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Portfolio Director – Chemicals

Skywater Search Partners

The Role

Overview

Leads strategy, innovation, and execution of chemical product portfolio for HVACR markets.

Key Responsibilities

  • strategy roadmap
  • portfolio management
  • voc insights
  • r&d collaboration
  • sales enablement
  • regulatory compliance

Tasks

The Portfolio Director – Chemicals is responsible for leading strategy, innovation, and execution across a portfolio of chemical products used in HVACR and adjacent applications. This role blends market insight with product management discipline to shape the multi-year roadmap, drive new product development (NPD), and ensure the portfolio meets customer needs while delivering top-line revenue growth. -Portfolio Strategy & Roadmap – Own the category strategy and multi-year roadmap; translate into annual plans, quarterly priorities, and measurable scorecards. -Portfolio Management – Optimize the product portfolio through lifecycle decisions (create/keep/grow/retire), SKU productivity analysis, and rationalization. -Voice of Customer – Lead structured VOC activities to capture contractor, distributor, and OEM needs; convert insights into product requirements and innovation priorities. -Collaboration – Partner with R&D to shape formulations and sustainable chemistries; collaborate with Supply Chain to ensure quality, cost, and availability targets. -Commercial Enablement – Equip Sales with training, technical content, and positioning; support customer engagements as the subject matter expert. -Forecast accuracy and service levels. -Regulatory & Safety – Partner with Quality/EHS and Legal to ensure SDS/TDS accuracy, hazard labeling, and compliance with industry standards. -Market Intelligence – Monitor competitive moves and regulatory trends; adjust portfolio and roadmap to maintain differentiation and compliance. -New Product Development – Drive the stage-gate process from concept through launch; ensure readiness across engineering, supply chain, marketing, and sales enablement.

Requirements

  • product management
  • chemical engineering
  • 10+ years
  • cross-functional
  • stage-gate
  • commercial acumen

What You Bring

The ideal candidate is a strategic product leader who thrives at the intersection of customer insight, technical requirements, and commercial execution. -Portfolio productivity (GMROI, revenue per SKU, rationalization progress). -Strong experience in product/portfolio management, including NPD leadership. -Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or related (advanced degree a plus). -10+ years in chemicals or adjacent industrial products with product stewardship and regulatory exposure. -Excellent cross-functional leadership skills. -Stage-gate adherence and launch readiness. -Commercial acumen with pricing, distributor engagement, and top-line growth initiatives. -Sales/channel enablement completion.

The Company

About Skywater Search Partners

-Founded to bridge the gap between high-performing talent and growing businesses. -Skywater Search Partners thrives in the executive search industry, consistently delivering top-tier leadership candidates. -With deep expertise in sectors like energy, technology, and healthcare, they bring nuanced industry knowledge to every search. -The firm has a history of placing executives who have a significant impact on both the companies they join and the industries they serve. -Notable for their personalized approach, Skywater focuses on long-term relationships, understanding both client and candidate needs at a granular level. -Known for handling complex, high-stakes searches across a variety of sectors, Skywater Search Partners helps organizations scale with confidence.

Sector Specialisms

Cleantech

Consumer Goods

Consumer Services

Financial Services

Healthcare

HR/Diversity

Industrial

Legal/Compliance

Life Sciences

Professional Services

Sustainability

Technology

Information Technology (IT)

Accounting and Finance

Engineering & Operations

Marketing

Sales

Human Resources

Legal

Construction

MedTech/Life Sciences