About the Role:The Product and Market Development Manager aligns the strategy for Knauf's cured roll product portfolio with the company's growth, diversification, and profit objectives. The role is accountable for defending and expanding the approachable roll insulation solutions market, increasing Knauf's share and profitability. The role spans the entire product life cycle and leads cross-functional collaboration across manufacturing, operations, product development, innovation, sales, and finance. The Product and Market Development Manager also assesses the competitive landscape and cultivates alliances with industry associations, non-government organizations, and engineering and specification stakeholders to ensure Knauf's success in prioritized end-use markets best served by fiberglass roll solutions.
*The position level may be adjusted based on the candidate's knowledge, skill, and experience.
What You'll Do:Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Market Strategy and Leadership- Leads collaboration with sales, marketing, and pricing teams to develop and implement go-to-market strategies, pricing models, and product positioning that drive market growth and profitability.
- Drives initiatives that protect and grow demand across targeted end markets.
- Directs execution strategies and milestones for new product launches and portfolio optimization.
- Monitors market conditions, pricing strategies, cost structures, and installed cost competitiveness to ensure the company's products deliver optimal market value.
- Aligns product availability, positioning, and demand planning with S&OP and Operations to achieve lowest delivered cost and supply chain efficiency.
- Reports innovation return on investment, product performance analytics, and market insights to leadership with clear recommendations for action.
- Conducts competitive analyses, including market sizing, share assessments, competitive positioning, and emerging market trends.
- Maintains knowledge of applicable building codes, industry standards, and regulatory requirements to identify market opportunities and product enhancements.
- Evaluates current end-use applications for fiberglass rolls for Knauf to profitably make entry or deepen its market penetration within. (Retail Roll, Metal Building, FDM, OEM Blankets, other).
- Aligns roll portfolio to viable export market needs and collaborates with Sales on export market growth strategies.
Product Strategy and Lifecycle Management- Defines and executes the product roadmap to align with the company's business objectives and portfolio priorities.
- Manages the product lifecycle from concept through development, commercialization, growth, maturity, repositioning, and retirement to maximize ROI and market performance.
- Conducts market research, voice-of-customer studies, and competitive analysis to inform strategy and decision making.
- Translates customer and market insights into actionable product strategies and portfolio improvements.
- Establishes and monitors KPI's to track product profitability, margin performance, and market share.
- Partners and collaborates with manufacturing, supply chain, finance, and sales to forecast demand, evaluate investments, and assess product performance outcomes.
- Makes data-driven decisions that balance customer needs, operational capabilities, financial performance, and strategic priorities.
- Leads new product definition activities, including product setup, SKU creation, and portfolio governance.
- Manages SKU rationalization initiatives and ongoing portfolio optimization within assigned product categories.
- Oversees inventory business rules, product disposition decisions, and resolution of nonconforming products.
- Reviews product quality trends and customer feedback to identify improvement opportunities and coordinate corrective actions.
- Maintains project plans and regularly communicates the status of product initiatives and key milestones.
- Leverages deep understanding of the process and cost to manufacture the variety of products offered and establishes a pathway to cost reduction, margin optimization, and capacity utilization.
Innovation and Development Execution- Leads cross-functional alignment across innovation, engineering/technical resources, manufacturing, and commercial teams to define design requirements, technical specifications, and validation protocols.
- Ensure new products meet quality, safety, and certification standards in accordance with industry and regulatory requirements.
- Drives innovation initiatives that enhance sustainability, digital enablement, and installer productivity.
- Leads product development initiatives that improve product performance, sustainability, customer value, and market competitiveness.
- Integrates customer feedback and lifecycle analytics into innovation priorities to deliver measurable business value.
- Coordinates product testing, certification, and introduction processes across teams to ensure seamless market readiness.
Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement- Builds and maintains effective relationships with internal stakeholders to ensure visibility, accountability, and alignment on execution of priorities.
