Product Line Manager - Purees

We are a global leader in food & beverage ingredients. Pioneers at heart, we operate at the forefront of consumer trends to provide food & beverage manufacturers with products and ingredients that will delight their consumers. Making a positive impact on people and planet is all part of the delight. With a deep-rooted presence in the countries where our ingredients are grown, we are closer to farmers, enabling better quality, and more reliable, traceable and transparent supply. Supplying products and ingredients at scale is just the start. We add value through our unique, complementary portfolio of natural, delicious and nutritious products. With our fresh thinking, we help our customers unleash the sensory and functional attributes of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts and spices so they can create naturally good food & beverage products that meet consumer expectations. And whoever we're with, whatever we're doing, we always make it real.

Position Summary

Reporting to the SVP - Dehydrated Vegetables , The Product Line Manager – Purees will be responsible for leading the strategy development, revenue growth and profitability of the Frozen and aseptic vegetable purees business category. The purees includes frozen onion, garlic, ginger, bell pepper and other vegetable purees as well as shelf stable garlic purees which are sold primarily into industrial and food service markets.

The Product Line Manager will work with cross functional teams as below; but will be the Profit & Loss (P&L) owner of the category:

• Sales and channel marketing teams to ensure revenue and margin targets and growth plans of the product lines are met.
• Innovation and Commercialization teams to launch new products in the category
• Marketing and Insights team to understand and strategize on key growth trends
• Ag/Procurement teams and co-packers to build a reliable supply chain of raw materials and ensure cost of goods sold (COGS) of the products are optimized to deliver on profitability targets.
• Finance team to ensure overall profitability and forecasting of profitability.

The ideal candidate should have an entrepreneurial mindset to grow the existing business in the category and expand the size of the business through innovative thinking. They will be detail orientated, strategic-minded, with effective communication skills.

Position Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Product Management leadership team to develop business strategies and Annual Operating plans for the area of responsibility with inputs from Manufacturing Operations, Ag Operations, Sales, Innovation & Consumer Insights and other functional teams.
• Monitor and conduct regular business environment scans to determine the potential impact of macro-economic trends and track industry dynamics and competitive activity to keep tabs in pricing changes, new entrants, threat from substitutes. Update Nielson and other market data as needed.
• Work with Operations and Ag teams to maintain cost competitiveness of the products and maximize product margins.
• Anchor the pricing of products to customers and channels with finance team.
• Provide market and pricing updates based on Ag, packaging and logistics costs.
• Conduct feasibility and development of new products, line-extensions, margin enhancement, and cost-reduction initiatives.
• Provide and develop strategies for crop and production planning basis demand and growth plans.
• Engage and interact with Innovation, Customer Solutions Center and Marketing teams to assist in conducting targeted market research projects for specific market segments to target new growth opportunities.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Position Requirements

• Bachelor's degree is required. Majoring in Business Administration or Food Science is preferred. Candidate may substitute four (4) years of product, sales, category or brand management experience with some P&L ownership in lieu of degree.
• Three (3) years of product line management experience is required. Candidate substituting years of experience in lieu of degree must have a total of seven (7) years of relevant experience.
• Prior experience in vegetable/fruit purees business is preferred.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, and interpersonal skills to effectively work with external customers and colleagues at ofi is required. Ability to communicate effectively with Leadership is required.
• Ability to work with multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment is required.
• Demonstrated analytic and problem-solving capabilities are required.
• Ability to draw conclusions and provide business insight from working with multiple sets of data as well as when there are significant data gaps will be required.
• Experience working with both internal and external sources of supply is required.
• Proficient computer skills are required. Previous experience working with Microsoft office and SAP is preferred.
• Ability and willingness to travel 20%-40% (post-COVID) is required.

Note: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employee may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.

ofi provides equality of opportunity for all persons with respect to hiring without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation. All employment will be decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us for support at: US-Talent.Acquisition@ofi.com

At ofi, we celebrate our diversity. Olam Americas Inc. is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.