Head of Global Water Category

The Head of Global Water Category in Marketing is a strategic leadership position responsible for overseeing the entire lifecycle of the water product category within the GF Building Flow Solutions (BFS) division. This role encompasses the development and execution of global strategies, ensuring alignment with regional needs, and driving growth and market leadership in the building sector. Reporting directly to the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of GF BFS, the position demands a blend of strategic vision, operational excellence, and cross-functional collaboration. This role is considered a HYBRID position with periodic onsite work at our North American headquarters in Apple Valley, MN, Helsinki, Finland or Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

What will you do? 

• Directly influences the development of the business strategy and vision of the organization. Works collaboratively with partners across the organization to ensure accountability for strategy execution.
• Models our Uponor values and behaviors to engage diverse audiences and build high performing teams
• Executes on strategic prioritization and processes to enable effective and efficient operation of the Segment and respective function. Demonstrates ability to navigate and drive critical business opportunities that have broad organizational impact.
• Manages functional budget while ensuring overall company resources are aligned with strategic prioritization.
• Sets team performance objectives that are aligned with the function strategy to drive high performance.  Evaluates and measures performance consistent with the high performance standards set by the organization.
• Product Portfolio Ownership and Performance Management: Take full accountability for the water product portfolio, driving sales, profitability, market share, and brand strength across global and local markets. Ensure the portfolio aligns with strategic objectives and meets customer needs. This includes overseeing the entire product lifecycle from strategy formulation to local execution, ensuring end-to-end responsibility for the category's performance. Evaluate return on investment and assess internal and external risks to develop effective pricing strategies. Optimize pricing approaches to maximize market penetration and profitability, leveraging a strategic pricing model.
• Strategic Planning and Market Leadership: Lead the development and execution of market-leading category strategies and roadmaps. Coordinate efforts to create and implement strategies that outperform competition, ensure customer relevance, and drive market leadership. Foster a culture of strategic thinking and decision-making based on well-rounded assessments of market opportunity, business model, brand and portfolio fit, internal and external risks, and business case return on investment.
• Cross Functional Collaboration: Lead and mentor a team of Global Sub-Category Leaders, Product Managers and Regional Product Managers, fostering a culture of innovation and accountability. Collaborate closely with regional marketing, sales, product development, and integrated supply chain teams to tailor product offerings, messaging, and go-to-market strategies to meet the unique needs and preferences of different markets. Ensure seamless execution of category strategies and address challenges across diverse teams. Confirm that regional adaptations of global strategies are effectively implemented and monitored.
• Market Leadership and Innovation: Drive innovation within the water category by identifying emerging trends, technologies, and customer needs. Collaborate with R&D and product development teams to bring innovative solutions to market, positioning GF BFS as a thought leader in the water sector through strategic marketing initiatives and industry engagements.
• Data and Analytics: Maintain an outside-in viewpoint by staying closely attuned to market and customer trends. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the effectiveness of category strategies and initiatives. Lead regular Voice of Customer (VOC) exercises to gather and analyze feedback, ensuring product offerings remain relevant and aligned with customer expectations. Regularly report on category performance to senior leaders, providing insights and recommendations for improvement, and implementing corrective actions as necessary to achieve desired outcomes.

What will you need?

• MBA in Marketing or Business Administration preferred or combination of bachelor's degree or equivalent experience,
• 15+ years of progressively complex experien