- Partners with corporate strategy team to integrate product plans into enterprise-wide objectives.
- Communicates effectively throughout the company, ensuring transparency of product vision, strategy, and performance.
- Supports field sales and specification teams with technical knowledge, competitive insights, and training resources to enable commercial success.
- Works closely with the sales academy to ensure training plans are created and coordinated to be effective in delivery internally and to customers.
- Build and maintains relationships with customers, industry partners, and other external stakeholders to understand market trends, customer needs, and emerging opportunities.
What You'll Need:Education:
- Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Material Science, or related field
- Master's degree (MBA or related discipline) preferred
Experience:- Minimum seven (7) years of experience in product management, marketing, or business development
- Experience in the building and construction industry
- Experience in the insulation industry preferred
- Experience with Tableau, Salesforce, Planisware, SAP, or similar business systems preferred
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:- Knowledge of building science principles and applications
- Ability to make timely, informed decisions by balancing available information, risk, and business priorities
- Ability to communicate effectively throughout the organization
- Ability to motivate and energize a team to produce winning solutions
- Ability to partner with and support colleagues both internally and externally
- Ability to work hands-on in an industrial manufacturing environment, as well as in a corporate environment
- Ability to deliver effective presentations and communicate confidently with diverse audiences, including executive leadership
- Ability to encourage innovation, continuous learning, and knowledge sharing to improve team and organizational performance
- Ability to take ownership, focus on solutions and act with the customer in mind to drive long-lasting results
- Ability to embrace change, question status quo to drive continuous improvement
- Ability to encourage diverse ideas, share knowledge, build networks to shape an environment of belonging
- Effective negotiation skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Follow-up skills
- Computer skills in MS Windows environment; proficient in Word, PowerPoint and Excel
LeadershipEmotional Intelligence
- Self-awareness, active listening, empathy, positive communication, self-regulation, social awareness, relationship management
- Manage team dynamics, conflict resolution, team building, give feedback, and navigate complex emotions
Drive Engagement
- Clearly communicate shared goals and outline how team members contribute to the big picture
- Understand others' strengths and skills and support their career development
- Psychological Safety - create a safe space for others to voice their opinion and take calculated risks
- Give recognition and celebrate others' successes
Shape Direction
- Anticipate and seize opportunity, provide a compelling purpose, and lead by example to shape a successful future
Business AcumenMarket Analysis
- Understand market trends, consumer behavior, and competitive dynamics
- Identify opportunities and threats in the marketplace
Strategic Thinking
- Navigate complex business environments and create strategies to reach company goals
- Envision future scenarios, evaluate competitive advantages, and make decisions that align with the company's overall objectives
- Prioritize and adapt to meet goals and execute strategic action plans
Problem-Solving
- Develop practical solutions to solve complex problems
- Handle unexpected or challenging situations in an effective way
- Determine the source of an issue and come to a viable solution
Analytical Thinking
- Gather, collect, and analyze data and form connections and make decisions
- See problems or scenarios from different perspectives to better devise strategies to deal with these situations or issues
Leadership
- Guide team, making pivotal decisions, and fostering a productive work environment
- Inspire and motivate employees, improve team performance, and ensure alignment with the company's vision and values
- Lead change by creating plans, managing resistance, and communicating the need for change
Effective Communication
- Articulate ideas, collaborate with stakeholders, and facilitate clear and concise exchanges of information
- Build relationships, manage conflicts, and ensure that all team members are aligned with the business's goals
Financial Acumen- Understand financial concepts and processes, including what drives cash flow into and out of the organizations, and make informed decisions to maximize profits and decrease loss
- Understand financial performance metrics such as EBITDA
- Analyze and interpret financial reports and statements
- Prepare, implement, and manage budgets and make informed financial decisions
- Manage financial indicators related to stakeholders, resources, goals, and market success
- Determine whether cost or investments are worth pursuing and influence approval based on the benefits it would bring to the company
