KWS is one of the world's leading plant breeding companies. Over 5,000 employees in more than 70 countries generated net sales of around €1.8 billion in the fiscal year 2022/2023. A company with a tradition of family ownership, KWS has operated independently for 165 years. It focuses on plant breeding and the production and sale of seed for corn, sugar beet, cereals, vegetables, oilseed rape and sunflower. KWS uses leading-edge plant breeding methods to continuously improve yield for farmers and plants' resistance to diseases, pests, and abiotic stress. To that end, the company invested more than €300 million last fiscal year in research and development.
KWS Vegetables is actively seeking a proactive Global Product Manager for our dynamic Pepper and/or Melon & Watermelon crops. This pioneering position, based in the Netherlands, Spain, or Italy, is pivotal in developing and managing the product portfolio for our BU Vegetables. Reporting directly to the Head of Global Product Management, this role is crucial for enhancing the competitiveness and profitability of the KWS vegetable breeding portfolio on a global scale.
In this role, you will be able to contribute to the competitiveness of the worldwide KWS vegetable breeding portfolio by continuous managing the portfolio range from evaluation and development until commercial introduction. In this pioneer role you can build something from scratch.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage the Crop portfolio(s), ensuring the short to midterm profitability and strategic alignment within the BU Vegetables.
• Develop and oversee the execution of short and midterm planning for the Crop portfolio(s).
• Steer the P&L process from a Product Marketing perspective to optimize financial outcomes.
• Collaborate closely with Breeding and Sales to align on breeding objectives and product specifications, ensuring a cohesive strategy from mid to long term.
• Lead the evaluation and development of new varieties in the pre-commercial phase, preparing for successful commercial introduction in collaboration with local sales teams.
• Optimize the turnover and margin of the portfolio range through effective management of supply chain expectations, evaluation of sales potential, and strategic variety pricing.
• Collect and maintain market data in collaboration with development and sales teams, ensuring a robust market information database to support strategic decisions.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience Required:

• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Agronomy or similar fields, with a preference for candidates possessing 5-10 years or more of experience in the international seed industry, particularly within vegetable seeds.
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken, with additional languages being an advantage.
• Willingness to travel internationally approximately 50% of the time.
• Commercially driven and results-oriented with strong self-organization and proactive management skills.

Core Competencies Required:

• Entrepreneurial: Demonstrates initiative and the ability to build new strategies and processes from the ground up.
• Analytical: Possesses a keen analytical ability to evaluate data and market trends to drive strategic decisions.
• Communication Skills: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, facilitating effective collaboration and negotiation.
• Self-Organizing: Highly capable of managing multiple projects independently, ensuring timely and successful completion.
• Team Player: Works effectively within team settings, promoting cooperation and shared objectives.

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