Regional Go to Market Category Director

Introduction: A Career at HARMAN Lifestyle

We're a global, multi-disciplinary team that's putting the innovative power of technology to work and transforming tomorrow. As a member of HARMAN Lifestyle, you connect consumers with the power of superior sound.

• Contribute your talents to high-end, esteemed brands like JBL, Mark Levinson and Revel
• Unite your passion for audio innovation with high-tech product development
• Create pitch-perfect, cutting-edge technology that elevates the listening experience

About the Role

The Regional Go-To-Market Owner plays a pivotal role in guiding product through its regional market introduction and driving global and SBU level strategic direction and initiatives into the Region related to product launches. This role is responsible for ensuring the strategic planning, execution, oversight, and success of new product launches in the respective region at HARMAN. This position serves as the regional center that will strategize, orchestrate, guide and compel collaboration with the regional Product, Marketing and Sales functions through the go-to-market process start to finish in concert with the Global Go-To-Market Category Owner for each launch. The role will be the voice of the region's perspective in global GTM discussions and be accountable for translating global strategy into regional execution, guiding Marketing and Sales to deliver launches with consistency and excellence. The role will also embed GTM capability locally and act as the regional authority on go-to-market expertise.

Your Team

This position will report into the Global Go-To-Market Owner and will be an individual contributor.

What You Will Do

Go-To-Market Strategy

• Lead the development and execution of the GTM strategy and processes for assigned region, ensuring alignment with enterprise-level strategic direction, including market positioning, pricing, and assortment planning.
• Contribute GTM insights into regional and global strategic planning exercises, helping shape category-level "Where to Play" decisions and ensuring GTM plans support business and regional goals.
• Own the development of regional budget allocation and tiering frameworks for product launches, recommending trade-offs and ensuring consistency with corporate priorities and global frameworks while tailoring to local realities.
• Develop complete understanding of disparate strategies from all corners of the Triangle for the assigned category and act as the primary feedback loop for strategy refinement throughout the GTM triangle - while you do not own the strategy, you have a critical voice to ensure it is a good strategy. Do not hold back.
• Drive collaboration between regional Marketing and Sales teams, ensuring a unified approach to launches, and act as a key link between the regional and the Global GTM team to secure alignment.
• Coordinate deployment of GTM resources to priority launches, ensuring teams are equipped to deliver impact.
• Leverage SBU and category expertise to aid in navigation of the GTM Triangle complexities to enable smooth collaboration across functions and geographies.
• Own, drive and manage end to end process with the Product & Pitch Deck, shaping how the value proposition is articulated by bringing in consumer, market, and retail insights via strategic triangulation from the senior cohort teams.
• Ensure the regional Sales perspective is fully represented in Category "How to Win" strategies, working alongside Marketing.
• Manage and influence cross-functional regional teams (Product, Marketing, Sales) to guarantee all go-to-market projects are delivered in full and on-time.

Regional Planning & Execution

• Own regional execution of global category strategies, including product launches end-to-end while ensuring all launches are delivered on time, within scope, and with measurable impact.
• Represent regional needs into the Global GTM Activation Plan Blueprint, ensuring regional requirements are addressed while working together with global counterparts.
• Translate the global blueprint into regional activation plans, tailoring execution for local markets while maintaining global consistency.
• Lead cross-functional planning with Marketing and Sales, ensuring activity plans are aligned and resourced.
• Champion regional requirements for assets and campaigns, influencing global Marketing to secure the right support.
• Facilitate the collaboration between regions, and the exchange of best practice so that great ideas can easily travel within Harman.
• Aggregate product launch performance results regionally to derive learnings and identify and disseminate best practice.

Capability Building

• Deploy and embed the global go-to-market capability in the region, ensuring teams adopt Harman's processes, tools, and standards
• Equip regional Marketing and Sales teams with the right skills and tools, building local competence in GTM excellence.
• Identify regional improvement opportunities, sharing feedback with global teams to refine the overall capability.

