Associate Product Manager - Merchandising

Job Description

Job Description

Meet Us: King Arthur Baking Company has been sharing the joy of baking since 1790. Headquartered in Norwich, Vermont, we’re the ultimate baking resource – providing education, inspiration, and the highest quality products, all while fostering connections and community through baking. Our superior flours and mixes are available in supermarkets nationwide, and our direct-to-consumer business – website and retail stores – offers an even wider selection of specialty baking ingredients, mixes, gluten-free products, baking tools, and more. We bring baking education to millions of bakers through our cookbooks, podcast, recipe app, website, and baking school. We’re proud to be 100% employee-owned, which means everyone who works here has a real voice and a shared stake in what we do. This creates a strong sense of community built on trust, teamwork, and love of baking. As a benefit corporation, we’re committed to the best interests of all our stakeholders - employees, our local communities, our broader community of bakers, and our planet. Join us and help spread the joy of baking. King Arthur – where, as an employee-owner, your passion and ideas can truly make a difference.

The Position: The Associate Product Manager - Merchandising supports the annual business objectives of the Direct Consumables Team by utilizing sales, data, customer insights and baking trends to identify opportunities for optimization, inform product assortment decisions, and support near-in line extensions and category gap innovation. The Associate Product Manager - Merchandising collaborates with cross-functional teams to support consistent product presentation across channels and coordinates vendor communication, product sample evaluation, and updates to product specifications, pricing, costs, and margins. The role supports the end-to-end product development and commercialization process, from concept through launch, by assessing product viability, tracking relevant trends, and partnering with Innovation and the Product Manager on business rationale and innovation briefs.

The Benefits: Yes, we have the standard "stuff" - medical, dental, vision, company paid short- and long-term disability, life insurance, paid parental leave, paid time off to rest, paid holidays to have fun, a 401(k) with a company match. But here's what makes us different: 40 paid volunteer hours a year, profit sharing*, participation in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)* and knowing that those working with you are dedicated and engaged co-employee owners that believe in you and your extraordinary abilities to move us all forward.

The Location: Hybrid combining working from home, and onsite in White River Junction VT roughly 2 days per week. Ideal candidates will be located within 120 miles of our offices.

The Pay: $56,000 to $75,700 annual salary; commensurate with experience.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Partner with digital merchandising, copywriting, and creative teams to support consistent product presentation across web, catalog, retail, and packaging, including clear points of differentiation and data-informed marketing recommendations.
• Track and communicate baking-related product trends and competitive landscape insights to inform product assortment, pricing, and sell strategy.
• Prepare regular and ad hoc sales performance reporting across channels and translate findings into clear recommendations.
• Coordinate vendor communication, sourcing activities, and product sample evaluation for directly sourced food and ingredients.
• Coordinate commercialization process for directly sourced items, partnering with supply chain, master data, and creative teams from product selection through launch execution.
• Maintain accurate item setup, product specifications, and other product records across internal systems to support launch readiness and ongoing assortment management.
• Coordinate product copy, seasonal feature updates, pricing, costs, margins, and related content across internal systems and customer-facing channels.
• Support new product innovation by partnering with Innovation and the Senior Product Manager to develop business rationale, cross-functional inputs, innovation briefs, and commercialization requirements.
• Assess product viability and support the development of true-new innovation, near-in line extensions, and category gap opportunities across King Arthur branded and third-party lines.
• Create and deliver product presentations and companywide share-outs that communicate key insights and updates through clear data storytelling.

Experience and Education

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, merchandising, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 3+ years of relevant work experience in merchandising or product management; experience in food or durable consumer goods is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze sales performance, customer insights, and market trends to inform product curation, assortment, and pricing strategies.
• Experience working with e-commerce, creative, supply chain, and external vendor partners to bring products to market and support consistent brand presentation.
• Experience managing vendor relationships, coordinating with supply chain teams, and supporting product and packaging updates.
• Proficiency in maintaining detailed product records, including specifications, costs, and margins, across systems or databases.
• Experience communicating product insights through visually engaging presentations and using data storytelling to support recommendations and stakeholder alignment.
• We value those who can demonstrate capability and articulate how prior experiences will help them transition into this role.

Competencies

• Analytical skills. Observes, researches, and interprets sales, customer, market, and product data to identify trends and develop actionable recommendations.
• Organization and attention to detail. Creates reliable systems for managing product information, deadlines, and competing priorities without sacrificing quality.
• Communication and collaboration. Communicates product priorities, requirements, and updates clearly and facilitates alignment across cross-functional teams and external partners.
• Presentation skills. Communicates product insights and data through clear, concise, and visually engaging presentations, including companywide PowerPoint share-outs.
• Project management. Coordinates product development and commercialization timelines and cross-functional inputs to support on-time delivery of key milestones.
• Problem solving and execution. Identifies execution risks and develops practical solutions that reduce delays and business impact.
• Business acumen. Understands pricing, costs, margins, sales performance, and assortment considerations and applies this information to product recommendations.

Success Factors

• Genuine enthusiasm for King Arthur's mission and products and a commitment to living our values.
• Demonstrates a strong sense of community by actively engaging and volunteering.

Physical Requirements/Work Environment/Safety

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical requirements

• Ability to work for prolonged periods at a desk, both in a home office and onsite, using a computer and other standard office equipment.
• Regular use of computer keyboard, mouse, and video conferencing tools.
• Ability to communicate effectively in person, over the phone, and through digital platforms.
• Occasional standing, walking, bending, or reaching within the office environment.
• May occasionally be required to lift or move items up to 15 pounds, such as office materials or documents.
• Visual acuity needed for reviewing documents, spreadsheets, and data on screens.
• Ability to commute to the office for in-person meetings, trainings, or other business needs as required.

Work environment

• Indoors, a normal office environment with little exposure to excessive noise, dust, or temperature changes.
• This role operates in a professional office environment where most work is performed at a desk.
• Remote work environment that meets KAB standards for work.

Safety

• Understands that safety is the responsibility of everyone at the organization and is responsible for adhering to and providing work in a safe and ergonomic manner, identifying unsafe conditions, and correcting conditions immediately or reporting them promptly.
• Participates in safety and compliance training and safety and health programs.

Supervision

• N/A

Travel

• Up to 3-4 trade shows and/or vendor visits annually.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive and safe work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, customers, and vendors. As a proud Benefit Corporation, King Arthur Baking expects our employees to adhere to company-wide green norms and remain educated on company impact campaigns.

There's room at our table for you! Apply today.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors protected by law. King Arthur Baking provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities to allow them to participate in both the application process and during employment. Such individuals are encouraged to seek accommodations to allow them to apply for a position, participate in the application process, and meet the essential functions and requirements of the position.

*Amounts vary based on achievement of financial targets. Participation based on hire date and program entry date.