Product Manager for Crop Variety Development at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Ref. No: DDDG-R4D/PM/CVD/R/04/20
Location: Ibadan, Oyo

Background

• IITA has successful breeding programs on six very important crops in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): cassava, yam, banana/plantain, maize, soybean and cowpea. In recent years, these have been reviewed based on the Breeding Program Assessment Tool (BPAT) (https://plantbreedingassessment.org/).
• The programs have also had extensive interaction with the CGIAR Excellence in Breeding (EiB) platform during which crop specific and cross-cutting (institutional) improvement plans have been developed along with product profiles and market segmentation analyses to guide demand-led breeding.
• Implementing these plans will require a strong focus on step changes to improve the efficiency of breeding and delivery of increased rates of variety turnover and genetic gain. This has been identified as a high priority by IITA.
• To achieve this, IITA seeks an experienced product manager with expertise in strategic product decision-making, including market analysis and the development of product concepts that deliver unique value based on customer demands.
• Through effective communication and dissemination of product and market information between clients and the product design teams, this position will ensure a continuous improvement process with a better focus of breeding product design on the needs of the market. It will also contribute to better targeting of variety development and supply of high-quality planting materials in a timely and effective manner.
• The appointee will report to the Head of Breeding and work closely with leaders of the crop breeding teams.

Position Responsibilities

• The Product Manager will play a cross-functional leadership role, most notably between breeding teams, clients and market stakeholders. S/he will also be part of a network with other product managers inside and outside IITA (coordinated by the CGIAR Excellence in Breeding platform).

The Product Manager will:

• Provide market intelligence and help with prioritization of breeding objectives to meet market needs.
• Set the roadmap for product design and delivery, in addition to the overall product strategy.
• Work with seed system partners (in the public and private sectors) to develop a strong and streamlined route to market for new varieties of cassava, yam, banana/plantain.
• Serve as a liaison between IITA, national program, or commercial breeding teams, overseeing strategic decision making in the product development and delivery process.
• Coordinate product design activities between IITA and national programs to confirm clear product concepts.
• Work to properly position products for greatest impact and uptake after release.
• Provide feedback to breeders as to how closely products will satisfy market demand.

Educational Qualifications

• The candidate should have MBA or Agri-business related degree with product development and marketing focus or MSc. / Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Sciences.

Core Competencies:

• This is a senior level appointment requiring knowledge of breeding, seed systems and the market context for crop varieties.

The appointee will have:

• Experience in product development related to crop varieties.
• Knowledge of private and/or public sector seed systems.
• Demonstrated ability in product design, management, marketing, scaling, and dissemination.
• Ability to manage a cross-functional team as part of the product design and development process.
• Successful implementation of product management strategies.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, collaboration and organizational skills.
• Experience in working with breeding programs.

Having the following will be advantageous:

• Skills and experience of markets and seed systems for clonal crops (e.g. cassava, yam and
• plantain/banana).
• Experience working in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Experience working in multi-cultural and multi-country environments.

General Information

• The initial appointment will be for three years. IITA offers a competitive remuneration package paid in US dollars.