Company Overview

Obōz Footwear is a wholesale brand founded in 2007. Our home, Bozeman, Montana, is an outdoor adventurer’s paradise and is what motivates us to lace up daily to explore the 18 million acres of Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem that surround us. Bozeman also inspired our name: Outside + Bozeman = Obōz. The four points of our compass—People, Community, Foot and Experience—guide everything we do in staying “True to the Trail.” We also plant a tree for every pair of footwear sold, and have since our beginning.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and all applications will be reviewed based on skill and qualifications for the role. As the “True to the Trail” brand, we are committed to being true to our people and hiring a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation or protected veteran status.

Our HQ is powered by clean wind energy – 100% of our office power comes from wind farms in Central Idaho and Washington. We carbon-offset our shoe shipments, employee travel and the office utility bill. And, the shoes we don't sell make a difference, too – we donate our unsellable (but still trail-worthy) shoes, partnering local and national non-profits to find feet in need.

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Obōz Footwear is looking for a Product Line Manager to join the team!

 

Position Overview

The Product Line Manager (PLM) is an integral member of the Obōz Product Team, working closely with the Director of Merchandising and Product Creation Team. As PLM, you will contribute to the overall vision and product strategy, while managing the product creation process from seasonal briefs through the design and the development phase. 

Combining art and science, you will drive collaboration throughout the entire Go-To-Market process, resulting in market-right and brand appropriate product lines.

The PLM will leverage in-depth knowledge of the Obōz brand DNA, competitive positioning, consumer segmentation, and real-time sales and market insights to articulate seasonal product strategy and line assortment plans.  You act as a central communication channel and facilitator between cross-functional stakeholders all check points and milestone meetings. 

The PLM has ownership for their assigned category product line throughout the full product life cycle, including stages of pre-planning, business briefing, confirmation, presentation, pricing, and profitability; final execution, and global product line/business integration.

The primary functions of this role include but are not limited to:

Accountability: Category/Line Management

  • Line Planning | Build and manage the product line with short- & long-range lifecycle plans that align with product strategy and brand goals. Use inputs from market insights, trends & sales history to help optimize SKU efficiency and profitability.
  • Product Briefing | Create and present seasonal product briefs that incorporate business cases, marketplace influences and consumer insights. Seek input from Design, Development, Marketing, Sales. Ensure that briefs are developed in accordance with product category strategies and meet financial targets.
  • Go To Market | Act as leading contributor/presenter at major GTM milestones.
  • Forecasting | Support the translation of product strategies into unit and revenue forecast targets in collaboration with Finance, Sales & Operations to meet company revenue and margin goals. Ensure seasonal line plan is updated at key forecasting milestones.
  • Marketplace Insights | Stay current on industry trends and knowledge by attending select trade shows, retail store and account visits, market trips.
  • Presentations | Build & lead presentations related to category & product strategies, seasonal designs & prototypes at seasonal Sample Reviews, GTM milestones, and provide support to Sales with Key Account previews.

 

Accountability: Merchandising

  • Color Merchandising Briefs | Create and present seasonal merchandising needs and stories around color and materials to ensure commercial product flow and lifecycle.
  • Color Merchandising Process | In partnership with Color Design, lead the color merchandising process by facilitating key milestone meetings and ensuring timelines are met with comprehensive feedback and direction.
  • Color Insights | Gather market insights through consumer surveys and focus groups. Partner with Sales for Key Account and Regional Sales Rep color feedback at key intersections during the color merchandising process.

 

Accountability: Project Management

  • Product Creation Process | In partnership with Design & Development, support the facilitation of the product creation process from the product brief stage through design, development, commercialization, and launch.
  • Product Line Management Calendar & Timelines | Ensure that key Product Line Management gates and dates are delivered upon.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration | Nurture a collaborative and inclusive working environment among product creation teams and other cross functional areas (Sales Marketing, Operations). Resolve process issues and recommend ways to continually improve the interaction of team members as well as process efficiency.

 

Accountability: Sustainability

  • Corporate Social Responsibility | Ensure the promotion of human rights throughout the business and efforts to be a socially responsibly company are enabled.
  • Product Sustainability | Support product sustainability efforts in relation to the Oboz Sustainability Roadmap’s short and long-term target planning, fostering within the Product Creation team and across the organization.

 

About you…

  •  You have at least 5+ years of relevant work experience in outdoor or athletic footwear product line management.
  • You are experienced in managing multiple seasonal projects which have heavy dependencies requiring strong leadership and communication to align multiple teams and stakeholders.
  • You are also able to create and lead seasonal product business plans that maintain product margins and profitability goals.
  • You can maintain a high attention to detail, including proven ability to manage multiple, competing priorities simultaneously.
  • You think ‘outside of the box’ to connect lines between financial patterns and market insights to identify growth opportunities in various retail environments.
  • You fluctuate between the ability to execute methodically and think strategically.
  • And you are great at communication, whether it be in one on one or group settings, through visual presentations and written communication.

This position will travel domestically and internationally up to 30%.

Company Social Responsibility

  • Display an active commitment towards brand purpose and values.
  • Embrace opportunities to introduce new, sustainable ideas for innovation.
  • Support the promotion of human rights throughout the business.
  • Acts without delay to address serious human rights and labor rights violations that threaten the safety and wellbeing of Oboz employees, customers or those working in factories as part of the Oboz global supply chain. 
  • Follow all company procedures and policies as specified in the Oboz company handbook and support company efforts in all environmental, social and governance (ESG) actions.


Company Culture

Oboz has a small but growing family-feel team. We are collaborative and thrive on cross-functional relationships. We care about our customers, the outdoors, and each other. Our office is relaxed and non-conventional with a dog-friendly culture and we have world class trails right outside our front door. We love the outdoors and are passionate about doing the right thing for a more sustainable world for us all to share. We are proud of our amazing brand, and we want to share our success with other passionate people who enjoy working in a fast-paced industry and share our company values.


Compensation

As well as amazing footwear benefits and awesome folks to work with, Oboz offers a competitive compensation and benefits package including Medical, Dental, and vision, 401k retirement and paid time off.


Want to join us? 

Role located in Bozeman, MT.

Apply Here. Review of resumes will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.