Business Unit Manager – Play Brand

Overview

Build the business that helps young kids move, play, and grow.

Play With A Purpose
, a business unit of Gopher Sport
, launched in 1997 based on the truth that young children have fun, become healthier, and learn best when they are physically active.

Play With A Purpose is a leading direct marketing brand (catalog and online) of active-play and physical-development products for preschools, childcare centers, and other early childhood settings. Rambunctious kids love what we offer.

We sell institutional-quality products that help young children become physically, cognitively and socially healthier through active play. We sell outdoor playground and learning equipment, active play products, gross-motor products, dramatic play products, and products for the early childhood classroom.

Physical activity for young children has always been important. It’s now become even more important because of the lure of screens. Kids spending hours on screens instead of playing don’t get the important brain, physical and social skills that develop during unstructured, physically-active play.

We are hiring a Business Unit Manager who will be responsible for the performance of this important business. This role is not for everyone. This is a “general manager of a business” position. It is not a narrow “Brand Manager” or “Marketing Manager” or “Advertising” or “Sales” job; but it has elements of all those and more.

The Goals and the Role

The goals of the Business Unit Manager are to increase the sales, profits and customer count of the business unit.

The Business Unit Manager has accountability for the brand’s product assortment, category organization, product presentations, catalog circulation, catalog creation, trade show presence, and everything else that affects sales and profits.

This role requires skills in several domains: merchandising, category management, product marketing, catalog creation, catalog circulation, customer research, sales, and reporting. There are also critical dates when certain things must be completed to reach customers at important times in their buying cycle. If you prefer vague responsibilities and un-measurable goals, you probably will not like this role.

This role offers the right person the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the physical, brain and social development of millions of young kids.

• Continuously improve the mix of products we offer.
• Continuously make the presentation and organization of the products (images, descriptions, etc) better in our catalogs and websites.
• Measure the results of the printed catalog mailings and the digital advertising, then research and execute improvements.
• Have regular conversations with customers and prospects to gain applicable insights.
• Generate ideas for new private label products based on customer insights and market trends.
• Define what the sales and customer service teams should be telling customers.
• Gathering insights and new customers by representing the business at trade shows with the sales team.

The right person for this role brings:

• Smarts, energy, versatility and practical imagination. A “roll-up-my-sleeves and get-things-done” attitude.
• Experience managing some sort of profitable B2B, multi-channel direct-marketing (catalog + website), product-centric business.
• A love for products and

An especially strong person would also have:

• Experience selling to or operating pre-schools and childcare centers.
• Experience launching private label products.
• Familiarity with play-based learning trends (active play, sensory environments, outdoor learning)

Evidence that you are doing the right things right includes:

• Beautiful catalogs in the market on schedule and on budget. Mailed to the right people at the right time, with lots of great new products.
• Beautiful, well-organized, easy to shop website.
• A steady increase in new products launching monthly.
• A steady stream of new insights gathered from conversations with customers and prospects.
• Clear, simple, effective outbound sales campaigns (executed by sales team)

You'll get satisfaction knowing you're helping millions of…