Expertise

• Serve as the regional authority for GTM, advising the GM and senior leadership on go-to-market decisions.
• Manage the silos and politics between existing segments of the organization and proactively address the alignment between global and regional teams, supporting forecasting and target-setting processes.
• Act as the escalation point for regional GTM issues, resolving conflicts and ensuring alignment with global standards.
• Coach and influence adjacent functions to strengthen GTM performance in the region.

What You Need to Be Successful

• A bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or a related field is required with a master's degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in GTM strategy, category management, or a related field, with proven experience in a global or international capacity. Experience in the relevant industry and with B2B or B2C models is also valuable.
• Proven track record of successful product launches and category excellence.
• Demonstrated understanding of developing product communication strategies, product user experience and persuasive marketing techniques to drive engagement with new or existing customers
• Strong analytical and project management skills.
• Presents interests in ways that foster the understanding and resolution of problems. Seeks to understand others' interests. Gains other parties' trust by being honest, respectful, and sensitive to their needs. Knows when to be gentle and when to be assertive and acts accordingly. Avoids ultimatums.
• Ability to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals, establish agreement around intended outcomes/results, and assess and adjust the organization's direction in response to a changing environment.
• Paramount are superior communication skills; a deep understanding of the business, business, and consumer needs; capacity to analyze data and act on insights; and the ability to work up, down and across the company.
• Proven history of setting an agenda - the ability to identify an organizational need and build strategies & plans to address; the ability to bring a sense of clarity and direction within potentially ambiguous contexts.
• The ability to collaborate effectively as a team towards a common goal, sharing knowledge and responsibilities while fostering teamwork and building a positive team dynamic.

Bonus Points if You Have

• Natural curiosity and interest in consumer technology and audio market
• Ability to diplomatically manage challenging or tense interpersonal situations fairly, regardless of personal biases or beliefs.
• Experience managing multi-million-dollar budget(s).
• Demonstrated success in leading teams through cultural integration in fast-changing business environments.
• Prior experience working with a cross-functional global organization.

What Makes You Eligible

• You are willing to travel both domestically and internationally, if necessary.
• This role is eligible to work remotely with 1 or 2 days a week in the applicable office and for meetings when needed.
• Due to the nature of global infrastructure, you understand that flexibility in working hours is required.
• Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment.

What We Offer

• Flexible work environment, allowing for full-time remote work globally for positions that can be performed outside a HARMAN or customer location
• Access to employee discounts on world-class Harman and Samsung products (JBL, HARMAN Kardon, AKG, etc.)
• Extensive training opportunities through our own HARMAN University
• Competitive wellness benefits
• Tuition reimbursement
• "Be Brilliant" employee recognition and rewards program
• An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages professional and personal development

You Belong Here

HARMAN is committed to making every employee feel welcomed, valued, and empowered. No matter what role you play, we encourage you to share your ideas, voice your distinct perspective, and bring your whole self with you - all within a support-minded culture that celebrates what makes each of us unique. We also recognize that learning is a lifelong pursuit and want you to flourish. We proudly offer added opportunities for training, development, and continuing education, further empowering you to live the career you want.

About HARMAN: Where Innovation Unleashes Next-Level Technology

Ever since the 1920s, we've been amplifying the sense of sound. Today, that legacy endures, with integrated technology platforms that make the world smarter, safer, and more connected.

Across automotive, lifestyle, and digital transformation solutions, we create innovative technologies that turn ordinary moments into extraordinary experiences. Our renowned automotive and lifestyle solutions can be found everywhere, from the music we play in our cars and homes to venues that feature today's most sought-after performers, while our digital transformation solutions serve humanity by addressing the world's ever-evolving needs and demands. Marketing our award-winning portfolio under 16 iconic brands, such as JBL, Mark Levinson, and Revel, we set ourselves apart by exceeding the highest engineering and design standards for our customers, our partners and each other.

If you're ready to innovate and do work that makes a lasting impact, join our talent community today!

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HARMAN is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or Protected Veterans status. HARMAN offers a great work environment, challenging career opportunities, professional training, and competitive compensation. (www.harman.com)