Associate Marketing Manager - Product & Project Management

Lack + Daily Marketing Recruiting Experts; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Iconic Consumer Products Company in Chicago is seeking an Associate Marketing Manager to drive new product development and commercialization. You will combine strong project management with hands-on product experience to lead cross-functional initiatives.

The role welcomes candidates from product management or marketing, with a track record of managing complex product programs, packaging, launches, and seasonal campaigns.

Qualifications

• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Experience working on a physical product and product development.
• Ability to manage multiple projects with stakeholders and timelines.

Responsibilities

• Support new product development from concept through commercialization.
• Coordinate approvals and keep projects moving against timelines.
• Partner with design on imagery and artwork.
• Maintain key account calendars and seasonal programs.
• Analyze shipment data to inform planning and budgeting.
• Collaborate with Sales and Purchasing on customer programs.

Skills

Project management

Physical product

Cross-functional

Excel

PowerPoint

Circana data

Tools

Oracle

SAP

Job description

We're partnering with a well-established, iconic consumer products company with a portfolio of nationally recognized brands to identify an Associate Marketing Manager to join its Chicago-based team.

This is a great opportunity for someone who combines strong project management skills with experience working on a physical product. While a traditional marketing background is welcome, we're intentionally open to candidates coming from Product Management, Project Management, or other cross-functional product-focused roles.

The key requirement: strong project management experience + experience working on a product.

This is not a fit for candidates whose experience has been exclusively in services. We're looking for someone who has managed products, product development, commercialization, packaging, launches, seasonal programs, or other product-related initiatives.

Why This Role Stands Out

• Work on new product development and commercialization for iconic consumer products
• Manage complex projects involving Marketing, Sales, Purchasing, Design, and other cross-functional partners
• Own timelines, calendars, deliverables, and multiple projects simultaneously
• Gain broad exposure to product management, marketing, sales support, and business analytics
• Work in a collaborative environment where strong organization and follow-through are highly valued

What You'll Do

• Support new product development from concept through commercialization
• Help shepherd products through the commercialization process, including product specifications and costings
• Partner with design agencies on new product imagery, comps, and artwork
• Coordinate approvals and keep projects moving against established timelines
• Support customer-specific product and merchandising needs
• Partner with Sales and Purchasing on customer-specific seasonal programs and packaging
• Maintain key account calendars, including seasonal sales appointments and planogram resets
• Coordinate samples, product comps, and item imagery for Sales and broker partners

Seasonal Program Management

• Oversee development and execution of multiple seasonal programs throughout the year
• Manage calendars and timelines across current and future seasonal programs
• Develop and coordinate selling materials, product information, price lists, and sales sample kits
• Partner with Marketing and Category Management on seasonal selling stories

Business Analysis

• Create and analyze shipment and syndicated retail data to support business decisions
• Use Circana/IRI data to evaluate prior performance and help inform future planning
• Conduct competitive analysis using retail audits, store visits, and customer data
• Compile information from multiple sources into clear, actionable presentations

***What We're Looking For****

We're intentionally open to diverse professional backgrounds, including:

• Project Managers who have managed physical products or product development
• Product Managers
• Product Marketing professionals
• CPG professionals with strong project management experience
• Other cross-functional professionals who have successfully managed complex product-related initiatives

Required:

• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Demonstrated experience working on a physical product — not exclusively a service
• Ability to manage multiple projects, stakeholders, and timelines simultaneously
• Ideal but not required: Experience extracting and/or analyzing Nielsen or Circana (IRI) retail scanning data
• Strong Excel, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Word skills

CPG experience, particularly marketing experience, is preferred, but we're willing to consider candidates from adjacent product-focused environments. Experience with Oracle, SAP, or other trade management systems is a plus.

The Ideal Candidate

You're an organized, proactive project leader who knows how to get things done.

You don't necessarily need to have followed a traditional brand management career path. What matters most is that you've worked on a real product, understand how to move projects from idea to execution, and have the planning, communication, and follow-through skills to keep multiple cross-functional initiatives on track.

You’re comfortable working with Marketing, Sales, Purchasing, Design, and other teams, and you take pride in making sure the details don't fall through the cracks.