Account Manager Fresh Market Spinach & Swiss Chard Italy

KWS SAAT SE; Foggia; Hybrid; EUR 41,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

CHUBB insurance

Company car

Job summary

KWS Vegetables Italia s.r.l. is seeking an Account Manager Fresh Market Spinach & Swiss Chard for Italy. You will connect growers, packers, retailers and technical colleagues to translate market insights into growth and value across the spinach portfolio.

The role is hybrid, based near Battipaglia or Foggia, with travel across Italy. You will support direct-sales implementation, collaborate with Product Management, Marketing and Breeding, and help strengthen KWS's leadership in fresh market

Qualifications

• Proven experience in account management, sales or commercial roles in vegetable seeds or fresh produce.
• Strong understanding of Italian vegetable production sector and market dynamics.
• Skilled in building and maintaining long-term customer relationships.
• Comfortable working with Salesforce and Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute account and market plans for Fresh Market Spinach and Swiss Chard in Italy.
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with growers, nurseries, processors, retailers.
• Translate market insights into actions for product portfolio and business development.
• Drive the successful introduction and adoption of new varieties and innovations.
• Identify growth opportunities in the Italian market.
• Support trial activities and translate results into value-added propositions for customers.
• Use Salesforce to manage accounts, sales opportunities, forecasting and market intelligence.
• Collaborate with Product Management, Marketing and Breeding to align customer needs with future developments.
• Connect customers, partners and internal stakeholders to deliver impact together.

Skills

Account management

Sales experience

Relationship building

Salesforce

MS Office

Tools

Salesforce

MS Office

Job description

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Field of Work: Marketing & Sales

Location: Several (IT), Several (IT), IT

Legal Entity: KWS Vegetables BV

Contract Type:

Is Full Time?: Yes

Onsite/ Remote: Remote

Job ID: 16808

Italy is one of Europe’s most important markets for spinach and Swiss chard. A market shaped by innovation, changing customer demands and strong value chain partnerships. That’s why we’re looking for an Account Manager Fresh Market Spinach & Swiss Chard Italy at KWS Vegetables Italia s.r.l. . You are someone who understands the market, establishes strong relationships and knows how to turn opportunities into growth. To build on our leading spinach market position, the transition into a direct sales model requires a candidate who fits our Freshplorer culture and is ready to pave new ways.

In this role, you're more than an account manager. You're the connection between growers, packers, retailers, agents and technical colleagues. You bring insights from the field into our strategy, help customers get the most from our portfolio and identify where KWS can create additional value.

You'll be the voice of the market within KWS and play a key role in strengthening our position in Fresh Market Spinach and Swiss Chard across Italy. Hands-on, commercial and always focused on delivering impact throughout the value chain.

In this role, you will be part of the Customer Team Baby Spinach & Chard Europe/Oceania , working closely with colleagues across Product Management, Trial Development Specialists, Marketing, and Breeding to drive growth together. The customer team organizes itself around the value chain in leading spinach markets like the UK, NWE, SP, IT and AU. You report hierarchically to the Head of Commercial Vegetables Italy and functionally to the Customer Team Lead. You operate with a high level of independence while collaborating across functions to turn market insights into meaningful impact. The role is hybrid, based in Battipaglia or Foggia .

Your responsibilities

• Develop and execute account and market plans for Fresh Market Spinach and Swiss Chard in Italy, aligned with the global crop strategy and Customer Team.
• Support KWS's direct-sales strategy by building and maintaining strategic relationships with growers, nurseries, processors, retailers and other value chain partners
• Translate market insights into actions for product, portfolio and business development
• Drive the successful introduction and adoption of new varieties and innovations by using all 4 P’s.
• Identify growth opportunities and strengthen KWS's position in the Italian market
• Support trial activities and translate results into value-added propositions for customers
• Use Salesforce to manage accounts, sales opportunities, forecasting and market intelligence
• Collaborate closely with Product Management, Marketing and Breeding teams to align customer needs with future developments
• Connect customers, partners and internal stakeholders to deliver impact together

Skills & experience

• Proven experience in account management, sales, business development or commercial roles in vegetable seeds, fresh produce or a related agricultural sector
• Strong understanding of the Italian vegetable production sector and market dynamics
• Skilled in building and maintaining long-term customer relationships
• Comfortable working with data and systems such as Salesforce and Microsoft Office applications
• Able to translate market insights into concrete business opportunities
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong commercial drive
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Fluent in Italian and English (both mandatory for the role)
• Willingness to travel (>50%) throughout Italy and occasionally internationally
• Ideally based within approximately one hour of Battipaglia or Foggia

Why you'll want to join our Vegetable Squad

• Play a key role in one of KWS Vegetables' most important fresh market segments
• A role that combines account management, market development and portfolio strategy
• Direct impact on how we grow and position our spinach and Swiss chard business in Italy
• Work with an ambitious, international team that's moving fast and thinking ahead
• A visible role where your input truly shapes decisions and resultsCHUBB insurance
• Company car
• Salary range between €41,371 and €64,400

About KWS

KWS is one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies and employs around 5,000 employees in more than 70 countries. With the tradition of family ownership, KWS has operated independently for more than 170 years. It focuses on plant breeding and the production and sale of seeds for sugarbeet, corn, cereals, vegetables, oilseed rape and sunflowers. KWS uses leading-edge plant breeding methods and invests a significant amount in research and development.

At KWS, diversity is not just a value; it is an essential part of our success. Breeding resilient crops requires diversity; likewise, our strength comes from the diversity of our teams. Whatever your background or identity is, we invite you to join us.

Further information: https://www.kws.com/corp/en/careers/ . Follow us on LinkedIn at https://linkedin.com/company/kwsgroup/ .

Our data privacy policy for candidates is available on www.kws.com/dataprotection . Please select the country where the job you applied for is posted in and, if applicable, the specific business unit.