Innovation and Incubation Manager, Hair Care, Hairitage

#MaesaMagic  

Maesa is the world's largest independent beauty incubator, housing numerous, fast growing "it" brands within all categories of beauty. We are a high growth global company in the middle of the transition from founder lead to private equity owned. With an incubation flywheel ideating on new global brand launches, Maesa pushes creative and technical boundaries to deliver exceptional performance and establish global staying power. Maesa has a keen focus on marketing and white space analysis, which guides its thinking on marketing existing brands as well as development of new brands through its extremely unique structure. We are vertically integrated globally with in-house marketing, branding, product development/formulation, packaging design/engineering and regulatory. With a focus on modernity and sustainability, we design innovative solutions and make proactive choices to achieve environmental neutrality and consumer wellness. Maesa has mastered "commercializing creativity," making itself a leader in the fundamental revolutionary change in the beauty industry. Headquartered in New York and Paris, with additional offices in Los Angeles, Vienna, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Dongguan, Maesa employs about 400 team members worldwide.

About The Brand  

Hairitage, founded in partnership with Mindy McKnight of YT: @CuteGirlsHairstyles, started with a simple idea: delivering affordable, clean hair care formulas free from nasties and featuring naturally-derived ingredients for high-performing results. We are driven by our mission: create the first hair care brand that truly meets the needs of every hair type and texture offering modern, efficacious formulations you can trust. We design our products to cater to today's trending styles while addressing diverse hair care needs.

About The Role  

We are looking for a passionate Haircare product developer with proven experience in beauty/CPG to join our innovation & incubation team to spearhead the strategy & development of new products for Hairitage. It offers a unique opportunity for someone wanting to leave their mark in the industry by leading innovation & product development. The ideal candidate is a trend savvy hair product lover that can help define & steer the innovation pipeline. This candidate is social savvy, obsessed with beauty products and brings a mix of creativity and love for data. This role will work closely with cross-functional teams including R&D, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Operations and the Go To Market brand team. This role is for someone who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment with the ability to work both independently as well as collaboratively with key cross-functional stakeholders and leaders.

This role is based in NYC .

Responsibilities  

Innovation Strategy:  

• Drive creation, development & execution of innovation strategy products for haircare and hot tools innovation, ensuring alignment with brand objectives
• Manage all aspects of product development lifecycle from concept to counter 
• Utilize data-driven insights to identify opportunities for product innovation and market differentiation
• Identify white space opportunity & translate into meaningful NPD concepts
  
  
  

Product Development:  

• Product expert on formula, ingredients, benefits, usage & relevance to portfolio 
• Present product concepts & development stages to leadership team, retail partners & brand marketing counterparts  
• Spearhead creation of compelling product concepts, applying sharp copywriting skills to articulate unique selling propositions & brand narrative
• Manage the cross-functional team and processes, ensuring project stays on-time and hits GM targets
• Lead distribution of formula samples from lab partners and track and consolidate feedback in collaboration with R&D
• Responsible for hard and soft product claims on secondary packaging, assist Regulatory team with clinical substantiation process (hard claims) and advise on consumer perception substation process (soft claims)
• Collaborate closely with design to ensure aesthetics align with brand identity & resonate with consumers 
• Support team in coordinating product samples for photoshoots, retailers, and marketing needs
  
  
  

Market Research: 

• Lead & present ongoing category trends, competitive intelligence and market analysis 
• Collect & organize necessary product documentation to support Go To Market needs  
• Partner with suppliers for innovation, trends, new technologies  
• Ensure internal documents have most updated & accurate product information  
• Leverage data analysis to inform product development decisions, ensuring that each product aligns with market demands and preferences  
  
  
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration: 

• Foster a collaborative environment by working closely with cross-functional teams & key stakeholders, including Go To Market brand team, Project Management, Packaging, R&D, Regulatory, Sales, Operations & Buyers to ensure seamless execution of product launches
  
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field of study (business, marketing, product development, etc.)
• 3-6 years of experience in product development or similar for haircare and hot tools industry
• Data savvy: proficient in data-driven decision-making and utilizing data analytics tools (IRI, Nielsen…)  
• Strong technical skills including Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• Flexibility & resilience to work collaboratively in a dynamic, fast-paced environment
• Ability to manage multiple projects with varying launch dates simultaneously, all while meeting project deadlines on-time
• Exceptional project management and organizational skills with acute attention to detail
• Strong strategic, analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills  
• Excellent oral & written communication
• Creative thinker with a passion for driving innovation and staying ahead of market trends in the beauty industry
• Curious and comfortable asking questions
• Social media aware  
• Collaborative team player & aspiring team leader  
• Self-starter with can-do positive attitude and a roll-up-your-sleeves approach
  
  
  

What We Offer 

$90,000/yr - $110,000/yr. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location. This position is eligible for participation in a discretionary bonus plan based on individual and company performance. 

Maesa offers a variety of benefits to eligible employees. Employees can choose to enroll in health insurance coverage, wellness programs, life and disability insurance, and retirement savings plans. Through generous paid time off, a hybrid office setup, and paid leave options, Maesa encourages wellness and balance among employees. 

Our Commitment to You 

At Maesa, we live by our values of collaboration, curiosity, game-changing, creativity, and discipline.  We believe our people and partners are a creative force that catalyzes the possibilities in beauty to break through traditional limits and discover the “new” without restriction. We prioritize creating and fostering a welcoming environment for employees, partners, ideas, approaches, and endeavors — all through a spirit of warmth and inclusivity. As set forth in Maesa’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.