Senior Product Manager- Fasteners

Job Description

Job Description

Senior Product Manager- Fasteners

James Hardie Building Products

Location: Chicago, IL

James Hardie is the industry leader in exterior home and outdoor living solutions, with a portfolio that includes fiber cement, fiber gypsum, composite and PVC decking and railing products. Our family of trusted brands includes Hardie®, TimberTech®, AZEK® Exteriors, Versatex®, fermacell®, and StruXure®.

This position is based at our offices in Chicago’s West Fulton Market District.

The expectation is that this position would be primarily in-office or at our other business locations at least 4 days per week with flexibility to work from home or remotely on occasion. Position will require moderate travel (25-35%).

An employee shuttle to and from Ogilvy Transportation and Union Station is provided, as well as subsidized parking in our buildings attached garage.

The Product Management Team for the Deck & Accessories category has responsibility for the overall lifecycle, sales and financial performance of these products. These include the full line of Deck, Porch, Accessories and Adjacencies (e.g. decking substructure).

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Sr. Director of Product Management for the Deck & Accessories, this role will have direct responsibility for all of our fastener products within the decking product category as well as certain fasteners for the Exteriors category (e.g. AZEK Trim). These products include primarily mechanical fasteners (screws, clamps/clips, etc.) made of metal or plastic composites, as well as the tools or systems used for installing these fasteners.

The Senior Product Manager is responsible for the creation of a product roadmap, market/competitive research and analysis, new product development and testing, technical support, supplier management (co-owned with our Sourcing Team), pricing/profitability analysis and product rationalization. The Product Manager is ultimately the subject matter expert for their category and responsible for the financial results of the product line and must ensure that the product line is meeting the goals of the company. The Product Management team members are also advocates for our customers and continually find ways to add value to all stakeholders responsible for the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, sales and installation of the product.

AZEK does not directly manufacture any of the fasteners that we sell today. However, we do play a direct, leading role in the product development process from concept, product definition, design/engineering, development and testing. Therefore, this position works primarily with key supplier-partners, outside engineering/design resources and AZEK’s Legal (IP), Sourcing and R&D/Applications organizations to drive the development and testing of these products. The Product Manager also works cross-functionally to successfully launch new products to the market and manages the complete life-cycle of existing products.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about helping to drive sales growth and gross margin improvement of our products. This candidate should be highly organized, able to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously, focus on the technical and other details and drive cross-functional execution for the category while also understanding and engaging at the strategic level as well. Finally, the candidate will also display a strong commitment to our Core Values.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Work with the Product Management, Sales, Sourcing and overall business leadership teams to develop a successful product and business strategy for the assigned products, including a multi-generational product roadmap.
• Lead the execution of that strategy for the Fasteners product category. This includes engaging cross-functionally across all aspects of product development and on-going product management (product development, manufacturing, logistics, quality, code compliance, applications testing, marketing, sales, customer service, demand forecasting, reporting and analysis, margin improvement, pricing and promotions, including event support).
• Engage with and effectively lead/manage outside engineering, product design, development, testing and other technical service providers and suppliers as applicable. Conduct regular business and project reviews with suppliers.
• Conduct regular and ad-hoc analysis of product line performance (sales trends, regional and geographic customer analysis, revenue, margin and other basic financial and performance metrics). Conduct monthly business reviews using that information and analysis combined with on-going market and competitive analysis.
• Become the subject matter expert within the product category for the business and provide input and support to the Sourcing, Sales, Marketing, Customer Service and SIOP/Supply Chain teams.
• Conduct regular product data audits/maintenance, product costing and pricing support.
• Help to develop (and occasionally deliver) training programs to be used to educate the sales team, distributors, dealers and contractors on the features, benefits and applications of our products.
• Partner with the Product Marketing team to update all sales, marketing and technical collateral including product literature, sample materials, displays, sales presentations and collateral, product databases, installation guides and installation videos, technical data sheets and AIA presentations.
• Work with our Technical Services and Installation/Applications teams to develop and conduct product qualification testing, installation and other field tests and of new and existing products.
• Identify and evaluate new and emerging fastener technologies to determine potential product, strategic and business fit.

Position Qualifications:

• Team/Cultural Fit: Self-motivated, hard-working, intellectually curious, willing and happy to roll-up your sleeves and get your hands dirty, driven to succeed individually but also as a team (e.g. help yourself and help others), ability to figure out how to get things done without “ownership” of resources or organizational power. Ability to make and hit commitments and deadlines. Responsive to changing business priorities or short-term business needs without losing focus on what’s most important for the long term.

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in product design, mechanical engineering or a related field; MBA desired. Equivalent work experience, aptitude and a strong track record of success in technical and product development roles would also be considered in lieu of a technical degree.

• Skills: Strong project management skills, cross-functional coordination and communication, financial/analytical acumen, customer orientation, strategic and execution mindset. Strong computer skills to include: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and ad-hoc reporting tools. Technical engineering and design software skills strongly preferred (e.g. Solidworks).

• Experience: 7+ years in Product Design, Engineering, Product Management or demonstrated experience over a longer time frame and across other business functions that are directly related to the core responsibilities of the position (e.g. Project management, operations, marketing). Direct experience with management of tangible products such as building materials is a plus. Experience with ERP software tools is a plus.

The AZEK Company was acquired by James Hardie.

James Hardie is the industry leader in exterior home and outdoor living solutions, with brands including Hardie®, TimberTech®, AZEK® Exteriors, Versatex®, fermacell®, and StruXure®. With 8,000+ employees worldwide, we’re united by our purpose of Building a Better Future for All™ through sustainable innovation, a Zero Harm culture, and a commitment to empowering our people and communities. For more information, visit

Following The AZEK Company’s acquisition by James Hardie, we remain committed to providing a fair and equitable employment experience for all candidates.

Join us in shaping the future of our business!