Global Product Development Manager

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director of Product Development, the Global Product Development Manager is a project manager and product lead for product development related to either Herbicides or Insecticides, Fungicides & Seed Treatment. This role will work closely with the regulatory team, production team, formulation lead, category managers and country leads to identify candidates for development and to project manage it through ideation to first sales. This role is ideal for an experienced product or project manager looking to take on a leadership role and expand their horizons globally. Creativity, product line expertise and great project management skills are paramount to excel in this role.

Responsibilities

• Through market knowledge, use of market research, stakeholder consultation and creativity identify key product concepts for development
• Project manage new product development from ideation through development to eventual customer use
• Lead cross-functional teams comprised of marketing, product development, and regulatory along with the expanded team of supply chain, formulation development, packaging technology, customer service, and legal to set clear objectives for development, regulatory and manufacturing activities in order to deliver on projects and portfolio initiatives;
• Manage the timeline and budget of new product introduction to ensure stakeholder alignment to maximize product launches
• Provide cost analysis and business cases to executive leadership for new product investment
• Evaluate emerging technologies and provide guidance on potential impact to product portfolio.
• Be responsible to address questions around product features, attributes, benefits or issues
• Support launch of new product concepts in collaboration with Marketing and Sales
• Work with legal experts to conduct freedom to operate searches, interpret results and develop creative solutions to overcome obstacles
•  Analyze performance data to understand how our products are performing and why.
• Understand segment trends and provide guidance to Company Executives by staying abreast of the competition, regulations and major agricultural and farming trends.
• Responsibilities in all phases of a product life cycle (ideation to phase-out), including presentations to senior management to approve new product concepts influence supply chain decisions and drive new product launches.

Qualifications

Formal Education or Equivalent

• Bachelor’s  degree in relevant field such as plant protection or Agronomy required
• MBA preferred
• Formal project management certifications (PMP, Six Sigma) preferred

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of product management and/or project management experience with expertise in Crop Protection
• Proven track record of product development in the agrochemical industry
• Experience leading new product launches from ideation through launch
• Detailed understanding of the Global Herbicides or Insecticides, Fungicides & Seed Treatment Markets

Characteristics

• Passionate about agriculture, farming and desire to put Farmers First®
• Strong networking skills and the ability to communicate well with stakeholders from diverse scientific and business functions
• Interpersonal skills and ability work across functions to drive product development
•  Excellent communication mediation and negotiation skills
• Strategic thinker
• Strong analytical abilities
• Creative attitude towards solving business challenges
• Ability to work well within time constraints, able to effectively prioritize in a high demand environment within multiple locations
• Have excellent organizational skills, the ability to prioritize a heavy workload, and pay attention to technical and administrative detail
• Effective teamwork to support a positive communication flow within the Global Regulatory Team (as needed) and interactions with various stakeholders
• Assist in quick and efficient transfer of information
• Able to handle sensitive and confidential subject matters with discretion
• Detailed and process oriented
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced start-up environment
• Strong customer orientation and problem-solving skills
• Highly independent, goal-oriented and solution driven
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Self-starter, proactively communicates with key stakeholders
• Proficient in Google Suite (Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Slides)
• Ability to successfully pass criminal background check