Lead Product Manager – Forecasting Center of Excellence P4373

The Forecasting Center of Excellence (FCOE) at 84.51° delivers accurate, timely sales forecasts that empower decision-makers at Kroger, 84.51°, and our CPG partners. Our forecasts fuel better insights, optimized operations, and strategic business decisions.

As a Lead Product Manager, you'll drive day-to-day delivery and medium term strategic direction for forecasting products. You'll translate business needs into clear, prioritized work, own the near-term product roadmap, and collaborate closely with engineering and data science teams to ensure timely, high-quality delivery. You’ll influence stakeholders, guide strategic decisions, and mentor junior team members to ensure product success.

This role reports directly to the Product Director of FCOE.

Responsibilities:

Product Roadmap and Business Ownership

• Own and maintain the product roadmap (0-12 months), clearly aligning work priorities with user needs, business objectives, and strategic initiatives.
• Develop clear measures of success focused on user value, tracking and communicating outcomes regularly to stakeholders.

Product Delivery and Technical Collaboration

• Actively lead sprint planning, clearly defining user stories, acceptance criteria, and prioritization frameworks for forecasting products.
• Collaborate closely with Engineering and Data Science partners to ensure technical feasibility, remove obstacles, and deliver timely, impactful solutions.
• Own product backlog management, including writing clear, detailed user stories and managing initiatives through completion.

Communication and Stakeholder Alignment

• Serve as a cross-functional and cross-team connector, proactively identifying and managing critical touchpoints.
• Clearly communicate product goals, progress, and value, influencing leaders and stakeholders to align around strategic priorities.

Strategic Influence and Thought Leadership

• Continuously inform product strategy by identifying emerging opportunities or risks, influencing senior stakeholders to maximize product value.
• Proactively suggest improvements to team practices, processes, and approaches, using feedback, data, and market insights to drive innovation.

Mentorship and Functional Leadership

• Actively coach and mentor junior team members (Product Managers, Associate PMs), supporting their growth and improving team performance.
• Contribute functional expertise within the broader organization, acting as a resource and informal leader for best practices in product management.

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience:

• 5+ years of product management experience, ideally focused on data-intensive, analytical, or technical products.
• Proven ability to autonomously manage complex product roadmaps, balancing competing priorities and delivering measurable outcomes.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, capable of clearly articulating technical information and business value to diverse stakeholders.
• Demonstrated proficiency in agile methodologies, including writing user stories, defining acceptance criteria, and prioritizing work effectively.
• Experience collaborating closely with technical teams (Engineering/Data Science), ensuring mutual clarity and timely execution.
• Experience with product management software. Our tech stack is Github, Jira, and Shibumi and experience here is a plus, but not required.
• Familiarity with forecasting, data science, or analytics products is strongly preferred; retail/grocery experience is a plus.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in data science, computer science, engineering, mathematics, or related fields

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