution.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations Management or related field preferred, or equivalent work experience
5+ years of experience in Product Operations, Program Management, or similar roles
Demonstrated experience defining, owning, and communicating a product roadmap and strategy.
Proven ability to work cross-functionally and influence without direct authority to drive product execution.
Demonstrated ability to define, track, and report on KPIs and metrics to measure process effectiveness and product delivery health.
Global launch/ release management experience: direct experience in managing, coordinating, and executing global product releases or large scale activation campaigns involving multiple functional teams and international stakeholders
Experience driving organizational change, especially related to the adoption of new tools or standardized product development processes
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex technical concepts to a non-technical audience.
The ideal candidate is a highly collaborative self-starter who is passionate about delivering results through effective and efficient processes, and is adept at managing through ambiguity and change.

Responsibilities

Product Roadmap Operations Establish and maintain the operational framework for product roadmap planning.
Process and Tool Management: Own and manage all tools, processes, and systems required for product teams to effectively build, maintain, and access product roadmaps.
Roadmap Consolidation & Cohesion: Own the consolidation of individual product roadmaps into a unified view, ensuring a cohesive product vision is represented and communicated to all stakeholders, including leadership.
Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensure roadmaps and their timelines are aligned with and enabled by cross-functional teams (e.g., Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Support) required for successful development and launch.
Global Product Activation (GPA) Execution Enable successful, standardized, and coordinated worldwide launch of new products and innovations.
GPA Process Ownership: Lead the Global Product Activation (GPA) process and execution for all scaling innovations.
Coordination of Launches: Lead the coordination effort for worldwide product launches, ensuring all necessary steps, milestones, and dependencies are clearly established and managed across global teams.
Team Enablement: Drive team enablement by developing and deploying standardized playbooks, training, and resources to prepare internal teams for product releases.
Risk Mitigation: Monitor the activation pipeline to proactively identify potential operational bottlenecks or risks that could impact the successful and timely global launch.
Communication & Reporting Ensures transparency and provides data-driven insights on product delivery performance.
KPI Management and Communication: Own the management and communication of key performance indicators (KPIs) specifically related to roadmap execution and Global Product Activation performance.
Delivery Reporting: Provide clear, data-driven insights and reporting on the status of product delivery against planned roadmaps and activation timelines.
Stakeholder Transparency: Maintain a high level of transparency for leadership and cross-functional partners regarding product activation progress, blockers, and results.
Post-Launch Review: Facilitate and report on post-activation reviews to gather insights on process effectiveness and identify areas for continuous operational improvement.
Project manage key, large-scale product operations initiatives when necessary