Job Description
About Learning Resources We are Learning Resources®, and learning is where we play. Voted one of the Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces, we’re a growing, family-owned company known for our award-winning educational toys, including top sellers Pretend & Play® Calculator Cash Register, Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set and multiple Toy of the Year winners! We even help pets learn and grow through our pet brand Brightkins®. If you’re curious, collaborative, and a kid at heart, you’ll feel right at home here. Join us in shaping the future of learning with our award-winning team! Team & Position Description We are currently seeking a dynamic Associate Product Manager to join our Product Development team. We’re a collaborative and creative team that makes innovative products for children, teachers, parents and even pets! In this role you will assist in the development of a diverse portfolio of amazing products. If you’re an organized, resourceful, creative person who thrives in a team environment and enjoys developing interesting products, this is a great opportunity to bring your talents to an amazing company. Bonus points if you enjoy playing with toys as part of your job! What You’ll Do Day To Day Support Product Managers in the end‑to‑end development of pet toys and pet enrichment products, from concept ideation through launch. Maintain and update key product development documentation, including pet‑specific timelines, sample tracking, testing results, and cost details. Work closely with Sales Support and Marketing on key sample requests for customer meetings and trade shows. Conduct pet industry and consumer trend research, including insights on pet parents, materials, safety standards, durability expectations, and play patterns. Work with Product Managers and Creative teams on creation of key presentation decks for internal and external meetings. Organize and lead product testing for new concepts as they relate to the pet toys. As assigned, create reports for tracking internal product performance as well as competitive industry performance. Assist in the research and development of content for products. Ensure new product master list is accurate and updated on an ongoing basis (costing, dimensions, ship dates, etc) What We’re Looking For (Key Performance Objectives) Develop a working knowledge of Product Development tools and processes within the first 6 months. Own and maintain the New Product Master List for pet products, partnering with Product Managers to ensure accurate data throughout the 12–18 month development cycle. Manage the pet product sample tracking system in collaboration with Sales Support to support customer meetings, trade shows, and sales requests within the first year. Support Product Managers with pet category research and competitive analysis, compiling overviews across 6–8 relevant pet toy or pet enrichment categories. Successfully manage 2-3 concurrent pet product initiatives by maintaining up‑to‑date timelines and documentation weekly, and ensuring accuracy across product data, samples, and reporting. Requirements/Ideal Attributes Bachelor's Degree required 2+ years of relevant work experience Excellent organization, presentation and communication skills (both written and verbal) Creative mindset with entrepreneurial spirit who thinks outside the box Self-motivated, able to work with a minimum of supervision and prioritize multiple tasks in a proactive manner. Proficient in Microsoft Office We are a drug-free workplace and an EEO employer. Please note : This role will be filled by our internal recruitment team, so no assistance is needed from any outside staffing agency at this time. Compensation Range: $65,000 – $80,000 annual salary – Actual compensation may vary due to other factors such as: years of experience, skill set and location. Total compensation includes profit sharing bonus potential, 401k matching, and a variety of other benefits (details can be found here ).