Vice President, Global Innovation - Tatcha

The Vice President of Global Innovation at Tatcha leads the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the global Product Development teams (Innovation, Product Development, Packaging, and Regulatory) in San Francisco, and the R&D team in Tokyo. Reporting to the CEO, this role is an instrumental member of the Leadership Team and builds innovation strategy, pipeline, and internal capabilities.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the organization’s efforts in the creation of new products and product enhancements aligned with brand strategy for local and international markets.
• Drive industry, consumer, ingredient, design, and technological trend research to create/evolve a robust innovative, new product pipeline.
• Provide leadership and guidance to the Tokyo-based R&D team by successfully working together and achieving strategic goals.
• Work with the marketing team to finalize positioning, product benchmarks, and cost of goods targets for new products.
• Oversee outside vendors to direct the development of product formulas and packaging, guiding the briefing and iterative process through the commercialization process.
• Ensure proper partner relationships, ingredient choices, formula testing, packaging, and regulatory compliance in order to ensure brand and industry standards are upheld with the team in the US & Tokyo.
• Lead the Research & Innovation and Regulatory & Safety teams on new product development and innovations, ensuring full safety testing and regulatory compliance.
• Build close partnerships between Product Development and Operations & Quality, ensuring on-time and full productions to meet or exceed quality standards.
• Maintain relationships with vendors and OEMs by providing support, information, and guidance as well as researching and recommending new opportunities to improve service and quality of Tatcha’s product manufacturing.
• Develop & lead the team, setting performance targets, motivating, developing, and training staff.
• Build and update a product strategy that realizes the brand vision, with specific playbooks by category, working closely with the CEO & CMO.
• Lead the team to produce and update 3-year merchandising plans and product lifecycle roadmaps, outlining new product launches, product updates, extensions, and discontinuation/replacement.
• Guide the team to create product design briefs based on the merchandising plan including each product's target consumer, point of difference, key design attributes, target price/COGS/margin, competitive benchmarking, and positioning within the market.
• Make strategic trade-offs around the breadth and depth of assortment.
• Work closely with the Operations and Commercial teams on exit strategies for product reformulations or discontinuations to avoid write-offs or markdowns.
• Ensure the potential and practicality of products in development.

Product Development:

• Manage the Product Development team as they work with internal and external partners to design/develop/(re-)formulate products based on product briefs.
• Help bring the product ideas to life with the CEO, CMO, and Global Product Development team.
• Partner with Operations teams to identify and select manufacturing partners, focusing on finding high-quality, reliable suppliers while optimizing our supply chain footprint and lead times.
• Partner with the Regulatory team to ensure all new and existing products adhere to and comply with all relevant regulations, both in the US and all international markets.
• Partner with, and educate, Marketing & Commercial teams on new product launches, ensuring the company is a leader in innovative, performance-driven formulas.

Packaging:

• Manage the team to develop/update the packaging strategy and design guidelines with the goal of maintaining the company's leadership position in highly functional and sustainable packaging, with an immediately recognizable aesthetic.
• Ensure the sourcing of new and existing packaging meets cost and quality goals.
• Partner with Operations teams to identify packaging suppliers.
• Work with Operations and Regulatory teams to ensure all packaging is compliant with domestic and international standards, and optimizes our packaging supply chain over time.
• Work with the CMO and SVP Supply Chain Operations to set the company's sustainability commitments, and lead the Product Development team to design/reformulate/repackage products to realize those commitments.
• Ensure the company is a leader in innovative and sustainable packaging.
• Manage COGS with the finance & operations team – both domestically and internationally.
• Set target COGS and margins with the CFO and CMO for all products based on competitive benchmarking, range architecture/relationship to other products.
• Work with the Commercial team to set international price indexes, and liaise.

WHO YOU ARE

• A strategic and empathetic leader who approaches challenges with flexibility, adaptability, and a focus on long-term impact.
• Passionate about the brand, the mission of the organization, and the future plans for growth.
• A visionary thinker with the ability to drive innovation and creativity.
• Skilled at building and maintaining strong relationships across all levels of the organization, fostering a culture of collaboration and teamwork.
• An expert-level understanding of skincare to drive innovation and strategies for new formula concepts.
• Strong organization and leadership skills with executive maturity.
• Sensitive to international relations and communication styles.
• A high level of personal initiative with excellent problem-solving and communication skills.
• Successful in a high-pressure work environment where deadlines and bottom lines are the measure of success.

Requirements:

• 15+ years of relevant experience in a product development leadership role with a prestige consumer beauty brand.
• University undergraduate or graduate degree; preferably in a scientific discipline.
• Expertise in luxury/prestige skincare product development and scientific standards.
• Proven track record and demonstrable examples of bringing new product ideas to life.
• Experience managing merchandising and design/development functions within a product organization.
• Productive relationships with premium cosmetic manufacturers and suppliers.
• Able to work from the San Francisco HQ office the majority of the time and travel to Tokyo to work with the R&D team periodically.

THE DETAILS

The expected base salary range for this position is $250,000 to $280,000. The exact base salary is determined by various factors including experience, skills, education, geographic location, and budget.

This position is also eligible for participation in the company discretionary bonus plan, based on personal performance and company results.

In addition to base salary, Tatcha offers a competitive benefits package to eligible employees, including medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, accident insurance, critical illness insurance, disability insurance, retirement savings plans and company match, paid family leave, education-related programs, and paid holidays.

Tatcha is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender identity, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other classification protected by Federal, State, or Local law.

We respect and seek to empower each individual and support the diverse cultures, perspectives, skills, and experiences within our workforce. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, experience, and business need.