The Product Development Manager plays a crucial role in shaping our marketing and commercial strategies. This customer-oriented position leads the development team by offering strategic guidance on trial strategies, product launches, and the use of digital tools. The role supports the development and implementation of the company’s strategy by providing valuable business intelligence insights. Success in this role is achieved through the development and execution of sales campaigns for both commercial and development portfolios, utilizing the marketing mix (4Ps), managing the portfolio life cycle, meeting DV KPIs, and leveraging digital tools.

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Context/Scope: Mexico, this position will be based in Queretaro, Qro

General Mission:

Ø  Manage and lead team members

Ø  Provide strategic thinking for trial strategies and product launches, set priorities, and ensure proper follow-up on DV KPIs.

Ø  Monitor the market and deliver business intelligence insights.

Ø  Engage with customers to gather insights and build effective marketing and commercial strategies.

Ø  Collaborate closely with the Subsidiary Manager, Product Managers, and sales team to ensure full alignment and awareness of actions and projects.

Ø  Guide the Local Crop Team to achieve their goals.

Ø  Enhance the use of digital tools (CRM, DV Apps, Panoshare etc.) among team members.

• Responsible for
  Manage and lead the DV team, ensuring proper follow-up on priorities and fostering talent development.
• 
  Conduct and update market research studies (segmentation, competition analysis, tracking dynamic forces) to continuously enhance market knowledge by client type, contributing to business and strategic plans.
• Contribute to implementing sales campaigns for both commercial and development products to generate demand and achieve sales targets.
• Utilize the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) in developing and executing sales campaigns for both commercial and development portfolios.
• Develop strategies for scheduling, coordinating, and implementing development trials (DV1 and DV2 plans) in the country and segment, with objectives to:
  
  • Assess the agronomic performance and adaptability of varieties compared to market leaders.
  • Evaluate the variety’s adaptability to target distribution and consumption chains.
  • Conclude trial plans after deep analysis.
  • Identify competitive advantages, selling points, and challenges to overcome.
• Allocate seed samples for development trials within the area and segment, monitor and control sample shipments, ensuring compliance with timelines.
• Provide feedback to stakeholders on varieties being tested, prepare and propose development plans for subsequent years, and report on additional needs and market developments.
• Prepare a 5-year DV MTPlan, establishing forecasts (volume, turnover and Market Share expectations) for the initial sales years of new varieties in DV1 and DV2 phases.
• Ensure life cycle management of the subsidiary portfolio in alignment with the company’s overall strategy
• Develop and implement product launches, ensuring proper product positioning and providing strong arguments (unique value proposition) to the sales team.
• Guide and animate the Local Crop Team to ensure marketing and DV priorities are included in the demand generation plan (sales campaign) and that crop information is shared in a common share-point accessible to all team members.
• Ensure the DV team utilizes digital tools effectively.
• Update and analyze DV KPIs
• Ensure DV priorities alignment with sales team and Product Managers
  
  

Contributes to

·         Develop company strategy by providing market intelligence insights.

·         Prepare NPI (New Product Introduction) to make informed decisions on advancing or discontinuing products.

·         Update the Panoshare database annually and report significant market deviations.

·         Align the research trials officer program with market expectations.

·         Ensure proper customer database segmentation within the CRM, based on Limagrain Vegetable Seeds' common customer segmentation.

·         Share best practices related to customer insights with other Limagrain Business Units.

·         Collaborate closely with the Global Marketing team.

·         Support actions to enhance the customer experience, thereby increasing the Net Promoter Score.

Reporting and Cooperation Links

§  Reports to Subsidiary Manager

§  Main stakeholders are

o   Local Product Promotors, Sales team members, Marketing (Product Managers), Global communication department, Customer Activation Coordinator, Research Project Manager, Breeders, Finance business partner

o   External stakeholders include Direct & Indirect customers

o   Other Business Units within the Limagrain Group

Skills and Experience

·         Education

o   Agricultural background or related experience

o   MBA, Agribusiness, Master in Marketing

o   Management experience

o   5-10 years of general experience

·         Languages

o   Proficiency in English and Spanish

o   Strong writing and verbal communication skills

·         Knowledge required

o   Knowledge of the market and the customers,

o   Knowledge of marketing mix, activations, sales campaigns

o   Knowledge Team management

o   Technical knowledge of the agricultural business (plant seed business desirable),

o   Regulations (registration, protection) and legislation,

o   Knowledge of the digital tools and applications used in the business,

§  Professional skills

o   Organization, planning, priority management and coordination,

o   Analysis and synthesis,

o   Leadership, team spirit, management and delegation skills,

o   Entrepreneurial, commercial spirit and results oriented,

o   Professional autonomy and mobility,

o   Thoroughness and reliability,

o   Pro-activeness.

o   Capacity to travel extensively

·         Personal behavior

o   Customer-oriented

o   Team spirit, enthusiasm, and positive attitude

o   Assertive and empathetic

o   Autonomous, ability to manage priorities

o   Mobile, ready to travel and go in the fields

o   Eager to learn; open-minded; embracing changes and new technologies

o   Creative and curious, challenges the status quo and fosters innovations

This position offers a very competitive benefit package as well as compensation. 

Plan on interviews in person as well as virtually thru 'Teams'. Typically there are interviews with different members of the team.