Seattle - Category Manager

Lifetime Brands Talent Acquisition•Seattle, WA

22h•$80,000 - $84,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Category Manager is a hybrid position, requiring the candidate to be in the office 2-3 days a week. The specific number of hours in the office will depend on ongoing projects, team meetings, and necessary sample reviews or shipping requirements. This role involves owning the entire lifecycle of a product, from new product development to item setup, database management, and packaging. The Category Manager will attend kick-off meetings, manage the development process using tools like Asana, lead status meetings, and address potential product roadblocks. They will own costing, facilitate communication between various teams (Engineers, Merchandisers, Vendors), and compile necessary documentation for smooth product development. Proactive communication with vendors and merchandisers is key to ensure expectations are met. The role also involves initiating CMF, reviewing samples, acting as a product expert to resolve issues, and proactively addressing quality concerns. Responsibilities extend to item setup, database management, coordinating with sales and demand planning for timely POs, and communicating any delays to the sales team. The Category Manager will also complete customer-specific forms, respond to customer service inquiries, maintain product inventory, manage sample shipments, and handle photo documentation and tracking information. In packaging, the Category Manager serves as the main point of contact for Sales/Graphics and Printers/Vendors. They will discuss packaging types early in development, coordinate sample shipments for die-line creation, obtain quotes, and own costing through packaging development. They will also support the Compliance Associate with testing and track drop-test confirmations, and review product-related information before sending to suppliers for proofs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
2–4 years of experience in product management, category management, merchandising, sourcing, or related field.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Excellent organizational and time-management abilities.
Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
Effective communication and presentation skills.
Detail-oriented with the ability to understand both detailed information and overall business objectives.
Windows, MS Office, SAP, QlikView, PPM, Robohead, NPD (or similar tools).

Nice To Haves

Basic understanding of product development and production timelines.
Experience working with large retail customers such as Walmart, Costco, Target, Williams-Sonoma is a plus.
Familiarity with cost analysis and supplier coordination.

Responsibilities

Owner of the entire lifecycle of the product, keeping an eye on identified key features throughout the entire process and providing value-add feedback to Sales, Design and ENG teams.
Manage the development process through Asana product management tool
Lead weekly Private Label status meetings (2-3 a week)
Address/callout product features/functionality that you foresee hitting potential roadblocks and how we can proactively address based on supplier capability, cost, etc.
Own costing
Help facilitate conversations between Engineers and Merchandisers/Engineers/Factory where necessary
Compile all necessary documentation to send to Merchandisers/Vendor to ensure product development runs smoothly with expectations set forth upon initial request for development.
Communicate with Merchandisers/Vendors throughout development (weekly calls, email) to ensure that expectations for execution are being met by the suppliers
Initiate CMF for all products
Reviews sampling alongside Engineer to align on feedback to merchandiser/vendor and the customer
Product expert --If/when issues arise, identify options to push sample/project forward
Proactively addresses quality concerns with Compliance Lead and Quality Engineer to ensure that insights are gathered.
Partner closely with DSM/PM’s/ Product Q&C on projects as timelines are typically accelerated
Coordinate between sales and demand planning to ensure POs are written in a timely manner
Proactively engage with sales team if delays are occurring with development/fulfillment, so there is time to approach the customer
Complete customer specific forms (varies by account) with all relevant product information
Field/respond to customer service questions from customers.
Maintains product inventory in office
Manages all sample shipments to customer, printer, vendor, etc…
Takes photos, for own records and store/email accordingly, and save/email tracking information to recipients.
Acts as the main point of contact for Sales/Graphics and Printers/Vendors
Discusses packaging type early on in product development cycle to kickoff die line development
Coordinate shipment of physical product to the printer for dieline creation. Share dieline to Sales Team or Graphic Designer for packaging artwork creation
Obtain initial quotes and own costing through packaging development.
Supports Compliance Associate to track Drop-Test Confirmation and product testing, assists factory as needed with failures
Own sending print proof samples to customer or vendors, and review product fit.
Reviews Product related information on packaging routing before sending to supplier for proofs

Benefits

Medical
Dental
Vision plans
Flexible Spending Accounts for Health and Dependent Care
Short-Term Disability
Long-Term Disability
Company Paid Basic Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance
Eligibility in the Company's 401K plan, after 90 days of employment
Paid Time Off (vacation/sick) - accrual of 15 days per calendar year for non-warehouse positions
10 Company Paid Holidays
Employee Product Discounts
Tuition Assistance
Employee Assistance Program
Volunteer Opportunities- 4 hours of paid optional volunteer time (annually)
Commute trip reduction incentives