Head of Marketing DACH

The Head of Marketing DACH leads the marketing function across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with primary emphasis on hands-on business support and excellent execution of commercial priorities. The role converts strategy into practical plans that help Sales deliver the budget, win key campaigns, strengthen pricing and positioning, improve forecast quality and successfully launch new products.

Alongside this operational leadership, the role shapes the medium- and long-term portfolio agenda for DACH through portfolio and category management, project development, business case preparation and close collaboration with Regional Marketing. The successful candidate will be an action-oriented people leader who remains close to customers, markets and sales teams while ensuring disciplined delivery across functions.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Portfolio, Category and Project Management

• Shape the DACH portfolio and category roadmap in alignment with local market needs, commercial priorities and the European portfolio strategy.
• Identify portfolio gaps and growth opportunities, assess market attractiveness and prepare robust business cases with clear commercial assumptions and country-level validation.
• Define, prioritize and support strategic projects, innovation opportunities and life-cycle management initiatives that defend and grow the established business.
• Collaborate closely with Regional Marketing and European Portfolio Managers on portfolio choices, project prioritization, business cases, launch sequencing and resource allocation.
• Provide DACH market insight to strategic alliances, licensing assessments and third-party opportunities when relevant.

2. Business, Sales and Campaign Support

• Lead the development and execution of annual, seasonal and product campaigns, translating commercial priorities into clear objectives, target segments, messages, activities, tools, timelines and accountabilities.
• Partner closely with Sales to identify business opportunities, customer needs and competitive actions, and provide timely marketing support that enables commercial delivery.
• Support pricing decisions through market insight, competitive intelligence, value positioning, price recommendations and monitoring of price realization and profitability.
• Contribute actively to sales forecasting by challenging assumptions, providing market and campaign insights, identifying upside and downside scenarios and supporting corrective actions.
• Lead the marketing input to the annual budget and business planning process, including portfolio, volume, price, campaign, launch and investment assumptions.
• Ensure clear product and solution positioning, value propositions, customer segmentation and promotional priorities across the DACH markets.
• Monitor campaign and product performance and adjust actions quickly in response to market developments, customer feedback and business results.
• Lead local go-to-market planning and execution for new product launches, from opportunity validation through launch preparation and post-launch performance review.
• Coordinate cross-functional launch plans covering positioning, pricing, forecasts, supply readiness, regulatory milestones, technical evidence, communications, promotion, sales training and customer activation.
• Ensure launch responsibilities, milestones, risks and decisions are visible and actively managed, escalating issues early when support is required.

4. Marketing Communications, Promotion and Customer Activation

• Lead the planning and delivery of promotional and advertising activities across relevant channels, in close coordination with Sales and communication colleagues.
• Guide marketing communications for products, campaigns and corporate initiatives, ensuring consistent messaging, brand compliance and practical usefulness for customers and sales teams.
• Develop high-quality sales enablement materials, including campaign toolkits, presentations, product materials, digital content and customer-facing communication.
• Coordinate customer events, field activities, trade fairs and industry forums where these support commercial and brand objectives.

5. Planning, Budget and Performance Management

• Own the DACH marketing plan and marketing budget, ensuring investments are linked to business priorities, disciplined execution and measurable outcomes.
• Create a clear operating rhythm for reviewing campaigns, launches, pricing, forecasts, portfolio performance, investments, risks and agreed actions.
• Use market, customer, competitor and business data to generate actionable insights and recommendations for the Country Leadership Team and Regional Marketing.

6. Cross-Functional Leadership

• Build strong day-to-day partnerships with Sales, Finance, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Development and Communications to ensure aligned plans and reliable execution.
• Act as the key connection between DACH commercial priorities and Regional Marketing, ensuring effective two-way communication, timely decisions and clarity of ownership.
• Operate effectively in a matrix organization, balancing short-term business needs with longer-term portfolio development.
• Lead, coach and develop Portfolio and/or Category Managers, setting clear priorities and ensuring strong individual and team accountability.
• Organize the team around both commercial execution and strategic portfolio responsibilities, maintaining close connection to Sales and market needs.
• Build capability in campaign management, commercial thinking, pricing, forecasting, launch excellence, portfolio management and cross-functional leadership.
• Foster a collaborative, pragmatic and high-performance culture focused on business impact and continuous improvement.

Experience and Qualifications

• University degree in Agribusiness, Agronomy, Marketing, Business or a related field.
• Significant marketing experience in agricultural inputs, crop protection or a comparable business-to-business environment.
• Strong knowledge of the German crop protection market; knowledge of Austria and Switzerland is an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in hands-on commercial marketing, including campaign execution, sales support, pricing, forecasting, budget preparation, promotion and new product launches.
• Experience in strategic portfolio or category management, project evaluation and business case development.
• Proven people leadership and team development experience.
• Fluent German and English, written and spoken.
• Confident user of Microsoft Office tools; experience with business intelligence and performance dashboards is advantageous.
• Commercial and customer focus, with a strong understanding of how marketing enables sales performance.
• Hands‑on execution mindset, able to move from analysis and strategy to practical delivery.
• Strong campaign, project and priority management across multiple products and stakeholders.
• Analytical capability and sound judgment in pricing, forecasting, budget and business case decisions.
• Clear communication, influencing and negotiation skills.
• Collaborative leadership and the ability to create alignment in a matrix organization.
• Accountability, resilience, adaptability and a consistent focus on results.
• Passion for coaching, developing talent and building an engaged, high‑performing team.

Notice to Recruiters and Staffing Agencies:

UPL and its affiliates and subsidiaries ("UPL") have an internal recruiting department. UPL may supplement that internal capability from time to time with assistance from temporary staffing agencies, placement services, and professional recruiters ("Agency"). Agencies should only contact UPL’s Human resources department (hereafter referred to as HR department) for staffing requirements at UPL which would present all candidates internally. Agency must obtain written approval from UPL's HR department before submitting resumes, and then only in conjunction with a valid fully executed contract for service and in response to a specific job opening will UPL pay the agreed upon service fees. UPL will not pay a fee to any Agency that does not have such agreement in place.

Diversity&Inclusion at UPL:

UPL is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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