Seed, Soil & Crop Health, Strategic Account Manager

About the Role

The Seed, Soil & Crop Health Strategic Account Manager (Upper Midwest) serves as a trusted advisor to UPL field sales, technical service, marketing, portfolio management, and key account managers across North Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota. This role focuses on growing the seed applied technology, nutritionals, seed, soil health, and aligned biological portfolio business while achieving budgeted sales and profit objectives.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Crop Protection Key Account Manager (CP KAM) to establish strong business relationships with assigned national and regional distributor accounts, elevating Seed and Soil & Crop Health (SS&CH) to a strategic position.
• Collaborate with KAMs on integrated CP/SAT/NPP roadmaps, business plans, and offers to drive growth.
• Lead new business development initiatives, including customer forecasting by quarter, customer planning, and driving SS&CH new product launches.
• Manage relationships with assigned seed companies, specialty distributors, and corporate farms, identifying and prioritizing high-potential customers and designing sustainable offers.
• Establish strong working relationships with field sales force members managing large strategic retail accounts, acting as a trusted advisor and providing support, training, and leadership.
• Drive key UPL initiatives with customers to foster long-term growth.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree with a focus in Agronomy, Agribusiness, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in Seed, Seed Treatment, Crop Protection, Biologicals, or Nutritionals preferred.
• Previous experience working with distributors, retailers, agricultural consultants, and key growers to achieve territory objectives.
• Strong communication skills to engage productively with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Creative problem-solving abilities with strong lateral leadership and active listening skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and willingness to learn new platforms (e.g., Salesforce, forecasting tools).

Travel

Approximately 50% of the time, including overnight travel.

Skills

• Adaptability & Resilience: Open to changing circumstances, adjusts behavior, and scales efforts as needed; values individual and cultural differences.
• Entrepreneurial Mindset: Creative and holistic thinker who takes calculated risks and maximizes opportunities.
• Results Orientation: Persistent in pursuing goals, achieves results, and communicates vision to drive team enthusiasm.
• Execution Excellence: Enhances execution speed, builds efficiency in processes, and maintains a sharp focus on quality.
• Strategic Orientation: Understands social, economic, and environmental factors impacting business and develops strategy through analytical thinking.
• Building Teams and Talent: Empowers colleagues through knowledge sharing, delegation, and recognition of achievements.
• Customer Centricity: Focuses on understanding customer needs and pain points to create value and fulfill expectations.