Head of Product Strategy & Category Development

Newark, NJ, Onsite, Full time

$250,000

Description / Position Overview

The company is seeking a senior product and category leader to help shape the future direction of its product portfolio.

This role exists to ensure the business continues bringing the right products to market, identifying opportunities before competitors, and making disciplined portfolio decisions that drive growth.

You will own category strategy, new product development direction, market intelligence, and commercialization planning across a growing portfolio of home and interior products.

This is not a project management role.

This is not a product execution role.

The execution teams already exist.

This role owns the decisions that happen before execution begins.

You will determine:

• What products should be developed
• Which categories deserve investment
• What gaps exist in the portfolio
• What customers are asking for
• Which trends are worth pursuing
• How products should be positioned in the market
• How new products should be commercialized

The ideal candidate understands the intersection of product, customer, design, manufacturing, and commercial strategy.

You may come from product development, category management, merchandising, product marketing, commercialization, kitchen and bath, interiors, furniture, surfaces, flooring, tile, cabinetry, building products, or similar industries.

What You'll Own

Portfolio & Category Strategy

• Own strategic direction for assigned product categories

• Identify gaps, opportunities, and future growth areas within the portfolio

• Develop category plans that align market demand with business objectives

• Evaluate product assortment, lifecycle performance, and expansion opportunities

• Make recommendations regarding category investments, additions, rationalization, and growth priorities

Market Intelligence & Customer Insights

• Gather insights from customers, dealers, designers, builders, showrooms, installers, and sales teams

• Monitor market trends, competitive activity, and emerging product opportunities

• Translate customer and market feedback into product recommendations

• Identify unmet customer needs and opportunities for differentiation

New Product Development

• Guide new product initiatives from concept through launch readiness

• Define product requirements, positioning, pricing architecture, and launch priorities

• Ensure products are commercially viable, operationally feasible, and aligned with customer demand

• Support development of product collections, programs, accessories, and category extensions

Commercialization & Launch Strategy

• Partner with Sales and Marketing to develop launch strategies and product positioning

• Support launch readiness across product information, training, samples, displays, merchandising assets, and sales enablement

• Help ensure successful adoption of new products throughout the market

• Monitor launch performance and recommend adjustments as needed

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Product, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Manufacturing, Sourcing, and Executive Leadership

• Align stakeholders around category priorities and product decisions

• Influence strategic decisions that impact growth, profitability, and market position

Success Metrics

Success in this role looks like:

• Successful introduction of high-performing new products and collections

• Increased category revenue and profitability

• Improved product adoption across dealer and distribution channels

• Strong portfolio performance and lifecycle management

• Faster identification of market opportunities

• Improved competitive positioning

• Clear category roadmaps tied to business goals

• Strong cross-functional alignment and launch execution

Must-Haves

• Experience owning product strategy, category strategy, merchandising strategy, or product development within a physical product environment

• Experience launching products from concept through commercialization

• Strong market research, competitive analysis, and trend identification capability

• Experience influencing assortment, category, or portfolio decisions

• Experience partnering with Sales, Marketing, Operations, Manufacturing, and Sourcing teams

• Ability to balance customer demand, margins, pricing, inventory, manufacturability, and business objectives

• Experience within cabinetry, kitchen & bath, tile, flooring, surfaces, furniture, home furnishings, decorative products, building materials, or adjacent industries

• Demonstrated ability to translate market opportunities into successful product launches

Ideal Candidate Backgrounds

• Director of Product Development

• Head of Product Development

• Director of Category Management

• Category Director

• Director of Merchandising

• Product Commercialization Leader

• Director of Product Marketing

• Kitchen & Bath Product Leader

• Interior Products Leader

• Building Products Category Leader

• Showroom Product Strategy Leader

Why This Role Is Different

Most companies ask product teams to execute a roadmap.

This role helps determine what the roadmap should be.

You will have meaningful influence over product direction, category growth, commercialization strategy, and long-term portfolio decisions that directly impact business performance.

Final Invitation to Apply

If you have successfully identified market opportunities, launched winning products, grown categories, and influenced portfolio strategy within a physical product environment, this is an opportunity to help shape the future direction of a growing product organization.

Email Resume: Joel@maiplacement.com

Apply Online:

https://jobs.crelate.com/portal/maiplacement/job/gd5qb3mtsqqtcejme6feyud8qr?crt=1780340304977

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