Product Manager For Crop Variety Development

Position: Product Manager for Crop Variety Development
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.