Market Development Manager

Horizon Ag-Products•Lakewood, CO

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Market Development Manager role is part of the company’s Portfolio Team. This position owns Portfolio’s relationship with the market – clients, distributors, and Horizon University – and is the face of Portfolio to the outside world. It is also the standing link between Portfolio and Sales organization, working side by side with Sales day to day rather than at defined touch points. Focus is on positioning our portfolio in the market and educating clients, distributors, and growers on the benefit and use of our solutions technologies. This team member is the return channel through which field, distributor and client feedback reaches product positioning and prioritization discussion. The role also carries international development: identifying where Horizon’s products should be positioned globally and defining go-to-market strategy market by market. Our environment is highly collaborative, and we strive to continually innovate. Thriving in both a team and individual working environments is required. The successful candidate will also demonstrate a high energy level, a strong work ethic and dedication to company goals, as well as a commitment to learning, strong problem-solving skills, effective and clear communication skills, meticulous attention to details and a commitment to maintaining a safe, clean and efficient work environment.

Requirements

Bachelors in Biochemistry, Chemistry, or a closely related field, a commercial or business qualification is a plus
5 years’ experience in the biostimulant or crop-input industry in a commercial, market-development, or distributor-facing role, preferred
Excellent knowledge of the science of humic substances and biostimulant solutions
Excellent presentation skills and commitment to educating others
Working knowledge of major field crops such as corn and soybeans.
Strong interpersonal, communication and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

Owning and growing relationships with Key clients and Distributors
Aligning technical messages with marketing messages for seamless communication and training.
Leading Horizon University – technical training for distributors and field staff – and jointly owning training for the internal Sales organization, translating agronomic and positioning input into a curriculum Sales can use directly
Leading grower training, field demonstration, and educational tours, drawing on agronomic content and trial data provided by the Agronomic Development Manager
Defining international go-to-market strategy market by market, identifying where Horizon’s products should be positioned globally
Working permanently alongside the Sales organization – not on an as-needed basis – relaying field intelligence into Portfolio discussions and ensuring Sales has visibility into positioning and pricing decisions affecting distributor conversations
Bringing client and market feedback into Portfolio’s positioning and prioritization discussions and presenting market and product information internally and to customers in an audience-specific way.
Actively contributing to Value Creation Process projects, providing market and client-facing input in coordination with the Value Creation Coordinator
Supporting product cannibalization and positioning analysis across the portfolio, with market intelligence from the Marketing Analyst and product economics from the Product Specialist
Providing technical support on humic substances, soil and plant science/nutrition topics internally and to customers
Relaying scientific information in written form, making presentations and speeches.
Competitive product analysis and education to internal and external customers.
Collaborating with the R&D department on an as-needed basis.