Senior Product Manager

At Corbion, we exist to champion preservation in all its forms, preserving food and food production, health, and our planet.

We are the global Market and Cost Leader in development and production of Lactic Acid and Lactic Acid Derivatives. With our portfolio of sustainable products, we are active in diverse markets such as Food Ingredients, Home & Personal care, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Agrochemicals, Animal Nutrition and Bioplastics. We have plants in The Netherlands, Spain, Thailand, the United States and Brazil.

To meet  increasing demand from different industries such as PLA (biobased and biodegradable polymers), biochemicals, food- and pharma, we are investing in new assets, such as a new $190 mn lactic acid plant in Thailand. To execute our growth strategy we currently have an opportunity for  a Product Manager Lactic Acid & Side Streams.

As our Product Manager you take responsibility for executing the product strategy for Lactic Acid, its production Side Streams and Specialty Derivatives. You play a key role in  the development of this strategy. You ensure  the products’ availability and sustainable profitability. In order to do so you work closely with Sales, R&D  and the Operational organization. You form a team with a Senior Business Developer and report to the Director Product Management Lactic Acid & Specialties.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute product line strategies in alignment with global Product Strategy for Lactic acid and its Side streams.
• Execute product management activities, including new product introductions, changes, rationalizations and documentation
• Translate competitive insights into strategic and tactical actions of the product line
• Set the price strategies and drive optimization of the annual revenue, margin and portfolio mix (P&L co-ownership)
• Participate in global key account/customer contract negotiations and safeguard the execution of the agreed pricing strategies
• Drive market and business development of the product line in close collaboration with sales and business development teams
• Support customers on product related questions when needed
• Own the product specifications and serve as product expert
• Collaborate with Operations in managing on structural customer complaints and supply issues handling
• Develop, define, and drive product related improvement initiatives - aligned with business unit and manufacturing priorities
• Drive new product development working with R&D
• Drive projects together with project managers  [e.g. innovation projects, CAPEX, business improvement projects]
• Streamline communications between the commercial teams and operations teams and other internal stakeholders
• Ensure regulatory registrations and compliance in various countries with regulatory support
• Manage demand and supply with sales, marketing and supply chain (S&OP)
• Propose yearly budget for the product lines
• Driving demand shaping activities on constrained assets (preventing long term shortage)
• Crisis management (supply shortage, product failure or regulatory changes)

About you

• BSc or Msc education in relevant science (marketing, business administration, supply chain or chemistry)
• At least 6 years of experience in a commercial, procurement or supply chain role  in a demand- and supply driven industry
• Balance of commercial, supply chain and technical know-how, skills, affinity and experience
• Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Proven track record within a complex global matrix environment
• Ability to identify unmet needs and capture associated value.
• Can Do mentality and Get things done attitude

Requirements

The product manager we look for typically has the right mix of experience, creativity, conceptual thinking, and an attitude to do best for Corbion and the customer, a “can do” mentality combined with a “get things done” attitude. Looking for a win-win, balanced with the interests or all stakeholders, both internal as external. Collaborating, thinking of the entire value chain including other departments like operations, supply chain, and sales.

Your colleagues have diverse backgrounds from the agricultural industry (commodities like vegetable oils, grains, sugar), the chemical industry, dairy industry, and come from a commercial background, supply chain background, business background or chemical/scientific background.

The most important is that you are energetic, up for a challenge, able to think creatively and conceptually, and always try to create a win-win. Part of your job will be to fit a square to a round hole, so to speak.

Our offer

We offer the opportunity to be part of the bio based revolution and take on global responsibility within the global market leader in raw materials for bio based ingredients, chemicals and plastics. A work environment with professional, friendly and dedicated colleagues where all are willing to put in the ground work to achieve our goals. In addition, we offer:

• Competitive remuneration and benefits
• Culture to empower people and where your initiatives and ideas make a real difference
• International focus with truly diverse teams (you’ll have a lot of interaction with our manufacturing sites in Thailand, Spain and the Americas, and sales offices from Japan to Brazil).
• The ability to work from home, office, or a combination (many colleagues typically do 50/50 but this is also up to you)
• A lot of flexibility in your working hours, allowing you to combine work, family and personal life in a way you can be at your best. Corbion has an inhouse gym showing for example how we care for our people’s wellbeing, but we also sponsor and organize local running events or do cooking classes.
• Training on the job and a development plan ready for you. We invest in relevant training courses related to your particular discipline, that will give you the opportunity to grow into an industry expert
• Friendly, informal culture in a demanding professional environment

We actively embrace diversity in how we work together and contribute towards our shared objectives and values. By joining Corbion, you will become an employee in a company where you can feel pride in your achievements and develop your career with global prospects.

About Corbion 
 

What makes Corbion truly special is our talented global team of people, who are consciously dedicated to connecting the work we do together with the difference it makes in the lives of consumers, including our own friends and families. At Corbion, innovation is in our DNA; we explore, we discover, we create, and then we do it all over again, finding ever-better ways to help the world solve some of its most pressing challenges. When you come to Corbion, you will find that for us, sustainability is not simply a corporate program, it is at the very heart of our business, giving direction to our work, our investments and our creativity. We exist to preserve what matters.

As a company where day-to-day priorities and decisions are shaped by a shared purpose and vision, we enjoy a working environment energized by empowerment and opportunity. By joining Corbion, you can be part of :

• A culture open to great ideas wherever they come from, and where your work can make a real difference in the world
• An organization that values diversity of thought, background and experience
• A company ready to invest in you, helping you grow toward your personal ambitions
• A workplace that’s friendly and informal, while being focused and professional
• An international team small enough to stay agile, but large and talented enough to make an impact today, and for future generations

Our corporate values – Collaboration, Care, Courage and Commitment – define what it takes to overcome obstacles and create the sustainable breakthroughs the world sorely needs. As a member of the Corbion team, you’ll see these values put into action every day, and you’ll have the chance to make your own unique contribution to our collective achievements.

Corbion does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third party recruiting agencies in response to job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to hiring managers. All candidates must be submitted by approved Corbion vendors who have been expressly requested to make a submission by our Talent Acquisition team for a specific job opening. No placement fees will be paid to any firm unless such a request has been made by the Corbion Talent Acquisition team and such candidate was submitted to the Corbion Talent Acquisition Team.