Vice President of Digital Product Information and Strategy

RHH202106

Vice President of Digital Product Information and Strategy

E-Commerce

THE COMPANY

Our client is a privately-owned e-commerce, fulfillment, distribution, and data analytics service provider located in the Detroit metropolitan area. They have quickly grown to become an industry leader in e-commerce end-to-end brand management and operational logistics. They have a growing staff of over 100 awesome people responsible for managing over 1 million consumer transactions annually. Our client feels the sky is the limit for their dedicated workforce to grow personally and professionally in their organization. They have a positive, energetic, and driven leadership team that places its people first. With two parent companies that have been in business for a combined 153 years, they have the culture of a large start-up with the benefit of stability. Their values embrace hard work, team building, positivity, innovation, out-of-the-box thinking, and appreciation for each other.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Vice President of Digital Product Information and Strategy will ensure our client’s supported online channels offer their products with a compelling user experience to drive sales and customer loyalty. They will control the product catalog, product information, and brand presence. The successful candidate will bring a high level of ownership to the role and be able to execute on dynamic day-to-day optimizations while also thinking strategically about business goals and how to plan ahead.

This position reports to the Chief Operations Officer and has four direct reports with teams.

JOB DEFINITION

Our client is seeking a passionate and driven person to lead their Digital Catalog department. The Vice President of Digital Product Information and Strategy will oversee and manage the product catalog ensuring the quality of product data across multiple marketplaces. They will evaluate, monitor, and improve every aspect of product presentation. This is a very data-driven and technical role, but people skills are equally important. The Vice President will be tasked with creating a broad strategy that addresses all product, data, data analysis and marketplace issues. They will cultivate data from meaningful sources (industry trends, competitive analyses, usability studies, analytics, customer care, e-commerce best practices, etc.) to inform and prioritize decisions.

SKILLS

This leader will manage the digital catalog, data and analytics.

Create projects, determining scope, necessary resources and people, set deadlines, and communicate statuses to leadership.
Oversee the management of content strategy.
Build and maintain a system to standardize data aggregation.
Create an organized and efficient process for storing and updating product data from a multitude of sources.
Automate data delivery.
Oversee the process of converting raw data into usable information.
Ensure data shared with various marketplaces adheres to specific site requirements.
Plan, schedule, communicate and document product updates.
Optimize product descriptions ensuring product names, keywords and descriptions are optimized and accurate for all marketplaces.
Create and document a new customer product launch program to prevent “reinventing the wheel” each time that includes a specific order of steps and assign responsibility to team members.
Effectively translate technical information to non-technical team members.
Use analysis and insights to help inform on the customer experience.
Communicate and collaborate with company leadership.
Effectively communicate with and collaborate closely with the marketing, customer service, and CRM teams to continuously improve consumer interactions.
Proactively identify issues and work with internal and external team members and partners to understand options and execute solutions.
Ensure team members have the support, training, tools, and information they need to excel at their jobs.
Create relevant metrics to hold the team accountable and support them in reaching goals.
Use available tools and data to construct, maintain, distribute and enhance dashboards and reporting for main digital and e-commerce KPIs.
Implement robust, standardized, and documented training procedures and guides for team members.
Support and empower brand managers to bring them to a higher level of success.
Encourage team members to be intellectually curious, to become experts in their areas of work, and on top of industry changes.
Optimize systems, processes, and procedures.
Identify and eliminate bottlenecks and find opportunities for improvement and advancement.
Optimize product listings and website navigation through frequent testing and data analysis.
Identify opportunities to create best-in-class capabilities, leveraging customer feedback, team knowledge, and expertise.
Develop, plan and deliver breakthrough experiences, working with technical and non-technical partners.
Marshal resources across all teams as needed to support customers’ needs.
Foster a fast-paced environment that empowers critical thinking and collaboration with other team members.
Ownership of the catalog of products for all marketplace retail channels including eBay, Amazon, Walmart, Facebook, Google, and Shopify.
Create an ongoing cycle of innovation, learning, and improvements.

BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE

5+ years of digital product and data management in marketplace retail channels including eBay, Amazon, Walmart, Facebook, Google, and Shopify.
Experience managing digitally native private label brands a plus.
Strong knowledge of the e-commerce space including competitive strategies, marketing strategies, product development, consumer research, usability best practices, and industry trends.
Experience with parts and accessories in powersports and outdoor power equipment a plus.
Ability to complete root cause analysis and identify gaps in team performance and knowledge.
Solutions provider with strong problem-solving skills.
Track record of delivering results using processes grounded in metrics and user data.
Rigorous attention to detail and ability to deliver projects, priorities, schedules, and deliverables.
Emotional intelligence and strong people skills.
Exceptional communication, organization, project management, and analytical skills.
Drive and intellectual curiosity.
A high degree of internet savvy, with a curiosity and enthusiasm for new technologies and customer experience.
Ability to identify metrics and key performance measures and use data to drive decisions that enhance the customer experience.
Ability to exercise judgment and work independently with limited supervision as well as collaborate with others.
Flexibility; adaptable to change in work assignments/priorities.
An understanding that uniting multiple departments across the company with a common goal is not easy, but the idea of this difficult task is exciting to you.
Must be a hands-on self-starter, with a sense of urgency and capable of delivering results in a fast-paced environment.
Microsoft Excel and SQL expertise.
Development and programming experience is a plus.

Education:

BA/BS in a related field is desired with a minimum of 5 years of experience managing an e-commerce product catalog.
Familiarity with ChannelAdvisor, A+/EBC Content and marketplace search algorithms such eBay’s Cassini and Amazon’s A9.

If you have these qualifications and are looking for a challenging career, please submit your Resume using the button below.

Todd Hohauser

CEO and Lead Consultant

Kate Scott

Director, Executive Recruitment