Seed Portfolio Manager

About the role

The Seed Portfolio Manager leads the seed portfolio strategy and drives business results across assigned row crops (e.g., Corn/Soybeans/Cotton). This role owns product and portfolio decisions end-to-end—identifying market opportunities, shaping the product roadmap, guiding product life cycle choices, and partnering cross-functionally to deliver profitable growth.

Responsibilities

• Own the portfolio strategy and multi-year product roadmap, aligned to customer needs, market trends, and business objectives.
• Partner with Strategic Marketing to translate strategy into forecasting, product advancement priorities, production planning inputs, and life cycle management across the CROPLAN and Armor portfolios.
• Drive product selection and advancement decisions using trial data (e.g., Answer Plots), competitive intelligence, and voice-of-customer insights; recommend launch, sustain, and phase-out actions.
• Develop product positioning and value propositions, including recommended segmentation, pricing inputs, and placement guidance to maximize margin and market share.
• Partner with Sales Agronomists and commercial teams on needs assessments by geography—understanding potential genetic releases, in-field performance, and supplier capabilities.
• Support partner brand offers and identify whitespace opportunities to drive a complementary portfolio strategy.

Marketing Input and Support

• Drive go-to-market planning for proprietary seed brands (CROPLAN and Armor), including launch readiness, channel alignment, and clear technical and commercial messaging.
• Provide business input to annual operating plans (AOP) and in-season execution, including demand shaping recommendations, mix management, and margin improvement opportunities.
• Manage the implementation and final review of technical sales information and product claims in partnership with Strategic Marketing and Regulatory/Stewardship as applicable.
• Develop and maintain sales enablement assets from a national and regional perspective (e.g., technical bulletins, training modules, podcasts/videos) to improve seller confidence and customer outcomes.
• Monitor portfolio performance (share, volume, margin, inventory health) and recommend corrective actions based on results and market conditions.

Research Protocols and Data Management

• Collaborate with Strategic Marketing and Product Development on Answer Plot testing protocols to ensure trials answer key commercial and agronomic questions.
• Synthesize internal trial results, customer feedback, and competitive intelligence into clear recommendations for portfolio actions and messaging.
• Support data governance and decision tools (dashboards, scorecards, and portfolio reviews) that improve forecast accuracy, product advancement decisions, and inventory outcomes.
• Lead external collaboration with agronomic experts and technical teams from other companies, universities, and government agencies where applicable.

Training and Communication

• Create and deliver training for national and regional CROPLAN/Armor events, including launch updates, positioning, and selling tools.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree or bachelor’s degree in agriculture with business-related field with minimum of 5 years of industry experience; or an equivalent of 10 years of successful work experience in agronomy and product lifecycle management.
• Strong analytical skills and deep understanding of product lifecycle management include introducing new products and making strategic portfolio decisions.
• Strong business acumen and analytical skills to interpret market trends and a solid grasp of marketing strategies.
• Solid experience using Microsoft products (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint); virtual collaboration tools (Teams, Zoom); and CRM software (Salesforce).
• Ability to travel up to 40%, including evenings and some weekends.
• Establishing strong product positioning based on market conditions and developing effective pricing strategies.
• Improving business quality by reducing sales returns and optimizing inventory, ensuring products meet quality standards.
• Experience in coordinating complex projects and managing product launches.
• Advanced understanding of seed crop growth and development and physiology for core crops relevant to geography as well as environmental & agronomic factors that influence crop productivity.
• Knowledge of seed production and seed quality parameters is highly preferred.

Pay

$107,680 - $161,520 (in most cases, candidates offered employment can expect to be hired at a pay rate near the middle of our salary ranges)

Schedule

Ability to travel up to 40%, including evenings and some weekends; may require working long hours during peak seasons.