Job Description

Description

We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic Director of Strategic Program Management to lead our end-to-end new product development (NPD) process and ensure seamless coordination with both owned and third-party manufacturing partners. This role is critical to delivering high-quality products on time and within budget while aligning cross-functional teams and external stakeholders to achieve business objectives. The ideal candidate brings exceptional project management expertise, a strategic mindset, excellent collaboration skills and the ability to lead across disciplines including marketing, sourcing, procurement, and operations.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Planning

• Partner closely with the Chief Product & Marketing Officer and executive team to align project roadmaps with business strategy and growth goals.
• Translate business needs into executable plans and ensure alignment across all key functions and stakeholders.
• Collaborate with executive team and VP of Transformation to lead strategic prioritization and trade-off discussions to optimize resource allocation and timelines.

Project Management

• Own and drive the NPD lifecycle process from concept to commercialization, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within scope, and with high quality.
• Build, manage, and continuously improve scalable project management processes and tools that support efficient execution across product lines.
• Partner daily with Product, Marketing, Sales, Engineering & Supply Chain teams to drive efforts to deliver innovation and quality improvements.
• Define and manage project timelines, resource plans, budgets, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Establish KPIs and metrics to track project performance and ensure accountability.
• Own the Make vs. Buy stage gate process and facilitate the executive review.
• Take full accountability for hand-off of new items; starts with sample approval and concludes with receipt of goods from customers.
• Embed quality checkpoints throughout the development lifecycle—from design reviews and prototyping to testing and manufacturing validation.
• Establish feedback loops between field performance, customer feedback, and development to drive continuous product and process improvements.
• Collaborate with Operations and Supply Chain teams to implement quality control systems at manufacturing and before shipment, tracking vendor performance against KPIs.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective action processes for product or process failures, applying insights to strengthen future outcomes.

Cross-Functional Team Leadership

• Serve as the operational and strategic “glue” across all functions involved in product development—including Product, Engineering, Sourcing and both internal & 3rd party manufacturing.
• Clarify roles, responsibilities, and dependencies to ensure effective collaboration and smooth handoffs across functions.
• Build strong working relationships with cross-functional leaders to enable rapid decision-making and issue resolution.

Sourcing & Procurement:

• Provide strategic guidance on global sourcing strategies, considering factors such as cost, quality, lead time, innovation and geopolitical risks.
• Establish and manage supplier selection, evaluation, and qualification processes.
• Negotiate and manage contracts with key suppliers, ensuring favorable terms and conditions.
• Develop and implement procurement policies and procedures to ensure compliance and efficiency.
• Drive cost reduction and value creation through strategic sourcing and procurement activities.

Team Leadership & Development:

• Build and lead a high-performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and development opportunities to team members.
• Set clear performance expectations and provide regular feedback.
• Support Chief Product & Marketing officer in managing departmental budgets and resources effectively.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field; Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10+ years of progressive experience in project management, product development or operations with a proven track record of success in a senior leadership role.  
• Proven experience managing cross-functional projects in complex product environments, preferably with both owned and contract manufacturing sources.
• Extensive experience in establishing, training and running a structured product development process. Strong preference for knowledge of stage-gate approach.
• Technical aptitude and comfort with technical product development, along with ability to work alongside engineering, design and manufacturing teams.
• Strong understanding of global supply chain dynamics and best practices.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams.
• Experience managing large budgets and resources.
• Global experience is a plus.
• Experience with horticultural products, agricultural supply chains, or related industries is a strong plus.
• Willingness to travel 15-25% of the time may include some international travel.

Skills & Competencies

• Strategic Thinking
• Leadership
• Project Management
• Technical aptitude
• Relationship Management
• Problem Solving
• Decision Making
• Communication
• Financial Acumen
• Change Management