Associate Manager, Toy Marketing - Innovation

Company Description

CREATIVITY IS OUR SUPERPOWER. It’s our heritage and it’s also our future. Because we don’t just make toys. We create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences and develop children through play. Mattel is at its best when every member of our team feels respected, included, and heard—when everyone can show up as themselves and do their best work every day. We value and share an infinite range of ideas and voices that evolve and broaden our perspectives with a reach that extends into all our brands, partners, and suppliers.

Job Description

The Opportunity: 
Mattel’s Innovation Venture team is responsible for launching breakthrough ideas – new brands, new business models and new ways to play.

The Associate Manager, Toy Marketing – Innovation will play a critical role in developing and launching 2+ new brands within the innovation pipeline. This role is ideal for a hands-on product marketer who thrives in fast-moving environments and is energized by building new brands from the ground up.

What Your Impact Will Be: 

• Own end-to-end product development for 2+ new brands, from early concept through launch readiness.
• Lead consumer insights, competitive analysis and market landscaping to inform product positioning, feature sets, pricing tiers, and differentiation strategy.
• Own toy business performance including revenue, margin and sku productivity.
• Collaborate with Design, Development, Packaging, Insights, and Finance to ensure products deliver strong consumer value, clear play patterns, and meaningful innovation.
• Assist in coordinating with regional commercial teams in gaining buy-in to global product strategies at all levels.
• Partner with leadership to build 3–5 year toy product roadmaps, balancing innovation and refresh cycles.
• Partner with leadership and LOBs (lines of business) on franchise extension strategies and integrated execution.
• Inform demand creation by providing input to Brand Marketing / Creative on messaging and feature storytelling.
• Prepare and deliver compelling, data-backed presentations for new concept explorations and milestone reviews, supporting executive decision-making.

Qualifications

What We’re Looking For:

• 5+ years (3 years with MBA) of experience in brand marketing (on brand or agency side), franchise management/marketing, content marketing, or purpose-driven strategy/marketing.
• Roles in category management, product marketing, or product development a plus.
• Consumer-centric mindset: Strong understanding of consumer trends and ability to translate insights into product recommendations.
• Project management: Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.
• Analysis skills: Ability to synthesize complex information into clear, actionable takeaways.
• Financial acumen: Experience with P&L and forecasting with strong grasp of SKU productivity and margin targets.
• Collaborative: Ability to build strong cross-functional relationships to deliver results together.
• Communication skills: Excellent at storytelling, presentations, and influencing senior leadership.
• Strong PowerPoint and Excel skills, proficiency in Outlook and Word.
   

*The pay range is indicative of projected hiring range, however base pay will be determined based on a candidate’s work location, skills and experience. Mattel offers competitive total pay programs, comprehensive benefits, and resources to help empower a culture where every employee can reach their full potential. 

Additional Information

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Mattel, we are dedicated to an inclusive workplace and a culture of belonging. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. Join Mattel's Talent Community and start receiving exciting updates about our company, our employees, and our culture. Also, interested in signing up for job alerts? Do so here!

How We Work:
We are a purpose driven company aiming to empower generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. We live up to our purpose employing the following behaviors:

• We collaborate: Being a part of Mattel means being part of one team with shared values and common goals. Every person counts and working closely together always brings better results. Partnership is our proces