Sr. Director Commercial & Industrial Product Strategy
About The Position
The Senior Director Commercial & Industrial Product Strategy is responsible for Valvoline Global Operations’ commercial and industrial product strategy and serves as a conduit between regional business units and the supply chain to drive organizational growth. The role uses global processes, including Innovation Master Plan creation, New Solutions Development, and target margins, to build cross-functional collaboration. The position leads the three pillars of product strategy: Product Discovery (identifying unmet customer needs), Product Planning (creating the innovation roadmap), and Product Development (following the New Solutions Development Process). It directs Product Managers in key growth regions and has ownership of the global Heavy Duty product portfolio. The leader regularly connects with the Valvoline Leadership Team, including regional leaders, the Chief Operating Officer, and the Chief Brand Officer, and collaborates with regional Marketing Directors, R&D, Global Equity, and Global Pricing. The role is based on-site at Valvoline Global’s new downtown Cincinnati headquarters four days per week, Monday through Thursday.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Engineering, or another related field.
- At least 10 years of experience in product marketing, commercialization, or a relevant role.
- Strong understanding of product lifecycles, commercialization, and developing five-year product growth strategies.
- Experience translating technical or engineering concepts into compelling business and marketing strategies.
- Background in marketing, brand strategy, product marketing, or a related commercial discipline.
- Proven ability to partner with creative, media, and social agencies to develop and execute marketing campaigns.
- Experience conducting or managing market research, including defining research objectives, developing research approaches, and translating insights into actionable recommendations.
- Ability to collaborate with regional teams to adapt global messaging and marketing strategies to local market needs.
- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills across marketing, product, engineering, sales, agencies, and international stakeholders.
- Strategic thinking skills, including connecting customer and market insights to product positioning, growth opportunities, and commercial outcomes.
- Familiarity with the stage-gate process.
Nice To Haves
- MBA preferred.
Responsibilities
- Use market, enterprise, and business unit data to develop a vision for the future of the global commercial and industrial product portfolio.
- Drive consumer research to identify unmet needs and answer business questions that can unlock innovation pathways.
- Continuously ideate around strategic business questions; evaluate the competitive landscape and identify portfolio gaps and claims opportunities.
- Create a long-term product portfolio vision and develop a five-year innovation roadmap for products, packaging, and portfolio aligned with corporate and business unit strategies.
- Maintain the innovation roadmap in response to market and business unit trends and help prioritize product-related projects.
- Maximize portfolio profitability by identifying and maintaining regional target margins, and serve as the center of excellence for innovation.
- Follow the New Solutions Development stage-gate process for new initiatives and create gate documents for products on the Innovation Master Plan.
- Lead global initiatives to drive international harmonization of the Valvoline product portfolio.
- Connect Valvoline segments to deliver consistent solution branding and product promises for customers and consumers.
- Conduct Strategic Portfolio Reviews on annual timelines to assess long-term strategic fit against competition and identify opportunities to refine innovation.
- Create compelling product packaging stories that support customer and consumer selection while fitting the Valvoline portfolio.
- Own the creation, development, and deployment of new innovation concept artwork; create value propositions, align claims, qualify visuals, and own product naming.
- Collaborate with Equity and Marketing to select packaging solutions aligned with the brand and product story.
- Develop team members, manage international direct reports, and create annual goals and development plans.
- Ensure the global team follows project management processes, including clear agendas, project timelines, and meeting recaps.
- Respond to escalated project issues that impede delivery and help coordinate solutions.
Benefits
- Health insurance plans, including medical, dental, and vision.
- Health Savings Account with employer base deposit and match.
- Flexible spending accounts.
- Competitive 401(k) with employer base deposit and match.
- Incentive opportunity.
- Life insurance.
- Short- and long-term disability insurance.
- Paid vacation and holidays.
- Employee Assistance Program.
- Employee discounts.
- PTO Buy/Sell Options.
- Tuition reimbursement.
- Adoption assistance.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
