Product Coordinator

About Learning Resources:

We are Learning Resources®, and learning is where we play. Voted one of the Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces, we’re a growing, family-owned company known for our award-winning educational toys, including top sellers Pretend & Play® Calculator Cash Register, Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set and multiple Toy of the Year winners! We even help pets learn and grow through our pet brand Brightkins®. If you’re curious, collaborative, and a kid at heart, you’ll feel right at home here. Join us in shaping the future of learning with our award-winning team!

Team & Position Description:

We are looking for a Product Coordinator to join our Custom Solutions team! This is an exciting opportunity to support the development and delivery of products for our strategic customers across multiple sales channels including Mass Retail, International, Education, and Specialty. As a key member of the Custom Solutions team, you will collaborate with external vendors and cross-functional partners to help ensure timely and accurate execution of import projects. You will also work closely with the Product Managers to support creation and tracking of custom products and project timelines. You will play a crucial role in helping the team deliver high-quality, customer-specific solutions and support sales revenue goals.

What you’ll do day to day: 

• Project Coordination: Coordinate assigned import projects from concept approval through shipment. Track timelines, gather project information, and help ensure milestones are completed on schedule and products ship on time. Create and maintain customer requirement documents, SOPs, templates, and other reference materials to support efficient project execution.
• International Vendor Communication: Communicate with overseas vendors to provide product information and obtain quotes. Ensure that quote requests are complete and accurate to facilitate timely decision-making. Maintain collaboration with vendors to guarantee on-time production and delivery of high-quality products. 
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Collaborate with cross-functional teams such as Sales Managers, Creative, Supply Chain, QA, and others to gather project information, communicate project updates, and ensure successful project execution. Work closely with teams to ensure projects run smoothly and deadlines are met. 
• Product Development: Along with the Product Managers, identify and develop custom product solutions that align with customer requirements. Maintain and continuously improve the Custom Product Catalog in Monday.com, ensuring product information and images remain accurate and up to date.
• Competitive & Retail Analysis: Support competitive and retail analysis initiatives by collecting store visit information and organizing findings about manufacturers, price points, trends, and off-shelf fixtures. Share with sales managers and other stakeholders to help identify opportunities.
• Data & Systems Management: Be responsible for new product set-up for all custom products in Microsoft D365, ensuring information is accurate and complete throughout the project lifecycle. Organize and maintain the Custom Solutions SharePoint site, including document libraries, reference materials, vendor information, quick links, and team resources.

What we’re looking for: 

• In the first 12 months, develop an understanding of assigned customers, their business requirements, and key processes by actively participating in customer and internal project meetings. 
• Successfully coordinate 2-3 import projects while maintaining accurate timelines, documentation, and stakeholder communication. 
• Take ownership of the Custom Product Catalog by maintaining product information, images, and project details, while ensuring new custom products are added within established timelines to improve future quoting and development efficiency. 
• Establish and maintain project tracking boards and calendars for 2 customers within the first 6 months to provide visibility into project status and key milestones.
• Within the first 6 months, develop and maintain customer-specific cover letters, RFQ templates, and process guides for 2-3 customers. Maintain documentation related to customer requirements including routing guides, packaging specifications, pallet configurations, and compliance standards to improve efficiency, consistency, and scalability across the department. 
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce manual work, and enhance data accuracy through documentation, templates, or automation. Identify and propose at least 1 process improvement or documentation enhancement per quarter. Implement at least 1 suggestion during the first 6 months, in collaboration with Product Manager or Senior Manager.

Requirements/Ideal Attributes:

• Bachelor’s degree 
• 1-3 years of experience in project coordination, sourcing, procurement, or related business functions.
• Strong computer skills using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), including the ability to create basic reports, documents, presentations and spreadsheets
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong ability to adapt to change and meet required deadlines in a fast-paced environment while focused on details and accuracy
• Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize projects and responsibilities.
• Proactive problem solver, capable of utilizing business sense and creativity to develop new ideas and solutions.

We are a drug-free workplace and an EEO employer.

Please note: This role will be filled by our internal recruitment team, so no assistance is needed from any outside staffing agency at this time.

Compensation Range: $57,000 – $67,000 annual salary – Actual compensation may vary due to other factors such as: years of experience, skill set and location. Total compensation includes profit sharing bonus potential, 401k matching, and a variety of other benefits (details can be found here). 

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