Assistant Product Manager (Toronto Hybrid)

Overview

Company: Harlequin Enterprises ULC

Date: April 23, 2025

Job Title: Assistant Product Manager

Department: Harlequin Brand Group, New Product team

Reporting To: Product Manager

Status: Regular Full Time

Location: 22 Adelaide Street West, Toronto (hybrid)

Do you believe in romance ever after? We do!

For over 75 years, Harlequin is the leading romance brand with a loyal fan-following all over the world. We’re the romance experts! Our New Product team is bringing our coziest, monster-iest, darkest, rom-com-iest diverse-est, and often spiciest titles yet to new readers.

Reporting to the Product Manager, the Assistant Product Manager will be a key member of the Harlequin Brand Group working specifically within the Harlequin New Product team.

Responsibilities

This role involves:

Data-driven decision making

• On a weekly basis, explores sales and market data to provide meaningful insights and action steps to inform strategic acquisitions and increase profitability.
• Analyzes results across multiple KPIs from multiple data sources to understand short- and long-term performance trends, developing insights and recommending actions (e.g., acquisitions, pricing adjustments).
• Identifies areas where additional insights are needed and liaises with data science and sales teams to investigate further.

Strategy development & execution

• Develops and executes short- to medium-term product line strategy with product development team members, focusing on brand equity and author growth in print and digital channels for the North American market.
• Collaborates with art and editorial teams to create compelling, relatable, and saleable packaging for each title within a series, ensuring execution on brand, on positioning, and on time.
• Maintains deep knowledge of editorial content and range to collaborate with editors, ensuring books align with imprint strategy and are creatively positioned to target audience segments.
• Communicates product strategy and results to key stakeholders—up to the VP level—to secure buy-in on goals, strategy, and tactics.

Multi-stakeholder project management & influence

• Demonstrates strong self-sufficiency and accountability across multiple priorities and deadlines, coordinating various stakeholder groups to ensure successful execution.
• Applies intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) to create story-driven presentations and to manipulate and visualize data effectively.
• Leverages clear and concise communication skills to influence outcomes and align cross-functional stakeholders toward shared goals.

Ownership of market awareness

• Maintains ongoing awareness of the competitive, author, and consumer landscapes (romance and broader categories), identifying trends, validating opportunities, and adapting imprint strategy accordingly.

What’s In It For You?

• Summer Hours from late May to early September
• Hybrid work
• Paid time off days and vacation allotment, starting at three weeks
• Flexible benefit plans to fit your needs and pension matching
• Author events and access to free/discounted books

Qualifications

We are looking for an avid reader who resourcefully tackles challenges, loves staying in the know about books, and rallies teams with gusto. You are a Business, Marketing or Business Administration graduate with a minimum of two years working experience in a product management environment.