Product Line Manager I

Who We Are:

At Brooks, we believe movement is the key to feeling more alive. That’s why we’re driven to create gear and experiences that take people to the place that makes them feel more alive — whether it’s a headspace, a feeling, or a finish line.

Everyone who works at Brooks is propelled by a company culture that sparks excitement, fuels collaboration, inspires creativity, and ignites innovation.

Our brand values help bond us together and drive our success:

· Runner First

We act in the best interest of the runner

· Word is Bond

We do what we say we’ll do

· Champion Heart

We give our all in everything we do

· There is no “I” in Run

We stay generous with our humanity

· Keep Moving

We find ways to move every day, because joy is kinetic!

We welcome everyone from every walk of life looking to inspire others through the power of movement — because we’re all moving towards something. Let’s run there.

Your Job:

As the Footwear Product Line Manager I (PLM I), you will be responsible for creating great product that is loved by runners. You will work with teams to conduct runner and athlete research, based on which you will define clear objectives, and scopes, and discover unique opportunities to build beautiful and delightful solutions that will shape the future of running. Your approach and point of view starts and ends with the runner; your sweet spot is the intersection of feasibility, viability, and desirability, crafting and telling inspiring stories, and bringing those stories to life through the products and concepts brought to market. As the PLM I, you will work closely with the Manager of Product Line Management and the rest of the PLM team to set the inline vision, strategy, and consumer for primarily the Performance and Responsive Cushioning categories as well as Trail. You provide a seasonal framework to the cross-functional footwear teams, ensuring decisions made will meet key deliverables related to the runner, business, and marketplace.

Your Responsibilities:

• Consumer & Market Knowledge/Interaction/Analysis:

• Build your foundation as the consumer expert by spending time in the market, analyzing retail data, interacting directly with the consumer, and communicating with internal and external sales and marketing teams to identify insights and opportunities.

• Work closely with the Run-Sight Lab to learn how to conduct empathy research with runners to mine for latent and expressed needs. Be actively involved in the project synthesis and identify key insights and unmet needs.

• Research, analyze, and provide competitor and market analysis to the rest of the PLM team.

• Product Line Planning/Briefing/Business Acumen:

• Bring the product to life through emotional story crafting and drive compelling solutions.

• Develop an understanding of the Performance and Responsive Cushioning plus Trail line architecture and how it fits into the entire Brooks footwear product range.

• Combine your consumer knowledge, intuition, and informed understanding of the various regional market opportunities to build comprehensive product briefs to kick off the product creation process each season.

• Assist the Manager PLM and other PLMs with drafting of scope docs and innovation briefs.

• As a PLM I brief inline styles, beginning with new uppers and transitioning to full shoes within the first 12 months of your start date.

• Process Leadership/Product Confirmation/Business Acumen:

• Frequently interact with inline triads and SMEs throughout the product creation process to ensure alignment on project objectives.

• Develop business acumen and ability to quantify business opportunities.

• Interact with Asia footwear team as needed on seasonal projects.

• Responsible for deliverables at key milestones (e.g., briefs, triad scorecard presentations, sales meetings, etc....).

• Develop working knowledge of materials, constructions, and biomechanics to apply to projects.

• Assist the Manager, PLM, with pre-season responsibilities.

• Participate in the confirmation process to ensure products meet the wants and needs of the consumer as outlined in the brief while hitting deadlines and profitability targets and ensuring product readiness.

• Manage all the World Athletics submissions of New shoes or Development Shoes and work with Sports Marketing to effectively communicate the approval of the same with expediency and accuracy.

• Product Presentation/Communication:

• Present range to media, retailers, internally during calibration and other strategy meetings, and at sales meetings.

• Act as a resource to PR, Sales, and Marketing for product presentations and videos.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field or equivalent education and experience required
• Proven Experience and success in bringing a footwear product line to market (preferred)
• 3+ years prior experience working in a running footwear product-related job
• Working knowledge of the footwear product management process, retail environment, and consumer buying habits
• Business orientation preferred with demonstrated financial ability in managing gross margins, inventory, and costing.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills – skilled presenter
• Strong analytical skills and experience
• Proven ability to influence, persuade, and negotiate to achieve progress toward goals – skilled communicator
• Results-oriented with the ability to balance numerous tasks and utilize all available resources with a high sense of urgency and self-motivation
• Demonstrated ability to conceive/create new thinking and ideas pertaining to the consumer and the product line – skilled “product eye”
• Ability to work professionally and efficiently within the team and across departments
• A passion for the running enthusiast and active lifestyle

Compensation: The pay range for this position, based out of the Brooks Seattle HQ, is $73,515 - $110,272 per year. Base pay offered will vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Other:

Brooks is proud to offer a robust benefits package to our employees and their families!

Benefits- including medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance, HSA and employer contribution, FSA, family & fertility assistance, 401K Savings Plan and match, employee assistance program, and transportation assistance.

Paid Time Off- Brooks offers generous time off including three to five weeks of paid time off, eleven paid holidays, paid sick and parental leave.

Bonus- in addition to base pay, Brooks employees may also be offered an annual bonus based on company performance.

Perks- including product discounts, employee recognition, fitness discounts, volunteer and donation benefits.

Location- You will spend 3 per week in our Seattle offices, as we believe our organization flourishes when connections, collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and celebrations happen in person.

At Brooks, we celebrate diversity & equity. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment, and encourage people of all backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and skills to apply. Brooks is proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, two-spirit identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, sensory, physical, or mental disability, marital status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), honorable discharge or military status, protected citizen status, actual or perceived victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, HIV or Hepatitis C infection, political ideology, use of a trained guide dog by a person with a disability, or on any other basis protected by federal, state or local law, or any other non-merit based factors.