Regional Product Lead

Cargill Incorporated is an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. With 158,000 employees in 66 countries, the company is committed to using its knowledge and experience to collaborate with customers to help them succeed.   Cargill Limited, a subsidiary of Cargill Incorporated, is one of Canada's largest agricultural merchandisers and processors with interests in meat, egg, malt and oilseed processing, livestock feed, salt manufacturing, as well as crop input products, grain handling and merchandizing.   Cargill AgHorizons, with a network of 74 farm service centers across Canada, is a part of Canadian agriculture, providing quality products, agronomic expertise and knowledgeable marketing advice.   Position Overview: Reporting to the Regional Manager, the Regional Product Lead is responsible to ensure that the regional locations are maximizing sales/origination volume and margin opportunities for the grain, seed, fertilizer and crop protection product lines.  The incumbent is accountable for the creation and flawless implementation of standardized processes to support the sales/origination of the major grain and crop input product lines within the regional group of locations.  The incumbent is the primary contact between the Central Product Line Managers (Grain Merchants, Crop Input Product Line Managers and Distribution Services) and the locations within the region.  Working closely with the Regional Sales Manager, the Regional Product Lead will facilitate activities and communication that support the effective and efficient execution of the product line strategies within the regional group of locations.   Principal Accountabilities: 5% - Market & Customer Analysis - Work with regional customer facing staff to update crop acreage and production information for regional crop districts.  Using software tools, perform customer analysis including crop acres, historical product sales/origination and customer margin information.   50% - Product Line Forecasting, Allocation & Sales Tracking - Lead the process for crop input product line forecasting within the regional group of locations.   Ensure that locations perform monthly grain handle projections and provide regional totals to grain merchandising.  Work with crop input product line managers & grain merchants as well as the Sales Manager to create product allocations within the regional group.  Communicate sales and marketing information for major grain and crop input products and provide support for the Sales Manager on pricing strategies.  Regularly track sales/origination performance and product positions for major grain and crop input products in the regional group.   30% - Program/Solution Development and Execution - Work with salespeople and location staff to identify and ground potential for specific grain or crop input programs or initiatives and communicate to crop input product line managers, grain merchants and marketing managers.  Participate in the creation of solutions and communicate program details to locations.  In conjunction with the Sales Manager, establish targets, measure and communicate progress on execution.   15% - Product Logistics Coordination - Work with the locations to provide logistics coordination on an regional level.   Communicate regularly with locations and Distribution Services department to ensure timely and effective positioning of seed and crop protection products.  Ensure that locations position fertilizer products effectively and execute on fertilizer purchase contracts.  Work with location managers to develop shipping and tendering strategies for grain. Skills: Required: A balanced blend of sales, marketing, operations and merchandising skill Strong computer skills and the ability to work with multiple applications Strong understanding of operational processes and capacities for grain and crop input facilities Product technical knowledge for grain and crop inputs with understanding of product margin structures Strong communication skills with the ability to facilitate and speak to small groups  and strong negotiating skills Excellent organizational and time management skills Strong commercial mindset with ability to make commitments on behalf of the regional group of locations and manage risk involved in executing on commitments Asset: Three years experience in the Agricultural Industry Experience selling crop input products and originating grain directly from farm customers