Product Development Manager

The Product Development Manager (PDM) plays a crucial role implementing our marketing and sales strategies at local level. This customer-oriented position leads the team offering strategic guidance on trial strategies, product launches, priorities setting and use of digital tools. The role supports the development and local implementation of the company’s strategy providing valuable market intelligence insights. Success in this role is achieved through the co-construction and execution of sales campaigns targeting direct and indirect customers, utilizing the marketing mix leveraging Product, Price, Place, and Promotion (4Ps) and managing the local portfolio life cycle.

Context/Scope: United States of America and Canada, this position will be based in Salinas, California, USA

General Mission:

Ø  Lead and develop your team.

Ø  Define and update local Development (DV) priorities, for both Development and Commercial local portfolios (including sister company distribution).

Ø  Build trial strategy, trial plan and launching plans.

Ø  Ensure proper follow-up on Development (DV) KPIs.

Ø  Manage forecast process for all local DV varieties.

Ø  Provide market knowledge update and deliver business intelligence insights.

Ø  Drive the Local Crop Team with Sales manager.

Ø  Develop the use of digital tools among team members.

Ø  Collaborate closely with General Manager, Sales Manager and Product Managers (PMs) to ensure full alignment.

Activities:

Responsible for

• Manage and lead the DV team, establishing and monitoring priorities and fostering talent development.
• Conduct and update market research studies (segmentation, competition analysis, tracking dynamic forces) to continuously enhance market knowledge with Product Managers by customer typologies, contributing to business and 4Ps tactical plans.
• Develop and implement <Sales campaigns> generating demand and achieving sales targets.
• Develop strategies for scheduling, coordinating and implementing development Trial Plans (DV1 and DV2 local status) with your team and the support of the sales team, with the objective to:
• Assess the agronomic performance compared to market controls.
• Evaluate the DV variety’s adaptability to target distribution and consumption chains.
• Identify features, advantages and benefits for all new products.
• Make conclusion of each Trial Plan on Trial APP
• Allocate seed samples for development trials for your team (geographical/crop scope); monitor and control sample shipments, ensuring compliance with timelines.
• Propose status update for DV varieties and DV plan for New Product
• Introduction (NPI) meetings, establishing forecasts (volume, quality, timelines, price, local market share expectation) and preparing introduction sheet.
• Manage DV Forecast with DV plan App for key company processes (S&OP, Budget, NPI…).
   
• Manage product life cycle for both DV and commercial local portfolios in alignment with the Marketing department.
• Prepare, develop, implement and follow up local product launches. Ensure proper 4Ps product positioning and provide selling points to the sales team for targeted markets with the Launching Plan tool.
• Ensure alignment and share DV priorities validated by the subsidiaries’ General Manager with Sales Team and Product Managers
• Support the Local Crop Team led by LPP/Sales rep to solve common short/medium/long term crop challenges and cross territory activities/best practices.
• Ensure the DV team uses digital tools (CRM, Trial App etc.) effectively.
   

Contributes to

·         Implementation of combined customers visits LPPs and Sales Reps.

·         Promotional events for customers (direct, indirect and prospect).

·         Building the Communication Action Plan (CAP)

·         Providing market data to update CRM (crop potential, customer segmentation) and Panoshare.

·         Proposing Product Request Form (PRF) update, if necessary, to Product Manager to align the research program with market expectations.

·         Creating a close collaboration with the Global Marketing team (mainly Product Managers).

·         The application of local regulations (registration, protection) with Local Customer Service and Product Managers.

Skills and Experience

·         Education

o   Bachelor of Science - Agriculture or other related field

·         Experience

o   Agricultural background

o   Team management experience (3 years)

o   5-8 years of agricultural or related experience, preferably in the seed sector

o   Forecasting process experience

·         Languages

o   Proficiency in English (minimum B2)

·         Knowledge required

o   Strong agronomical knowledge

o   Local market and customer knowledge (direct and indirect)

o   Marketing mix (4Ps)

o   Microsoft Office package

Candidates will participate in interviews that may be in person or via a platform such as 'Teams'. 

It is possible to be invited to meet with several different managers and visit the facility in person.