Head of Trials EMEA North

At BASF | Nunhems, our ambition is to make healthy eating enjoyable and sustainable. Together and in collaboration with partners we are eager to improve our vegetable varieties and solutions for our customers, the vegetable value chain and consumers worldwide. We are looking for a Head of Trials EMEA North to further develop and grow this ambition.

Your Job 

The Head of Trials leads, builds and coaches a professional and customer-centric trial organisation and local Product Development organisation in EMEA North. You will ensure crop strategy implementation through close collaboration with the Specialists in Product Development (SPD) to meet operational needs. 

You drive efforts towards efficient and effective trialling, whilst developing excellence, digitalisation and innovation throughout the wider trial organisation. In this way, you enable better data-based elevation decisions,  successful variety introductions and customer service/satisfaction. 

You promote collaboration and best practice sharing across functions, crops and countries. You understand the business priorities to manage the trial budget with accountability, allocating resources in close alignment with the Regional Head of PD and stakeholders, maximising efficiency & effectiveness in trial activities. 

Major Accountabilities

• Coach and develop the Trial Team and specialists in Product Development in EMEA North, and lead the change management in the Trial organisation 
• Ensure the operational needs of the different crops are met to implement their product development plan.
• Foster a sense of purpose in the Trial organisation as part of the wider PD community.
• Drive efforts in the Trial Team focusing on excellence, digitalisation, customer focus, people and collaboration, supporting the overall PD agenda 
• Coordinate with Regional SPDs and other stakeholders to understand the needs of each crop in the countries and regularly evaluate the satisfaction of the crop teams, with the work of the trial teams. 

• Analyse the functional strength of the Trial organisation in the area. Evaluate the competences of the Trial team. 
• Connect with other regional departments, ensuring all Trial processes are well ingrained across functions and contribute to constant improvements. 
• Design and organise the training for the Trial team with the Regional SPDs and foster the exchange of best practices among crops, participating in the regional PD community.  
• Ensure the PD policies, procedures, systems, and tools are aligned across crops and properly implemented by the trial team in the region.  

• Align with the Regional Head of PD to manage the flow of people within the Trial organisation and collaborate as required with HR.  
• Support the Regional Head of PD to budget, allocate and then implement Trial resources in close collaboration with the Regional SPDs to support the region's crop strategies & business priorities.  

Your Team

You will lead the trial team (trial technicians, trial specialists and local PD specialists) and closely collaborate with the Regionals SPDs established efforts in the countries to drive assortment – and expert knowledge development. Positioning varieties with key customers in the market enables sales to meet financial targets. You are managing 13 direct reports. 

Your profile

• Master’s degree with at least 7 years of relevant experience 
• Bachelor’s level educated in a relevant discipline with 10 years relevant experience 
• Proven track record in managing and leading a team of professionals, also remote teams
• High level of English

Do you recognise yourself in the following competencies?

• Well-developed management competences
• Strong stakeholder management 
• Excellent cross-functional and cross-crops collaboration on all levels 
• Building a strong sense of purpose and belongingness in the trial organisation  
• Inspiring high sense of ownership and accountability on all levels in the trial organisation 

This position requires domestic and international travel to visit teams and external/internal stakeholders and extended - and flexible working hours as required. 

In this role you are successful when you can improve efficiency & effectiveness of the trial resources and raise the ‘competence level’ of the trial team. Through effective change management you reach a high percentage of successful introductions.

Interested in this job? 

Are you the candidate with strong result orientation and with the ability to create a motivated trial organization in the area, focused on supporting PD plans, crop strategy implementation and achieving business objectives?

Ready to lead this team of professionals and contribute to our ambition to make healthy eating enjoyable and sustainable for everyone worldwide?

What’s in it for you?

Adding value to our customers begins with adding value to you. At BASF we believe that people are the key to our long-term success and that talent is in everyone. That’s why we empower you with the tools, guidance and opportunities you need to advance and succeed in work and life.

Giving you the support that you need to be your best and fulfill your personal ambitions is what helps us achieve our ambitions. After all, our success is linked to yours. Whatever path you envision, BASF is a great place to build a rewarding, successful career.

For BASF, diversity is one of the essential keys to business success and the well-being of our employees. We promote an inclusive culture that accepts the diversity of people, experiences and capabilities. By embracing talents and abilities of all kinds, we aim to boost creativity and motivation, and enhance our teams’ performance.