Product Business Manager

  • Location: UK - Maidstone
  • Job Family: Product Business Mgmt
  • Time Type: Full time
  • Job Requisition ID: R0007048
  • Experience Years: 3-5 Years of Experience
  • Employee Type: Regular

About the Opportunity

This role can be based in Breda, Netherlands or Maidstone, UK. The mission of the PBM department is lead the perfect execution of the category plans in the most efficient and effective way, always keeping revenue and profit into account. We aim to drive the execution of the berry plans set at the long/mid-term business planning targets through cross-functional work with Sales, Technical, Supply Chain and Finance departments, as well as directly engaging with our UK suppliers. KEY RESULTS AREAS: The PBM role makes sure the long/medium berry plans are operationalized and executed successfully in the coming 13 weeks. The main task of the PBM is to translate the PBM leads commercial targets into a cross functional execution. In case of plan deviations, the PBM provides direction to ensure the optimized result is achieved, taking into consideration customer service and enterprise business profit. In case of significant plan deviations escalation towards the leads is expected. PBM aligns and creates responsive and effective engagement from cross-functional teams to execute the plan. The PBM ensures customer demand, product supply, profit optimization (track back on price actuals) and market conditions are accurately represented to support planning processes across multiple sales channels and from the correct sources, to achieve strategic and tactical targets. The challenge is to find the right balance between customer service and enterprise business profitability.

Responsibilities

  • Responsible for your product’s performance based on KPIs relating to P&L, supplier and customer service levels over 0-13 weeks.  

  • Responsible for closing opportunities (over or under sold positions) and working towards optimizing these periods from a supply and demand position 

  • Operationalize strategic targets and operational budget (revenue, volume, price, profit) in the scope of 0-13 weeks; 

  • Manage supply and demand alignment process to optimize fruit revenue and customer service end-to-end through IBP collaboration; 

  • Evaluate across multiple supply options taking in costs, lead times, shelf life, stock aging, capacities to achieve least cost to Driscoll’s and highest customer satisfaction 

  • You should be able to present data and clearly communicate and create cross-functional engagement to your plan; 

  • Establish and maintain a good working relationship within the Sales department and other departments such as Procurement, Planning, Technical, Supply Chain & Finance; 

  • Evaluate need to activate risk mitigation plan or activate opportunities including fruit procurement; 

  • Direct plan deviations on the short-term through cross-functional alignment; 

  • Monitor and review the actual demand status versus the actual supply status for week -5 – 13.  

  • Execute and track profitability of specific product lines; 

  • Improve top/bottom-lines and customer service; 

  • Initiate and contribute as a subject matter expect in improvement and optimization projects to sustain company’s growth; 

  • Resolve critical issues and escalate where required. 

Candidate Profile

Education & training 

  • Completed Bachelor’s degree or University level of education (or similar), preferably on areas related to Sales, Planning and/or Management - preferred but not essential.

 

Experience 

  • Able to demonstrate high performance experience in Commercial, Sales, Business Planning and/or S&OP roles. 

  • Experience within Fruit & Vegetable, Fresh Produce or FMCG is a big advantage. 

 

Skills & behaviours  

  • Excellent interpersonal skills, including negotiation, diplomacy and collaboration to create engagement;  

  • Ability to maintain strong working relationships as both an individual contributor and as team player in a fast-paced environment; 

  • Strong analytical focus combined with quick decision-making; 

  • Able to create, coordinate and execute the plan through cross-functional work; 

  • Keeps overview and can take and execute decisions; 

  • Strong business sense and entrepreneurial qualities; 

  • Work with high level of independence; 

  • Exceptional oral and written English communication skills; 

  • Pro-active and solution-driven attitude, confident in decision-making; 

  • Knowledge of economical influences and build (internal) customer relationships; 

  • Thrives in a high-pressure environment;

  • Initiative taker by nature with a high sense of responsibility for overall performance within a goal driven organization. 

 

Other: 

  • Travel requirements for customer/grower visits (5% of the time); 

  • Understanding of basic finance is a plus; 

  • Good Excel, PowerPoint & communication skills required; 

  • High fluency with modern workplace digital tools for communication and collaboration is a big advantage. 

 

About Driscolls

Driscoll's is the global market leader for fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. With more than 100 years of farming heritage and hundreds of independent growers around the world, Driscoll's is passionate about growing fresh, beautiful and delicious berries. Our values of humility, passion and trustworthiness have guided our mission to delight consumers around the world.

Driscoll's exclusive patented berry varieties are developed through years of research using only natural breeding methods – meaning, no GMOs. From farm-to-table, we focus on delivering a high quality, premium berry experience with our many supply chain partners.

Driscoll's is the trusted brand for Only the Finest Berries™.

Driscoll's es el proveedor líder en la comercialización de Fresas, Frambuesas, Zarzamoras y Arándanos Azules en el mundo. Con más de 100 años de herencia en agricultura y cientos de productores independiente alrededor del mundo, Driscoll's es una compañía apasionada por cultivar Berries frescas, hermosas y deliciosas. Nuestros valores de humildad, pasión y confianza han guiado nuestra misión de deleitar a los consumidores en el mundo.

Las variedades exclusivas de Driscoll's han sido desarrolladas a través de años de investigación usando sólo métodos de mejoramiento natural. De la granja a la mesa, nos enfocamos en ofrecer una experiencia de alta calidad con apoyo de nuestros socios de la cadena de suministro.

Driscoll's es la marca de confianza de sólo las mejores Berries.