Senior Manager, Blue Sky & Product Development, Hairitage

#MaesaMagic   

The next gen beauty company, Maesa is transforming the industry by incubating and growing meaningful, innovative brands and making prestige beauty accessible. Maesa believes beauty ignites inspiration, creativity, imagination, and connection, sparking new ideas and possibilities, and meeting unmet consumer needs. Through best-in-class design, formulation, brand creation and marketing capabilities, Maesa delivers new, better and different products with an unsurpassed speed to market. Maesa works with a variety of retailers to create and launch brands across beauty and wellness categories. The current portfolio includes Kristin Ess, Hairitage by Mindy McKnight, Fine'ry, Being Frenshe, and Niches & Nooks among other brands. For more information, visit www.maesa.com.

About The Role    

We are looking for a passionate Haircare product developer with proven experience in beauty/CPG to join our Blue Sky & Product Development team to spearhead the strategy & development of new products for Hairitage. It offers a unique opportunity for someone wanting to leave their mark in the industry by leading innovation and product development. The ideal candidate is a trend savvy hair product lover that can help define and steer the innovation pipeline. This candidate is social savvy, obsessed with beauty products, and brings a mix of creativity and love for data. This role will work closely with cross-functional teams including R&D, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Operations and the Go to Market brand team. This role is for someone who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment with the ability to work both independently as well as collaboratively with key cross-functional stakeholders and leaders.  

The role is based in NYC, and you will be expected in the office 3 days a week, at minimum per Company policy. 

Responsibilities    

Innovation Strategy:    

• Drive creation, development & execution of innovation strategy + products for haircare and hot tools innovation, ensuring alignment with brand objectives  
• Manage all aspects of product development lifecycle from concept to counter   
• Utilize data-driven insights to identify opportunities for product innovation and market differentiation  
• Identify white space opportunity & translate into meaningful NPD concepts  

Product Development:    

• Product expert on formula, ingredients, benefits, usage & relevance to portfolio   
• Present product concepts & development stages to leadership team, retail partners & brand marketing counterparts    
• Spearhead creation of compelling product concepts, applying sharp copywriting skills to articulate unique selling propositions & brand narrative  
• Manage the cross-functional team and processes, ensuring project stays on-time and hits GM targets  
• Lead distribution of formula samples from lab partners and track and consolidate feedback in collaboration with R&D  
• Responsible for hard and soft product claims on secondary packaging, assist Regulatory team with clinical substantiation process (hard claims) and advise on consumer perception substation process (soft claims)  
• Collaborate closely with design to ensure aesthetics align with brand identity & resonate with consumers   
• Support team in coordinating product samples for photoshoots, retailers, and marketing needs  

Market Research:   

• Lead & present ongoing category trends, competitive intelligence and market analysis   
• Collect & organize necessary product documentation to support Go To Market needs    
• Partner with suppliers for innovation, trends, new technologies    
• Ensure internal documents have most updated & accurate product information    
• Leverage data analysis to inform product development decisions, ensuring that each product aligns with market demands and preferences    

Cross-Functional Collaboration:   

• Foster a collaborative environment by working closely with cross-functional teams & key stakeholders, including Go To Market brand team, Project Management, Packaging, R&D, Regulatory, Sales, Operations & Buyers to ensure seamless execution of product launches  

Qualifications  

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field of study (business, marketing, product development, etc.)  
• 7-10 years of experience in product development or similar for haircare  
• Data savvy: proficient in data-driven decision-making and utilizing data analytics tools (IRI, Nielsen…)    
• Strong technical skills including Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint  
• Flexibility & resilience to work collaboratively in a dynamic, fast-paced environment  
• Ability to manage multiple projects with varying launch dates simultaneously, all while meeting project deadlines on-time  
• Exceptional project management and organizational skills with acute attention to detail  
• Strong strategic, analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills    
• Excellent oral & written communication  
• Creative thinker with a passion for driving innovation and staying ahead of market trends in the beauty industry  
• Curious and comfortable asking questions  
• Social media aware    
• Collaborative team player & aspiring team leader    
• Self-starter with can-do positive attitude and a roll-up-your-sleeves approach  

What We Offer   

$110,000/yr - $135,000/yr.  Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location. This position is eligible for participation in a discretionary bonus plan based on individual and company performance.  

Maesa offers a variety of benefits to eligible employees. Employees can choose to enroll in health insurance coverage, wellness programs, life and disability insurance, and retirement savings plans. Through generous paid time off, a hybrid office setup, and paid leave options, Maesa encourages wellness and balance among employees. 

Our Commitment to You   

At Maesa, we live by our values of collaboration, curiosity, game-changing, creativity, and discipline.  We believe our people and partners are a creative force that catalyzes the possibilities in beauty to break through traditional limits and discover the “new” without restriction. We prioritize creating and fostering a welcoming environment for employees, partners, ideas, approaches, and endeavors — all through a spirit of warmth and inclusivity. As set forth in Maesa’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

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