Product Manager

BALL HORTICULTURAL COMPANY • West Chicago, IL

11d • $75,000 - $90,000 • Onsite

About The Position

This role is responsible for developing and executing product strategies for a defined portfolio of crops across the full product lifecycle. The Product Manager serves as a bridge between market needs and product development, working closely with breeding, production, sales, marketing, and operations teams to deliver commercially successful products. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of horticultural products, a deep passion for plants, the ability to connect customer needs with product development, and a clear communication style.

Requirements

• Minimum of 5+ years of relevant experience in horticulture, product management, production, or trialing, with exposure to product development or portfolio management.
• Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture or a related field. A background in horticulture, botany, or plant science is a plus.
• Ability to understand strengths and weaknesses of Ball FloraPlant products and competitor products in relevant crops.
• Proven ability to lead, manage, support, and motivate colleagues while fostering a positive culture.
• Excellent project management skills and the ability to prioritize tasks effectively.
• Data-driven decision-making and the ability to analyze market trends are important.
• Ability to align product and portfolio decisions with business objectives while balancing internal priorities and external grower and market needs.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and comfort working with digital tools and business systems, with the ability to quickly learn new software platforms.
• Collaborates: Works cooperatively with others across the organization to achieve shared objectives
• Manages complexity: Acquires data from multiple and diverse sources when solving problems.
• Global perspective: Looks toward the broadest possible view of an issue or challenge.
• Plans and aligns: Sets objectives to align with broader organizational goals.
• Decision quality: Makes sound decisions, even in the absence of complete information.

Nice To Haves

• A genuine passion for plants is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Own the performance management of the assigned crop portfolio and provide recommendations on investment, expansion, maintenance, or discontinuation of products.
• Develop and execute product launches, including positioning, market differentiation, and go-to-market strategy, while monitoring post-launch performance and adjusting strategies as needed to align with overall business objectives and commercial goals.
• Manage product trialing activities to ensure accurate data collection, documentation (including photos and video), and reporting to support product validation, commercialization decisions, and successful market performance.
• Leverage sales performance data, trial results, and direct engagement with growers and industry stakeholders to identify market trends, customer needs, and competitive opportunities that inform product strategy and portfolio decisions.
• Evaluate the competitive positioning of assigned crops, identifying key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and areas for differentiation relative to competing offerings.
• Partner closely with breeding teams to align breeding priorities, product concepts, and development timelines with market needs, portfolio strategy, and commercial opportunities.
• Partner with production operations teams to align supply availability with commercial demand and launch timing.
• Support sales teams with product knowledge, positioning, and materials to drive successful market adoption.
• Present product information, trial results, and launch updates to internal teams, growers, and external audiences, including presentations at trade shows and industry events.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, life and long-term disability insurance
• 401k/Profit Sharing Retirement Plan
• Paid time off benefits including vacation and holidays
• Tuition assistance
• An onsite subsidized café overlooking 30 acres of renowned display gardens and restored natural areas
• Employee Assistance Program and Positive Health programs

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level