Gardena, a division of the Husqvarna Group and Orbit Irrigation's parent company, is looking for a full-time Product Line Manager to expand the prestigious Gardena Brand into North America. Why should you come work at Gardena? Because we are helping passionate gardeners Realize Their Gardening Dreams through Conservation and Sustainability by developing and manufacturing innovative gardening products.

• Are you ready to help passionate gardeners Realize Their Gardening Dreams?
• Are you ready to be part of the brand that is Shaping Great Experiences by creating products of premium Quality?
• Are you seeking an employer that Embraces Sustainability?
• Do you have a Passion for Innovation and want to be on a team that drives Innovation in the gardening market?
• These are Gardena's core values and are lived by our team members each day!

A Day in the Life of the Product Line Manager

The Product Line Manager will be responsible for creating a US product range for the Gardena Brand in North America and managing a designated line of products. The Product Line Manager, under the direction of the Head of Product Strategy, creates business plans and drives product lifecycle planning, including new product development, sustained product management, and end-of-life product transitions for the product line(s) assigned. The Product Line Manager supports the North America growth strategy by driving new and innovative products that help achieve the company top-line revenue and bottom-line profit targets. They are responsible for ensuring that data for each item within the assigned product line is documented completely, accurately, and precisely. The Product Line Manager leads the Business Unit in product expertise for the North American business.

What are the requirements for this position?

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university
• 6+ years of experience in product management, project management, or marketing
• Working experience in an international environment (e.g. working with suppliers/organizations overseas)
• Valid passport and willingness to travel overseas (primarily Germany) as many as 6-7 non-consecutive weeks per year
• Are you qualified for this position? If yes, apply NOW!

Are there any preferred qualifications?

• Graduate-level degree
• Experience in the lawn and garden or home improvement industry

We offer great benefits:

• Competitive pay (salaried), plus bonus
• Hybrid work arrangements (Office + Home) available
• A free onsite healthcare clinic
• Flexible office hours (standard M-F, 8 AM to 5 PM)
• PTO and paid holidays
• Medical, dental, and vision insurances
• Life insurance
• Long- and short-term disability insurances
• Employee discounts on Orbit and Husqvarna products
• Subsidized UTA ECO pass (Frontrunner, Trax, & buses)
• And more!

Job Responsibilities:

• Creates business and product generation plans and adjust over time where needed to ensure a strategic, future-oriented product portfolio for the North American market
• Drives the product cycle planning process to deliver a steady flow of innovative products, energize existing products, and eliminate/improve underperforming products
• Utilizes the Concept Document (CD) process to ensures that new products are specified to meet industry, customer and consumer needs and are delivered on time within those specifications
• Works closely with the sales team in identifying product gaps in the category and in identifying new items needed to maintain and grow market share across accounts
• Guides the sales team in submitting new items for quote or development using the correct processes (RFQ or CDR Processes)
• Establishes and communicates clear timelines for projects using Gantt charts or other project management tools and ensures adherence to those timeline commitments
• Strives to lead the company in industry knowledge within their respective product lines
• Routinely benchmarks our products against the competition and leads product improvement where needed
• Spends adequate time in stores and in the field engaging with retail partners and consumers to gain insight into customer behavior with our products
• Continuously monitors customer feedback via online reviews, returns data, and social media to help guide continual product improvement
• Regularly seeks input from customer care and quality control
• Routinely conducts market research to help guide product and packaging decisions
• Supports sales by collaborating on product and merchandising strategies to win line reviews and grow market share
• Collaborates with the graphic design team to routinely evaluate packaging and to ensure best-in-class presentation to the consumer
• Creates and leads packaging development and adjustments and/or overhauls to ensure packaging leads/meets the latest trends
• Ensures that all products within the assigned product line are meeting performance expectations (both financial and physical performance expectations) and takes action to address items that fall short of expectations
• Continually strives to reduce complexity within the product portfolio
• Collaborates with operations, purchasing, and quality to improve the operational efficiency of items
• Ensures that all product data (including descriptions, dimensions, attributes, etc.) is accurate, up-to-date, and consistent with product management guidelines

Physical and Safety Requirements:

• Sedentary: Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to perform the work; however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying light items, driving an automobile, etc. Special physical demands are not required to perform the work
• Special Risks: Risks which require the use of special safety precautions and/or equipment, e.g., working around operating machines, working with contagious diseases or hazardous chemicals, etc.
• 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 accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions

Other Duties:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the associate for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Employment at Will:

This job description does not constitute a contract of employment and that the associate or the company may exercise their employment-at-will rights at any time.

About Gardena

Based in Ulm, Germany, Gardena is the preferred brand for millions of home and garden owners worldwide when it comes to garden care. That is because Gardena offers a complete range of all that is required - whether it's watering systems, pumps, lawn care, robotics, smart systems, tree and shrub care, garden tools, soil cultivation or city gardening. Today, Gardena is the leading brand for high-quality garden tools in Europe and represented in more than 80 countries all over the world. Gardena was founded in 1961 and has been a division of the Husqvarna Group since 2007. They are the parent company to Orbit Irrigation, who has enjoyed continued success for over 50 years. Our mission is to help passionate gardeners Realize Their Gardening Dreams!

Learn more at:

• https://us.gardena.com/
• https://www.orbitonline.com/
• https://www.husqvarnagroup.com/en/

Gardena is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment practices. Gardena prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in employment against race; color; religion; national origin; gender; sexual orientation; pregnancy; age; disability; service member status; or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law. Gardena also participates in E-Verify. Reference checks are a prerequisite for employment. All offers are contingent on completion of a drug screening and may be contingent on completion of a criminal background check. All successful candidates must provide original documents that will establish their identity and eligibility to work in the United States as required by the Immigration Reform and Control Act.

Last date to apply:

We are continuously accepting applications