Director, Product Marketing & Consumer Research

The Director of Product Marketing & Consumer Research is responsible for translating deep consumer insights into actionable product and portfolio strategies that drive growth, differentiation, and long-term brand equity. Reporting to the VP of Product Marketing, this leader will oversee primary and secondary research, competitive intelligence, trend analysis, and strategic planning to inform product innovation, positioning, and lifecycle management.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES  include the following. The following is an overview of the main duties for this position and is not all-inclusive of each task that may be performed in this role.     

• Develop and execute the company’s consumer research roadmap aligned to growth priorities.
• Lead qualitative and quantitative research initiatives such as concept testing, segmentation, Usage & Attitude (U&A) studies, pricing research, NPS, etc.
• Oversee external research partners and agencies.
• Translate complex data into clear, compelling insights and strategic recommendations.
• Establish standardized insight dashboards and reporting frameworks.
• Identify white space opportunities and unmet consumer needs.
• Inform product innovation pipeline, roadmap prioritization, and go-to-market strategies.
• Conduct competitive and category analysis to guide positioning and differentiation.
• Support pricing, packaging, and value proposition strategy.
• Partner with product management to evaluate performance and lifecycle optimization.
• Deliver insight-driven recommendations to VP and executive leadership.
• Contribute to annual strategic planning and long-range growth strategy.
• Present findings in executive-ready formats that drive alignment and decision-making.
• Build a culture of consumer-centric decision-making across the organization.
• Partner with Product Development on innovation testing and validation.
• Work closely with Brand Marketing to refine messaging based on insights.
• Support Sales with category insights and customer presentations.
• Align with Finance on forecasting inputs based on research data.
• Partner with the internal studio team to establish new product packaging dielines.
• Evaluate and source packaging solutions that align with brand, cost, sustainability, and retail requirements.
• Collaborate with the Brand team to create packaging copy, including hierarchy of messaging, benefit callouts, and feature prioritization.
• Ensure packaging assets are aligned with licensing requirements and retailer guidelines.
• Create, lead, and facilitate monthly marketing meetings, including agenda ownership. 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.  

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent from a four-year university and five (5) to eight (8) years of related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. 
• Relevant product management experience in the consumer goods sector, including managing consumer business-facing products with an increasing level of responsibility. 
• Direct-to-consumer and direct-to-business experience. 
• Analytical and creative with excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively present and communicate to all levels of an organization. 
• Project and process management skills, plus a strong ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously. 

Other Skills and Abilities: 

• Must be able to tactfully deal with various personalities throughout the company and deal effectively and professionally with internal and external customers. 
• Excellent computer skills with spreadsheet and graphic presentation programs required. Microsoft PowerPoint (intermediate level), Microsoft Outlook (intermediate level), Microsoft Excel (intermediate level), Microsoft Word (intermediate level). 
• ERP experience is a plus.
• Experience in CPG, retail, consumer goods, or relevant industry.
• Experience managing external research agencies and budgets.
• Familiarity with advanced analytics tools and consumer data platforms.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:  The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.  While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls, reach with hands and arms, talk, and hear. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds, occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, and on some occasions lift to 50 pounds.   Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those the employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually low, and employees will seldom work near moving parts. 

EOE, including disability/vets