Pakistan Variety Trialing and Deployment Lead

PepsiCo is seeking a Pakistan Variety Trialing and Deployment Lead in Lahore, Pakistan. This role involves leading variety advancement within R&D Ag Science, collaborating with breeders, and developing testing programs to support data-driven decisions. Responsibilities include creating testing plans, fostering relationships with internal teams, and managing external breeding partnerships. The ideal candidate will have a PhD or MSc with extensive experience in ag seed or chemical companies and plot trials.
Overview

This position is part of a team responsible for the yield/phenotyping within the R&D Ag Science Variety Trialing organization. The trialing scientist will lead variety advancement and development as it aligns with the business priorities. This position will collaborate closely with breeders to develop and select varieties. They will support development and implementation of performance and quality testing programs to capture environmental data, phenotype data and define experimental designs that support robust data-driven decisions, strengthen go to market messaging and inform breeding models. This position will collaborate across senior business leaders in commercial, supply chain, procurement, processing, R&D quality, and consumer insights to understand needs, develop strategies and work with breeding and crop technology teams to ensure a pipeline of business relevant solutions. In this role, the individual will also be responsible for supporting grower needs by providing variety specific growing information/practices to the local procurement/supply chain partners.

Responsibilities

• Developing, coordinating, and delivering the Pakistan variety testing plans to develop and select varieties that meet the business defined product profiles. Creating a phenotyping and yield trial program that supports commercial decisions, delivers data to the global breeder center, and facilitates go to market value propositions, delivering on sustainability and consumer targets.
• Developing collaborative relationships with internal partners including the breeding team, trait discovery team, and variety specific agronomy crop technology team. Supporting the development of product profiles with input from the processing, quality, sensory, business, supply chain, and procurement teams.
• Be center point for variety qualification approval committee in Pakistan driving final alignment on varieties that advance to becoming part of the portfolio of options for growers to produce for PepsiCo.
• Develop and maintain external breeding partnerships to identify, test and validate the progression of new varieties through commercial approval in Pakistan.
• Collaborate with R&D Ag Science sector trialing teams understand region specific variety performance to maintain current data on local varieties into the global Pepsico Variety Catalog.
• Achieving successful outcomes and timelines, while consistently following guidelines, rules, standards, and compliance. Monitoring, tracking, and maintaining desired outcomes and objectives preparing for future challenges.

Qualifications

• A PhD (with >5 years experience or MSc +10y experience in an ag seed or chemical company) with plot trial experience preferably in potato, crop trait valuation, strategic needs assessment, trait/variety portfolio management, commercial agronomy and/or technology development of new variety solutions
• Previous experience executing/managing trials working to support development and implementation of performance and quality testing programs to capture environmental data, phenotype data and define experimental designs that support robust decisions, strengthen go to market messaging and inform breeding models.
• Experience in leadership and understanding of strategy, brand management, sales and market analysis.
• Have specialized knowledge of variety testing, statistical experimental design, field plot technique, statistical data analysis and interpretation, plus reporting is required.
• Possess excellent communication skills, verbal and written; ability to productively interact with people at all levels across the organization.
• Ability to travel ~20% of the time domestically