NPD Director, Breakthrough Innovation, Global Learning & Creative

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Date: Jun 29, 2026

Location: Lake Zurich, IL, US, 60047 Kettering, OH, US, 45429

Company: accobrands

 

 

A company with a pioneering past and a purposeful future.

At ACCO Brands, we are united by a common purpose, to empower our consumers to feel good when they work, learn, and play. For more than a century we have developed and nurtured brands that enable people to work with more productivity, learn with more confidence, and play with more enjoyment. We are passionate about a winning culture where we grow together, driving business, professional growth, and success.  We invite you to be part of a team that is grounded in a history of category-leading brands and products and focused on positioning our company for the future.

Job Summary

ACCO Brands is seeking a New Product Development Director to lead Breakthrough Innovation for the Global Learning & Creative portfolio. This role is accountable for defining and advancing enterprise-critical innovation platforms that drive long-term category growth and competitive advantage across global markets.

 

This leader operates at a strategic and executional level, personally leading high-impact programs while shaping how innovation is defined, prioritized, and delivered across the broader NPD organization. The role has enterprise-wide influence, partnering with global brand owners and regional commercial leaders to align innovation with long-term brand strategy and financial objectives.

 

As a senior member of the innovation leadership team, the Director provides thought leadership on portfolio direction, innovation investment, and capability building, ensuring ACCO’s innovation engine delivers sustained commercial impact. This role reports to the Vice President, North America Marketing, Product, and Strategy.

Responsibilities

Breakthrough Product Creation (Player-Coach)

  • Personally lead the ideation, design, and launch of globally-scoped, platform-level new product programs, from insight through commercialization that drive category growth and strengthen ACCO’s competitive market position across regions
  • Identify and articulate consumer, category, and white-space insights across global markets, and translate them into commercially viable, differentiated, and exciting product concepts while defining broader innovation opportunity areas and strategic platforms for future growth
  • Operate as a hands-on builder on the most strategic "big bet" programs — not solely through delegation
    Assemble, coach and develop a team of New Product Managers, with a specific focus on building breakthrough thinking capability, insight-driven design, and commercial rigor

Product Development Execution (Stage Gate + Agile)

  • Lead programs through Stage Gate where appropriate, and design Agile or hybrid approaches where speed-to-market demands it
  • Partner closely with the PMO (which this role does not own) to drive process improvement, identify speed unlocks, and align governance — without duplicating PMO accountabilities
  • Deliver programs on-time, on-budget, and on-financials, with disciplined trade-off management when resources, timing, or scope must flex

Global Brand Owner & Regional Partnership

  • Partner with global brand owners who hold brand equity stewardship for Learning & Creative brands to ensure new product programs are anchored in brand strategy, equity, and long-term positioning
  • Lead alignment on program-level innovation priorities and platform decisions across global and regional stakeholders
  • Coordinate with regional Marketing and Product teams  to align timing, scope, and go-to-market approach for globally-scoped Learning & Creative launches, maximizing reach and commercial impact
  • Build the operating connections, briefing cadence, and decision points required for multi-region launches to be executed cleanly and at speed

Additional Responsibilities

Innovation Orchestration Across the Portfolio

  • Serve as the operational backbone for new product development across the team, ensuring projects are prioritized, sequenced, and executed with consistency and rigor.
  • Establish and run the operating framework for how the broader team manages new product development — including project prioritization, IBP/PMR inputs, and innovation best practices - across the NPD function, ensuring consistency, scalability, and alignment with enterprise innovation objectives
  • Codify and scale innovation best practices, templates, and standards so the team gets faster and better over time

Organizational Influence & Change

  • Influence senior leaders across Marketing, Design, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, and Sales — in NA and globally — to align behind breakthrough programs and new ways of working
  • Navigate cross-functional resistance to faster, more iterative innovation approaches, with executive sponsorship from senior leadership
  • Provide data-driven recommendations and thought leadership on portfolio direction, category opportunities, and innovation investment within Learning & Creative
  • Drive change initiatives that elevate the speed, quality, and ambition of ACCO's innovation engine

Financial & Commercial Ownership

  • Own program-level financials including margin, ROI, and commercial outcomes for launched products and contribute recommendations that inform overall innovation portfolio performance, investment prioritization, and long-term value creation
  • Establish positioning, pricing, and margin targets for new platforms in partnership with global brand owners and category leadership
  • Manage and optimize external partnerships (agencies, manufacturers, innovation partners) to extend internal capability and accelerate launches

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Engineering, Industrial Design, or related field; MBA preferred
  • 15+ years in product development, product management, or innovation, with a demonstrated track record of personally ideating, developing, and launching commercially successful new products — not solely overseeing them
  • Proven experience leading breakthrough or platform-level innovation in consumer products, learning/education, creative/arts, office products, or comparable categories
  • Demonstrated experience leading global enterprise-wide product programs, including coordination with regional commercial teams and global brand stewards
  • Demonstrated fluency in both Stage Gate and Agile (or hybrid) product development methodologies, with judgment on when to apply each
  • Experience establishing or evolving innovation operating frameworks — project prioritization, governance cadence, portfolio visibility, and best-practice codification — in partnership with (not in place of) a PMO
  • Proven ability to deliver in resource-constrained, ambiguous environments
  • Strong financial acumen, including ownership of pricing strategy, margin optimization, and ROI delivery, with the ability to influence broader investment decisions and long-term value creation
  • Advanced ability to translate consumer insight into product design and product design into commercial reality
  • Strong leadership communication skills, with the ability to shape and present strategic recommendations to executive audiences
  • Track record of building, coaching, and retaining high-performing product management and product development talent — especially developing breakthrough thinking in more junior team members

 

Salary Range: $185,000 - $205,000/annually. Compensation will be commensurate with experience and geographical location. 

#LI-Hybrid

About Us:

You know our brands. You love our brands. You just may not know they are ours.

If you have touched a PowerA® gaming controller, a Five Star® notebook, a Swingline® stapler, a Quartet® dry erase board, or a Kensington® computer mouse, you have touched part of ACCO Brands Corporation. With annual revenues of more than $1.5 Billion, ACCO Brands (NYSE: ACCO) designs, markets, manufactures, and sells branded academic, consumer, and business products globally. The power of our brands, our unmatched global customer reach, and our strategic market strengths put us in a position to achieve global leadership and growth. We're proud of our long history of industry leadership and innovation and are focused on delivering exceptional value to our customers by providing unique, cutting-edge, branded products.

What we offer:

  • Comprehensive medical, prescription, dental, and vision plans
  • 4% 401(k) match with immediate eligibility and vesting
  • Competitive time off, available from the first day of employment 
  • Parental leave
  • Company-paid life and disability benefits
  • Critical illness, accident, and long-term care insurance options
  • Employee and family assistance programs

 

Growing together is how we win.

With trusted brands, strong leadership, and a clear purpose, you’ll find opportunities to grow in your career, contribute to meaningful work, and be a part of a culture that values creativity and putting our consumers and customers first.

Apply now and build a successful future with ACCO Brands.

More information about ACCO Brands can be found at www.accobrands.com.

 

ACCO Brands has developed and maintains a written Affirmative Action Program (“AAP”) for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  A copy can be requested from Human Resources. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants.

 

Equal Opportunity Employer

ACCO Brands is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. The company strives to create a winning culture with a leadership promise to provide equal access and opportunity for all to grow, succeed, and contribute to their full potential.

 

AODA

Accommodation for applicants with disabilities will be provided in all parts of the recruiting process as required under the ACCO Brands Canada AODA policy. Applicants are asked to make their needs known in advance.


Nearest Major Market: Chicago