Associate Director, Global OPI Retail Innovation

WELLA – Associate Director, Global OPI Retail Innovation

ABOUT WELLA

Wella Company is one of the world’s leading professional and retail hair companies. It is a beauty collective with a mission to enable consumers to look & feel like their true self. Its love brands, which include beauty icons such as Wella, Clairol, OPI, and ghd (all together “Wella”), are co-created by & designed for the beauty junkies of today & tomorrow. Following the signing of an agreement with global investment firm KKR for the divestiture of Coty’s Professional and Retail Hair businesses, Wella Company has become a fully independent, standalone company with its own management team and operational structures. Our new Company has presence in over 100 countries and an estimated annual net revenue of $2.3Bn. “Wella” and its brands, are and will remain committed to a range of social causes as well as seeking to minimize its impact on the environment. For additional information about “Wella” please visit https://www.wellacompany.com/.

THE ROLE

OPI is the #1 professional nail brand globally with portfolio of products that serve both professionals and consumer’s needs.  It is the most recognized brand with the broadest global footprint.  It has the strongest equity owning key attributes of professional expertise as well as color authority.  It commands a leading position in its strategic channels of distribution.

OPI’s purpose is to transform the world through the power of color.  With a strong salon heritage, OPI is present in 100,000 salons, used by over 500,000 nail professionals and loved by millions of women around the world. 

At OPI, we have the ambition to double the business over the next 3 years through both portfolio expansion as well as accelerating distribution internationally.

The Associate Director, Global OPI Retail Innovation will be responsible for leading consumer retail products innovation and base business global strategy for the OPI brand.  They will need to excel in identifying and implementing new consumer usage and product trends that will drive incremental net revenue and excitement for the category. This upstream product development role will focus on developing long-term new product innovation and base business activation strategies and plans to win with nail consumers, grow the category with top omni-channel customers, driving strong distribution and consumption in the global markets.

The Associate Director will play a critical role in partnering with the Global markets to enable a robust masterplan, and with the Global Brand Planning and Operations, R&D, Supply Chain, Creative, Brand Activation, Education, Customer & Consumer Insights and Sales organizations in the markets to create product innovation and launch plans that grow the brand. 

The role requires being in touch with trends, strategy development and communication, strong teamwork with cross functional partners as well as collaboration with local markets. The successful applicant will thrive in a fast-paced environment where accountability and ambition are paired with a desire to achieve results collaboratively.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to Sr. Director, Global OPI, you will lead a cross functional team to drive the business through new product and base business innovation, increasing brand awareness and breaking down barriers to disrupt the nail market.

• Always be on the forefront of new trends and product services and translate these into strategy and plan to fuel new product innovation or drive base business commercialization.
• Lead core retail products innovation, including consumer retail masterplan and project strategy, multi-functional team leadership, project management to meet critical gates, delivering to markets with strong concept sell, category growth story and point of difference, and owning the overall project P&L, initiative tracking and key learnings.
• Owning the business: understand the sales trends, customer trends, and stay up-to-date on industry trends to make strategic choices and actions to drive the business. 
• Manage Marketing project budgets within corporate processes and procedures. 
• Track business results, analyze and derive insights from consumer and sales data, and provide actionable strategies and brand plans.
• Driving brand vision and demand creation model to enable the team and markets to deliver with excellence on GTM plans.  The vision and strategies must be in-line with brand equity and visual identity.
• Leading and collaborating with high performing cross functional team to deliver key brand initiatives that are fit to win for end consumers.
• Lead development of integrated marketing strategies for all product and commercial initiatives, including role in portfolio, communication priorities, creative concept, assets across touchpoints to enable and market engagement to drive execution.
• Undertake continuous analysis of competitive environment
• Work with Global key markets to create IMP master plan and make sure OPI has solid market activation plans by working with Global Brand Planning & Operations.
• Additional tasks, duties and responsibilities as assigned by management.

BRAND ACTIVITY MASTER PLAN STRATEGY

• Lead inputs to total OPI Activity & Innovation Master plan for consumer retail lines
• Lead total project commercial strategy and fit with global master brand campaign
• Partner with Brand Planning & Operations on portfolio optimization, Category Growth Strategy and Global Success Model

DEVELOP 360 ACTIVATION PLAN:

• Develop holistic toolboxes to drive demand creation including packaging structures & artwork, benefit claims, communication core visuals, sell-in materials, launch promotions/kits, in-store, in-salon merchandising materials, digital advertising and e-comm content to win online and offline.
• Lead creative briefing in collaboration with the brand activation, education and brand planning & operations teams for product innovations and commercial initiatives.

OWN INITIATIVE P&L & MANAGE MARKETING BUDGET:

• Own initiatives P&L to deliver on COG, net revenue and gross margin targets.
• Manage initiative budget and optimize Marketing Expense spend to maximize ROI for initiatives.

YOUR PROFILE

You thrive at building strong relationships and delivering consumer-centric solutions. You are committed, conscientious and always lead with integrity. You recognize the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization. You believe in the value of teamwork. You bring a high level of knowledge and know-how plus creativity and enthusiasm to your work and to everything you do.

KEY REQUIREMENTS:

• 4-5 years’ experience in brand management or product marketing. Experience in beauty industry is strongly preferred.
• A bachelor's degree is required (Business Administration, Marketing or similar discipline), and an MBA is preferred.
• Proven leadership skills.
• Strong Strategic thinking with proven analytical skills. Problem-solving oriented.
• Strong presentation and communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills, operation discipline and ability to work in autonomy, under general direction, and deliver output requirements timely.
• Must be a self-starter, needs to be able to act with agility. Nail market is constantly evolving & changing. Will need to be able to stay focused on key priorities but also adapt quickly to a changing landscape
• Highly collaborative – strong ability to work well with other cross-functional partners and across global markets – with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Passion for beauty, relentless creative thinking and brand building and ability to quickly develop category and product expertise.
• Excellent PC skills especially MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

If you feel you are the right fit for the role and you want to work alongside the passionate OPI team and have a direct influence on the success of the brand Worldwide, we would love to receive your application.

We disclose the compensation range for positions in compliance with local law. Actual salaries will vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors including but not limited to location, experience, skills and in comparison to internal incumbents currently in similar roles. Pay Range: $130,500 - $170,000 salary per year. The range listed is just one component of Wella Company's total rewards package for employees. Other rewards may include annual bonus plan or variable pay, depending on the role. In addition, Wella Company provides a rich variety of benefits to employees, including health insurance, life and disability insurance, 401(k) retirement plan, paid holidays and paid time off (PTO).

NOTICES 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other legally protected status.

If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, please email NA.Recruiting@wella.com. This email account will not respond to inquiries regarding the status of a candidate’s application.

[For CA located postings ONLY]: Qualified Applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Information regarding your rights: Know Your Rights and Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision.