Director Product Management - Technology

Job Summary

In the role of Director of Technology, supporting Acuity Brand’s Data Excellence domain, you will develop deep technology, business, and domain expertise to define and execute the long-term vision and strategy for the domain. This includes providing thought leadership, innovating on new opportunities, and identifying strategic objectives that align with the overall department and company goals. The successful candidate will also partner with cross-functional teams of product managers, engineers, UX designers, and data scientists to identify opportunities, define requirements, and deliver features that will help Acuity Brands.

Success in this role requires a unique combination of skills and character traits which include:

• Ability to holistically view and understand Acuity’s ecosystems and focus on delivering technology that drives impact
• Deep leadership and product strategy experience that will inspire and influence your direct reports, partners and stakeholders so they’re part of the journey with you
• Relevant experience working with financial and accounting systems
• A passion for intuitive, easy to use products designed to reduce cognitive load and improve processes. Empathy for users which results in a willingness to immerse yourself in feedback to distill insights and get to the root of problems
• A desire to drive measurable results in terms of operating efficiency or income. A corresponding data-driven mindset that can clearly identify, articulate, and quantify the levers that will improve your product(s)
• Familiarity with systems-oriented thinking. An aptitude for diving into the interconnectedness of marketing, sales, supply chain, inventory, and financial systems as part of building robust and scalable product(s)
• An unwavering personal integrity and work ethic, you believe in mission driven organizations that serve a broader purpose. You want to work on products that improve peoples’ lives

Key Tasks & Responsibilities (Essential Functions)

To be successful at this role, you’ll need to:

• Product Strategy:  Develop and execute a product strategy that aligns with the overall business goals and objectives, focusing on the different master data domains
• Tech Roadmap:   Align with ABL business leadership to create and execute on a technology roadmap
• Collaboration:  Collaborating with cross-functional teams, and ensuring alignment with business goals and customer needs
• Data Excellence:  Overseeing the management and governance of master data within an organization, which includes critical business information such as entity data, product data, and item data
• End-to-End Data Integration:  Work with ABL Tech and business stakeholders to integrate data from various sources and systems, ensuring data consistency and liquidity
• Solutions Driven:  Focused on getting to the root cause of the problem versus approaching problems with pre-conceived solutions, best decisions for the product and the business
• Team Leadership:  Lead a team of product managers and data advisors responsible for managing master data, providing guidance and support to ensure the team's success.
• Thought Partner:  Consults and guides the business & tech partners on identify data needs, domain metrics, understanding enterprise data flow, and how it impacts end-user satisfaction
• Continuous Improvement:  Continuously assess and improve master data management processes, technologies, and policies to keep pace with changing business needs and best practices
• Be laser focused on getting to the root cause of the problem versus approaching problems with pre-conceived solutions. You should ask questions and request information in order to make the best decisions for the product and the business
• Have a bias towards action with an eye towards detail.  You drive results without being directed. You are able to understand cross-functional needs and ruthlessly prioritize. You make sure your direct reports are aligned and empowered to execute. Your product roadmap supports the ABL Tech product vision and the Acuity Brands strategy, business, and operating model

In this role you will:

• Become the domain expert for the Master Data domains
• Act with broad scope, autonomy, and a focus on delivering impact and outcomes
• Seek out, research and evaluate areas of opportunity to drive productivity and optimization of inventory supporting customer demand. Articulate the problem(s) and socialize the proposed solution(s) to relevant stakeholders and colleagues
• Apply structured thinking to your problems in the form of journey mapping, value stream mapping, domain-driven design, root cause analysis, and dependency mapping
• Own the entire product lifecycle including discovery, analysis, test and learn goals, MVPs, user stories, sprint execution, launch, and iteration. Develop systemic feedback loops to drive clarity on product iteration
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders such as sales, marketing, distribution, other product managers, engineers, and operations across multiple offices and time zones
• Champion a strategic product vision and plan that aligns with the overall ABL Tech and Acuity Brands strategy and vision, with a focus on behavior driven development. Communicate overall vision, iterative learnings, and results across all levels of the organization
• Operate effectively in an all-remote environment with up to 10% travel as needed

Skills and Minimum Experience Required

• A bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as business, marketing, engineering, or computer science -- a master's degree (e.g., MBA) can be beneficial
• Knowledge of product lifecycle management principles, processes, and best practice
• 7+ years of experience in product management, with a focus on product lifecycle management or master data management
• Proven experience deploying large-scale data management initiatives
• Strong leadership and people management skills to lead and motivate teams, drive collaboration, and make decisions that impact the product lifecycle and master data domains
• Familiarity with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and their role in managing master data
• Deep understanding of the Lighting industry, including competitors, trends, and customer needs
• Demonstrated track record of establishing technology strategy, using data and analysis to support strategy and prioritization, and day to day product execution
• A track record of driving innovation and bringing new products or features to market successfully throughout the product lifecycle
• Excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to work well with highly cross-functional teams
• Data driven mindset, which includes analytical skills to analyze data, market trends, and product performance throughout the lifecycle to make informed decisions
• Strong communication skills in both written and verbal forms

Preferred Skills and Experience

• MBA with technical orientation or Industrial and Systems Engineering with a digital product management orientation
• Financial certifications