Associate Manager / Manager, Product Development, Fragrance

ABOUT MAESA

#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 fragrance innovator with proven experience in beauty to join our Blue Sky & Product Development team. This role helps to build the strategy & development of new products from ideation to launch for the largest brand in our fragrance portfolio. It offers a unique opportunity for someone wanting to leave their mark in the industry by supporting product development for a key fragrance brand. The ideal candidate is a trend savvy, product guru that can help define & steer 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 Sales, Packaging, Design, R&D, 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:  

Retailer Management:  

• Partner with cross-functional sales team to ensure customer service is utmost 

• Help build decks for customer/retailer meetings 

• Organize comps/product mockups and formula samples for all retailer meetings when required 

Innovation Strategy:   

• Support creation, development & execution of innovation strategy + products for fragrance 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 

Product Development & Production:   

• Olfactive knowledge and ability to evaluate fragrance submissions  

• Identify white space opportunity & translate into meaningful NPD concepts  

• Present product concepts & development stages to cross functional counterparts 

• Support 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 

• Collaborate closely with design to ensure aesthetics align with brand identity & resonate with consumers  

• Lead all artwork mechanical efforts with production teams including copy, legal needs, color matching, finishes, etc. 

Market Research:  

• Expert in fragrance category trends and market dynamics 

• 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 marketing, project management, packaging, R&D, regulatory, sales, operations & buyers to ensure seamless execution of product launches.  

Qualifications And Requirements  

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field of study (business, marketing, product development, etc.); MBA strongly preferred 

• 3-5 years of experience in product and fragrance development or beauty industry (2-3 years of experience for Associate Manager level)

• Data savvy: proficient in data-driven decision-making and utilizing data analytics tools (IRI, Nielsen…)   

• Flexibility & resilience to work collaboratively in a dynamic, fast-paced environment  

• Strong strategic, analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills   

• Exceptional project management and organizational skills with acute attention to detail 

• Excellent oral & written communication  

• Creative thinker with a passion for driving innovation and staying ahead of market trends in the beauty industry 

• Able to convert product/customer feedback into insights that drive development of new products 

• Social media aware   

• Creative, innovative & organized 

• A team player & aspiring team leader   

• Curious & passionate about products & the consumer   

• A self-starter with the ability to operate independently  

• Flexible & open to take on additional responsibilities when needed 

• A problem solver who can deal with ambiguity 

• Action and results oriented 

• PASSION FOR ALL THINGS FRAGRANCE! 

The expected compensation range for this position is $75,000-105,000. Maesa also 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.  

#LI-Hybrid