Job Description
Posting Start Date:  4/3/25
Offer ID:  830
Unit:  Vilmorin-Mikado
Job Title:  Product Development Excellence Director (H/F)
Job Location:  La Ménitré
Contract type:  Permanent
Job Description: 

Main Goal

Within the Vilmorin Mikado perimeter, the Product Development Excellence director  will deploy, secure, and monitor the development of our genetic to maximize product value. This role will also be responsible for identifying  and deploying new tools to accelerate innovation in collaboration with marketing and research. The individual will manage the excellence strategy around product development for tools, processes, and people in collaboration with sales leaders ( unit director , subsidiary manager, Export Sales Managers) by influencing for strengthen knowledge, skills, organization and people development in line with product development excellence.

Job description


Within the framework of the objectives and strategy of the business unit Vilmorin-Mikado:
•    Monitor the deployment of product development with continuous process improvement across 12 subsidiaries and the export teams.
•    Ensure high-quality trial strategy, methodology and assessment data reliability, focus on accurate data collection and forecasting for reliable trial outcomes
•    Secure the training (content/deployment) and onboarding of the product development team, consisting of around 85 people globally through e-learning & special onboarding for PDM and ASM.
•    Provide purpose to newcomers and secure the development of product development capabilities.
•    Improve tools in close contact with commercial excellence (CRM ), Marketing (DV Plan App + PLM) and research withing Limagrain vegetable seed perimeter 
•    Align development priorities across the BU with marketing 
•    Develop and monitor KPIs.
•    Participate in the recruitment, objectives, and assessment of the PDM team.

What we expect of you

Workplace: The role is based in La Ménitré with frequent worldwide travel.

Knowledge Required:
•    5-10 years of international experience in the seed industry.
•    Sales or Marketing experience (4 PPs)
•    Ideal focus on vegetable seeds with strong people management experience.
•    Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Business, Ag Science, Agronomy, or another business-related field.
•    Good agronomical “know how” in the field of seeds.
•    Strong Business acumen.
•    Languages: Fluent in English, French, and/or any other language is a plus.

Professional Abilities:

•    Strong result orientation, execute plans, and provide rigorous and reliable recommendations.
•    Global organizational perspective and cooperation with matrix interfaces.
•    Customer focus (internal/external).
•    Leadership: build high-performing teams based on trust, collaboration, and diversity.
•    Business acumen, able to develop and manage budgets
•    Develop and empower people.
•    Strategic oversight and planning.
•    Managerial courage and ability to lead change.
•    Sense of priority.
•    Ability to navigate in a matrix organization.
 

Skills

Collaboration
Creativity/Innovation
Customer Focus
Communication
Managing for Results

Your benefits and working environment

We offer you an attractive compensation package (including a company car) as well as numerous development opportunities in France and internationally.

Recruitment process

Once your application has been submitted, an acknowledgement of receipt will confirm its receipt.
We will study your profile in relation to the needs of the position and the company.
If your application is selected, the following steps are part of our process:

  1. After a prequalification interview, you will meet your manager.
  2. Then we will ask you to complete personality inventories and reasoning tests that will serve as a basis for an interview with the Group's Talent Management.


Groupe Limagrain is an employer that respects diversity and encourages applications from all backgrounds
 
Apply now
Information at a Glance
Apply now

Vilmorin-Mikado is a Franco-Japanese seed producer that has specialized in creating, producing, and selling vegetable seeds for professionals since 1743. As a responsible partner in the vegetable food chain, Vilmorin-Mikado is committed to helping better nourish people everywhere. Our wide range of unique, original seeds is distributed on five continents in more than 100 countries. Vilmorin-Mikado has more than 1,000 employees and recorded sales of €230 million in 2022-2023, of which 15% was entirely devoted to research. World leader in carrots and witloof chicory, Vilmorin-Mikado is also a major player in salads, tomatoes, sweet peppers, kabocha squashes, daikon radishes and bunching onions. Nearly three centuries ago, Vilmorin-Mikado's founders began our Tree Seeds work, which actively contributes to rebuilding sustainable forests.

Limagrain is an agricultural cooperative and an international seed group owned by 1,300 farmers located in Auvergne (in the center of France). Present in 49 countries and with 9,335 employees, the Group breeds, produces and distributes field seeds, vegetable seeds and agri-food products. Focused on the genetic progress of plants, Limagrain is the fourth largest seed group worldwide.
About us