Director of Product Management

Kele • Bartlett, TN

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Product Management leads Kele’s Product Management function and is accountable for building and managing a profitable, differentiated portfolio of BAS and HVAC-control products. The role establishes the product-management operating system across category strategy, supplier-product alignment, product lifecycle management, new product introduction (NPI) and private label, supplier contract governance, pricing and margin health, product-data quality, and sales and customer enablement.

Working closely with Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, Operations, Technical Support, and suppliers, the Director ensures Kele offers the right products from the right suppliers at the right price, with reliable availability, accurate product data, and clear customer value. The Director develops and leads the Product Management team, manages departmental priorities and budget, and provides executive leadership with fact-based recommendations on portfolio investments, pricing, suppliers, product risks, and growth opportunities.

Requirements

• Minimum of five to seven years of experience leading a product or category management function, with demonstrated ownership of category strategy, supplier governance, pricing, and NPI processes.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing a small, hands-on team.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and Outlook, and ability to learn and use company systems.
• Working knowledge of Building Automation Systems products and applications, or demonstrated ability to acquire it quickly through the existing Product Management and Product Application Manager team.
• Strong strategic and financial acumen, including the ability to translate market, supplier, and category data into portfolio, pricing, and investment decisions.
• Supplier negotiation, cross-functional influence, and business-case presentation skills for executive leadership.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to prioritize work effectively and lead through structure and process in a fast-paced, small-team environment.
• Ability to stand, walk, sit, and use hands for handling materials and keyboarding.
• Ability to lift and move products up to approximately 50 pounds, with or without assistance.
• Close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Supply Chain, or a related field; an equivalent combination of education and experience is considered.
• BAS/HVAC-controls or related technical-distribution industry experience is strongly preferred.
• Candidates with product-management leadership credentials in an adjacent technical or industrial distribution industry and the demonstrated ability to build BAS product fluency quickly will also be considered.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute Kele’s multi-year product and category strategy, including growth priorities, portfolio differentiation, market positioning, supplier strategy, and investment priorities.
• Establish category scorecards and hold Product Managers accountable for revenue, gross-margin dollars and rate, price realization, working-capital performance, inventory productivity, lifecycle actions, NPI results, and supplier performance.
• Lead a disciplined NPI and private-label stage-gate process from market need and concept validation through business case, sourcing, technical validation, commercialization, adoption, and post-launch review.
• Identify category gaps, customer needs, regulatory changes, competitive moves, and emerging BAS/HVAC technologies that create opportunities or risks for Kele.
• Direct portfolio lifecycle management, including assortment architecture, make/buy/partner decisions, SKU rationalization, product quality improvement, substitution planning, obsolescence, and product exit decisions.
• Own strategic supplier segmentation and supplier-product alignment; develop executive relationships with key suppliers, private-label manufacturers, and technology partners.
• Partner with Supply Chain, Finance, and Legal to manage supplier contract and commercial-term governance, including cost, payment terms, rebates, returns, warranty and quality, exclusivity, co-marketing, data obligations, change notices, and supply-continuity expectations.
• Own product-pricing and margin governance, including pricing architecture, competitive benchmarking, margin guardrails, approval authority, exception management, and regular pricing reviews.
• Ensure pricing decisions are separate from system execution and supported by market and financial data.
• Partner with Supply Chain on demand and inventory strategy, supplier continuity, alternate-source plans, lead times, stocking policies, and excess or obsolete inventory, while preserving Supply Chain’s ownership of purchasing and inventory execution.
• Establish product-data governance, minimum data standards, data-quality measures, change-control requirements, and service levels to support e-commerce, customer selection, operational execution, and scalable growth.
• Lead the Product Management operating cadence, including weekly priorities, monthly category reviews, NPI and private-label stage gates, quarterly strategic supplier reviews, portfolio and pricing reviews, and annual strategy refresh.
• Ensure Sales, Customer Care, Marketing, Technical Support, and Operations receive clear product positioning, value propositions, technical enablement, competitive tools, launch readiness, and product knowledge.
• Develop the Product Management team through role expectations, coaching, performance management, succession planning, and a culture of accountability, curiosity, customer focus, and data-driven decision-making.
• Represent Product Management in enterprise planning and provide executive leadership with fact-based recommendations on portfolio investments, pricing, suppliers, product risks, and growth opportunities.
• Manage the departmental budget, priorities, staffing plan, and approved external resources.

Benefits

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance.
• Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account options for medical and dependent care.
• 401(k) with employer match up to 4% and immediate vesting.
• Employer-paid short- and long-term disability coverage.
• Employer-paid basic life and AD&D insurance; supplemental life insurance for employees and dependents is available.
• Paid time off and paid holidays.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Paid maternity leave.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director