Global crop product manager - onion and leafy crops

Company Description

Panora was born out of the integration of three established seed companies, bringing together more than 80 years of heritage in vegetable breeding, research, and innovation. Today, Panora unites more than 250 professionals across 10 countries, combining deep genetic resources with advanced technologies to deliver resilient, high‑quality vegetable varieties for growers worldwide. Built on decades of progress in hybrid breeding, molecular biology, and high‑tech greenhouse selection, Panora’s research programs span key crops such as tomato, rootstocks, pepper, cucumber, eggplant, onion, lettuce, leafy crops, and zucchini. Multidisciplinary teams of breeders, biotechnologists, agronomists, and field technicians work together to develop varieties with strong genetic resistances, elevated taste, high yields, and reliable performance in diverse growing conditions. State‑of‑the‑art molecular laboratories accelerate breeding cycles and strengthen seed quality control, ensuring genetic purity and supporting consistent, data‑driven product development. These capabilities enable Panora to provide growers with innovative solutions that meet real‑world challenges in modern agriculture. With a strong commitment to customer proximity, Panora blends scientific excellence with local expertise, offering tailored support across global markets. By understanding production needs and anticipating supply‑chain dynamics, Panora delivers vegetable seeds that empower growers, enhance efficiency, and improve the food experience from field to fork.

Panora is part of Mitsui & Co., one of Japan’s largest and most diversified global trading and investment groups, with a history dating back more than 75 years. Mitsui operates across a broad range of industries including agriculture, food, energy, chemicals, healthcare, infrastructure, and technology, with operations in more than 60 countries worldwide. Through its long-term investment approach, global network, and commitment to sustainable growth, Mitsui supports businesses that contribute to innovation, food security, and the development of resilient global supply chains.

Location

Our HQ is located in Fidenza, Italy, where the role is located.

Profile

We are looking for a strategic, commercially minded, and highly collaborative Product Manager (PM) to join our global PM team. The ideal candidate is an analytical and proactive professional with strong interpersonal skills, capable of balancing long-term vision with hands-on execution in a dynamic and complex environment. This role requires a curious and adaptable individual with a genuine passion for agriculture, innovation, and understanding customer and market needs, while effectively driving collaboration across cross-functional and international teams.

Required skills

• Expertise in the crop(s) and market(s) of responsibility.
• Minimum 5-year experience in the vegetable seeds sector, preferably in a Product Management role.
• Strategic Thinking & Decision Making - Ability to develop and execute long-term product strategies.
• Cross-functional Collaboration - Ability to work effectively with R&D, Operations, and Commercial teams.
• Market & Business Acumen - Strong understanding of the agricultural sector, market dynamics, and customer needs.
• Analytical & Problem-Solving Skills - Ability to analyze market data and make data-driven decisions.
• Expertise in MS Office and data analysis applications.
• Communication & Influencing Skills - Strong ability to communicate strategies and drive alignment across multiple stakeholders.
• Languages: English: Advanced. Preferably good level Italian and/or Spanish

Responsibilities

The Global Crop Product Manager is responsible for driving and implementing the global crop business strategy for assigned crop(s). This role ensures alignment between the Global Crop strategy and portfolio decisions while supporting end-to-end sales execution. The position requires a strategic mindset, strong cross-functional collaboration, and technical expertise to optimize portfolio performance and ensure the successful launch and lifecycle management of varieties.

• Crop Strategy & Portfolio Management
• Drive and implement the global crop business strategy, ensuring alignment with overall company objectives.
• Manage the global crop portfolio, continuously updating the Product Life Cycle (PLC) stage for all varieties.
• Facilitate the product advancement decisions with key stakeholders.
• Support PMC-MABA exercise for crops(s) of responsibility
• Product Development Operation
• Ensure that the product development process is executed according to company methodology across all regions.
• Oversee the logistics of trial seeds to ensure smooth execution of product development (PD) trials in close collaboration with regional teams.
• Actively participate in key evaluation events of PD trials in core and strategic markets.
• Technical Information Management
• Validate and update global crop product profiles in collaboration with Global Product Manager (GPM) and Country/Area Product Managers.
• Create and maintain Technical Data Sheets (TDS) for assigned crop(s) to support global communication needs.
• New Variety Launch (NVL) & Pricing Strategy
• Lead the global New Variety Launch (NVL) platform and analyze the success rate of recent NVLs.
• Define and implement the global pricing policy for assigned crop(s) in collaboration with Global Head of Marketing and Global Product Manager (GPM).
• Market Analysis & Business Intelligence
• Analyze market trends, competitive landscapes, and customer needs and share its strategic insights with key stakeholders to shape strategic decisions.
• Collaborate with regional teams to ensure product positioning and market success.
• Coordination & Stakeholder Engagement
• Lead the Global Product Meetings, ensuring effective collaboration across regions, aligning cross-functional teams on product strategy
• Support and guide Country/Area Product Managers in the preparation of Product Advancement Meetings.
• Work closely with breeding teams; Support, monitor and challenge breeding activities and strategies in the related crops
• Coordinate global fresh produce projects, ensuring alignment with internal and external stakeholders. xjrgpwk

By sending their CV to the indicated address, the candidate acknowledges that personal data, including both common and special categories of data, will be processed by Panora S.p.A. in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and applicable legislation, exclusively for purposes related to the evaluation of the application and the possible establishment of an employment relationship. The candidate declares to be aware of the methods of processing of personal data and may request the full privacy notice pursuant to Article 13 of the GDPR at any time by contacting . The selection process is open to candidates of all genders, in accordance with Italian Law 903/77.