Regional Product Manager, CALA

A Brief Summary of This Position:

With approximately 500 dealer locations and 10 manufacturing locations globally, the Product Manager focuses on developing and introducing new products or creating improvements/enhancements to existing products. Annual new product sales growth targets are set on an annual basis. These goals will involve a multi-year planning horizon.

The Product Manager is a centralized voice behind Valmont Irrigation’s strategy for the designated product(s) and execution, combining feedback from sales, marketing, business development, customers and prospects to lead the execution of product plans. This position is responsible for the overall coordination and leadership of the product line. Managing these functions are essential to product-line strategy and goal achievement. Specific duties include overall responsibility for Valmont Irrigation’s product line stewardship, market and competitive analysis, and the formulation of strategic responses to market opportunities that present themselves.

This position will lead cross functional teams, including newly acquired companies to drive product development initiatives and ensure they are completed on time and on budget. This position works closely with Sales and Engineering Departments to develop new products and manage updates to the existing product line. The Product Manager understands Valley customers’ needs (both dealer and grower) and clearly defines them. The incumbent knows the competitor’s product line and is considered the company expert on our competitor’s products in different areas of the world.

Essential Functions:

• Ability to create and execute business plans and deliver financial results
• Develop and update business cases for new businesses pursued as well as current product portfolio KPI’s (margins, volumes, market share)
• Ability to establish and cultivate excellent working relationships with engineering, sales, marketing and operations
• Demonstrated leadership abilities
• Effective oral and written communication skills
• Ability to solve complex problems and take on large challenges
• Ability to define market requirements, data analysis
• Passion and integrity with the drive to excel and deliver exceptional results
• This role requires up to 20% global travel, including overnight stays and may require extended (3-4 week) stays in the United States.

Other Important Details about the Role:

• Responsible for the CALA region (Caribbean and Latin America Region)
• Responsible for overall strategic planning, product development and product launches for the Valley mechanical products within Valmont Irrigations product line with a specific focus on region assigned
• Ownership of the product roadmap within short, mid and long term vision
• Together with the rest of the Marketing team, responsible for timely development and execution of product launch programs
• Works closely with Sales, Engineering and Marketing to position products as the market leader
• Lead new product cross-functional mechanical development teams, driving the executing of timelines for timely project completions
• Focus on products globally to ensure that product development has a global scope and reach
• Global alignment of the roadmap by promoting local products into new markets and/or other sites’ products/features into the Brazilian market
• Defines market requirements for both current and planned new equipment
• Provides competitive information to sales and the dealer network to assist in selling as well as leadership and execution of new product training sections for dealers and customers when required
• Collects and analyzes marketing information related to equipment which includes irrigation equipment trends, opportunities and customer’s expectations
• Maintains current knowledge of emerging/advanced technologies in the irrigation marketplace, working collaboratively with engineering to identify potential new products that could be integrated into the Valley product line
• Plans and implements successful product launches in conjunction with product marketing and sales, guaranteeing correct message is transferred to the market
• Assists with developing marketing communications material to support new product launches as well as provides the necessary input for changes to existing Valley equipment marketing communications material
• Recommends Valley product line extensions, opportunities and eliminations
• Assists in forecasting Valley equipment sales for operations planning
• Provides equipment product management support for global stakeholders, ensuring that they are well-informed of decisions that affect the global product offering
• Active cross-functional and collaborative work/communication with other Valmont PM’s around the globe, from Irrigation as well as other areas (HW, Software, etc)
• Organize and lead VoC (Voice of the Customer) events
• Interaction with current and new suppliers, looking for synergies or any other opportunities

Required Qualifications of Every Candidate (Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities):

• Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Business, Engineering, or relevant technical field with 3+ years relevant experience or Associates Degree with 5+ years relevant experience or 10+ years of relevant experience.
• Fluent English skills, Spanish Desirable
• Experience defining mechanical product requirements through market research and interpretation.
• Strategic thinker with a tactical and detailed execution
• Expertise in the use of influence, team participation, consensus building and dealer/customer/grower communication
• Experience executing successful mechanical product development products and launches
• An understanding of technologies that are currently utilized in the Valley product line
• Demonstrated knowledge of product management process
• Good communication skills are expected

Highly Qualified Candidates Will Also Possess These Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or other Advanced Degree (MBA, MA, ME)
• Product Management experience with hard goods or agriculture products
• Mechanical product development experience
• Experience working with a dealer distribution channel model (2 step distribution)
• Knowledge of the competition’s product offering in order to benchmark that equipment against the Valley equipment
• Product management responsibility on an a global scale