EMEA Product Innovation Manager

Location: UK

Subject to Consultation

About the role

The prime objective of an EMEA Product Innovation Manager is to deliver value to both customers and the business by leading the product vision and strategy. You will play a strategic and cross-functional influencing role in bringing new products through the Stage Gate process, from Concept to Commercialization. 

This role ensures that financial ambitions, product strategies, and market insights are translated into clear product roadmaps that support in maintaining the innovative and financial health of the Product Platform. As Guardians of Desirability, EMEA Product Innovation Managers play a crucial role in evaluating feature trade-offs, defining the Value Proposition, and collaborating on assets to support Platform/Product marketing.

The EMEA Product Innovation Manager provides opportunity sizing at sub-region, market, and customer level, and brings this together to create a clear Sales Strategy. The Sales Strategy is a crucial piece of work that enables Sub-Regions and Markets to build their sales plan. As champions of their products and platform, the EMEA Product Innovation Manager plays a key role in internal and external sales, joining sales activities (where required), and monitors in-market product performance to support in rapid decision making at key governance forums.

Whilst EMEA Product Innovation Managers are not executional Project Managers, the role ensures the Platform adopts and utilizes product development tools, such as Agile Place to retain visibility of the overall progress towards commercialization.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Market the product (in collaboration with marketing sub-functional teams), defining and communicating the Value Proposition, including the identification of "go to market" enablers and blockers

• Define clear product roadmaps and life cycles to support the continuous health of the Product Platform

• Define the Sales Strategy with clarity on market sizing (TAM SAM SOM Refinement), landing spots, key customers, and how to reach these to deliver the ambitious sales targets

• In collaboration with sub-regional Product Managers, define, challenge, and influence bottom-up budgets to support the strategic innovation targets

• Support sales teams in customer specific material creation, presentations, and physical customer presence to pitch where required

• Preparation of initial sales training (in collaboration with Sub-Regional PMs)

• Assess and ensue cross-functional preparation for Stage Gate decision making

• Initial Point of contact for desirability and marketing enquiries

• Initial point of escalation to key governance forums, such as Packaging ISG (in collaboration with Technical Platform Lead)

• Create and maintain meeting cadence to ensure cross-functional communication, including huddles, monthly product updates, and business updates (non-technical and non-implementation)

• In collaboration with the Technical Platform Lead and Partnerships team, take a lead role in the Day-To-Day collaboration aspects of partnerships.

About You

• A Degree or professional qualification in Product management, Business administration, Sales, Marketing, or other relevant field of study

• Strong business, market, customer, and commercial acumen, with proven experience in developing and implementing robust sales strategies to deliver against revenue targets

• A strategic approach to landing revenue targets via sales strategies, and providing clear direction on market size and segmentation (TAM SAM SOM)

• Strong understanding of customer pain points within a multitude of segments, and ability to turn these into Value Propositions

• Excellent stakeholder management, influencing skills, and communication at all levels 

• Commercial partnership management and strategic thinking, such as collaborating with mechanization partners

• Strong product management experience within a Stage Gate process, working in a multitude of countries and cultures

• Agile and pragmatic in approach 

• Collaborative, adaptive and supportive, especially under pressure.