Job Description
Posting Start Date:  8/31/26
Offer ID:  2586
Unit:  Vilmorin-Mikado
Job Title:  Product Development Specialist
Job Location:  Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia
Contract type:  Permanent
Job Description: 

Main Goal

The purpose of this role is to manage the product portfolio for the export region (North and Central Europe + Balkans) throughout its commercial lifecycle by :

  • coordinating the launch of new varieties,
  • monitoring market performance,
  • challenging forecasts,
  • and supporting the commercial development of distributors.

The role also includes identifying opportunities for business development and proposing appropriate actions to optimize distribution, pricing, margins, and overall business performance

This position may be based in other countries, such as Serbia, Bulgaria, Austria ..

Job description

The main activities of this role include:

  • Provide the necessary informatiopn to establish the 5 years Development Mid-term plan and to establish the forecast (for each distributor in terms of volume, quality and timelines)
  • To define the Trial Strategy & Trial Plan, schedule, coordinate the implementation of the development trials DV1 and DV2 (+T3 in the areas where the company have employees) with each distributor with the following objectives:
    • to judge the agronomic performance and the adaptability of a variety in comparison to leading varieties within the market,
    • to evaluate the adaptability of the variety with respect to the target distribution and consumption chains,
    • to start the identification of the competitive advantages, the selling points and the hurdles to overcome.
  • To allocate the availability of seed samples of each variety for the development trials within its area & segment.
  • To carry out and update market research studies (segmentation, analysis of the competition, tracking and identification of the dynamic forces that drive change). To continuously improve the knowledge of the market by type of client with the objective of contributing to the development of business plans and strategic plans.
  • According to the positioning given by the marketing, to develop the selling points at the local level
  • Collaborate with Area Sales Manager & distributors for all Launching Plans and promotional events and actions.
  • Implement with the distributors the cobranding action plan
  • Collaborate actively with the research team

 

What we expect of you

We expect you to connect closely to the market to identify new business opportunities and anticipate new tendencies.

For this you will create a strong and active network with the different actors in the market and you will be higly focused on providing the best solutions to your customers. 

You will be responsible for developing and implementing the Development Trial Plan in the export region (North and Central Europe + Balkans), based on your market knowledge and agronomical expertise.

Most importantly, you will communicate and collaborate effectively with the Export sales manager and other stakeholders to ensure an optimal flux of information and data. 

In this position you will travel frequently (50 - 60% of your time) to the different countries in the region and you will interact directly with customers, representing the brand of the company 

Valid driving licence is a requisite

 

Skills

Collaboration
Communication
Customer Focus
Initiative
Listening Skills
Negotiation Skills
Planning
Problem Solving/Analysis
Work Environment/Safety

Your benefits and working environment

When you join Vilmorin-Mikado, you join a diverse and multi-cultural company where our collaborators all over the world are passionate about agriculture and providing optimal solutions to food challenges.

Each person in the organization contributes to our overall success and we all work together with 4 inviolable principles : RESPECT, ACCOUNTABILITY, COLLABORATION and ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

Joining our team is to work collectively to provide the best products and solutions to our customers all over the world.

 

 

 

Information at a Glance

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 a global company with deep local roots. Our parent company is an agricultural cooperative based in the Limagne-Val d’Allier plain, in the heart of Central France’s Auvergne region, while we are an international seed and agri-food group with some 9,600 employees working in 53 countries. As the 4th largest seed company in the world, we achieved sales of 2.522 billion euros in 2023-2024, with additional sales of 729 million euros from activities carried out in collaboration with our strategic partners.