North America Marketing & Sales Project Manager

Kemin is hiring a Marketing and Sales Project Manager to support our Kemin Pet Food & Rendering team in Des Moines, Iowa. This position is to apply professional project management skills to lead cross-functional commercial, customer-growth, digital-platform, and marketing-operational projects for the North America Pet Food & Rendering business. The role converts strategic priorities into defined project plans, aligns stakeholders, and manages scope, schedules, dependencies, risks, deliverables, and reporting to support timely business decisions and business growth.

This position serves as the regional business owner for our CRM adoption and project visibility, leads selected sales and value-added services initiatives, and establishes disciplined governance for work spanning Marketing, Sales, IT, Kemin Application Solutions, R&D, Supply Chain, Customer Service, Quality, and IPRA. Functional subject-matter owners retain technical and approval authority within their areas.

This position is required to be onsite at our Worldwide Headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. 

Join the Kemin Team and Transform Lives!

We are a privately held, family-owned-and-operated global biotechnology company driven by curiosity and committed to transforming the quality of life for people, pets, and the planet.

We create solutions that strengthen health and wellbeing, provide nutrition and immune support for pets and production animals, safeguard the planet’s natural resources, and protect the global food supply chain for generations to come.

We supply over 500 specialty ingredients for various industries, including human and animal health and nutrition, pet food, aquaculture, nutraceutical, food technologies, crop technologies, textiles, biofuels, and animal vaccines.

We employ 3,500 global employees and operations in 90 countries, including manufacturing facilities in Belgium, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Italy, San Marino, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States.

As a valued member of our team, you'll enjoy a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your financial, physical, and professional well-being:

• Competitive Financial Package: Enjoy a rewarding salary, uncapped bonus opportunities, a 401k match program, and generous paid vacation and holidays.
• Health and Wellness Support: Stay fit and healthy with our fitness reimbursement for the whole family, access to an on-site fitness center, a restaurant offering seasonal fresh food options, and free fresh fruit in break areas.
• Career Development and Advancement: Unlock your potential with opportunities for growth and development throughout your entire career.
• Continued Learning Opportunities: Grow your skills with our in-house learning platforms, offering thousands of training resources both live and online, and take advantage of tuition reimbursement for external post-secondary pursuits.
• Service Opportunities: Make a positive impact with paid time off for service, partnerships with The World Food Programme and Habitat for Humanity, and local community initiatives.

• CRM (NEXA) Ownership
  • Develop dashboards and project analyses that provide the North America Leadership Team visibility to commercial activity, account-plan execution, project risks, and growth opportunities.
  • Manage alignment between NEXA and related Palatants ARP projects by clarifying system ownership, handoffs, and data requirements.
  • Lead the project-management process for strategic account plans, ensuring priorities, actions, owners, milestones, and updates are visible in NEXA.
  • Serve as the North America business owner and primary commercial contact for NEXA adoption, data quality, reporting needs, enhancements, and issue prioritization.
  • Lead NEXA training, onboarding, change management, and adoption plans for new users, processes, and tools developed with IT.

• Sales Project Management

  • Partner with Sales leaders to monitor monthly KPI compliance, pipeline health, project progression, forecast accuracy, and pre-call and post-call planning.

  • Plan and deliver the Quarterly Sales Meeting, including objectives, agenda development, stakeholder inputs, logistics, content readiness, action tracking, and post-meeting follow-up.

  • Manage and facilitate customer meetings hosted in Des Moines by establishing clear objectives, agendas, roles, logistics, deliverables, and follow-up expectations.

  • Partner with the Communications Manager to establish lead-capture and follow-up workflows for events and provide visibility to completion and outcomes.

  • Manage customer sampling projects, particularly prototypes and R&D requests, by aligning requirements, owners, timelines, documentation, and customer commitments.

  • Ensure Product Managers and functional partners have the information, decisions, and timelines required to complete customer letters and launch-related deliverables.

• Services Marketing Projects

  • Lead the North America rollout and adoption of sciORIAN in partnership with Kemin Application Solutions, Marketing, Sales, and other stakeholders.

  • Manage projects that improve the positioning, communication, and commercial use of value-added services, including RES, CLS, KAS, and TSM offerings.

  • Evaluate and structure service-development opportunities for Palatants with Kemin Application Solutions, including business needs, scope, stakeholders, and implementation requirements.

  • Develop and maintain a visible opportunity pipeline for Kemin Application Solutions initiatives and report progress, barriers, and next actions.

• Strategic Marketing Project Management 

  • Partner with the Associate Director, North America Marketing to gather, validate, and organize inputs for strategic planning and priority initiatives.

  • Present findings, options, risks, and recommendations accurately and in a timely manner to support leadership decisions and resource prioritization.

  • Lead structured data collection and analysis for strategic market, customer, portfolio, or growth priorities directed by the North America Leadership Team.

• Education and Experience:
  • Bachelors Degree in Business, Marketing, Animal Science, Nutrition, Project Management or a related field with 3-5 years of related experience in project management, marketing, product management, commercial operations, customer-growth initiatives, or a related business environment
  • PMP, CAPM, or equivalent project-management certification preferred.
  • MBA or other relevant advanced degree preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional projects with defined scope, milestones, risks, stakeholders, and deliverables.
• Experience with CRM platforms, project-planning tools, business reporting, and data analysis.
• Ability to work independently and in a collaborative, cross-functional team environment.
• Ability to create structure from ambiguity and drive work to completion.
• Ability to influence, persuade, encourage, and build alignment without relying on formal authority.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong business and analytical acumen, including the ability to interpret project and commercial data and present practical recommendations.
• Ability to anticipate obstacles, manage change constructively, and adjust plans promptly while protecting outcomes.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple projects under time constraints.
• Excellent customer service, stakeholder-management, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to manage internal and external resources, including vendors and consultants.
• Strong attention to detail, accuracy, personal motivation, and learning agility.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, CRM platforms, and project-planning software.
• Experience in pet nutrition, animal health, specialty ingredients, food production, product development, commercialization, customer segmentation, or strategic account planning preferred.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, creed/religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship or immigration status (where applicable), sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy/childbirth/breastfeeding or related conditions, age (40+), disability (including the use of a service animal), genetic information, marital status, familial or caregiver status, military or veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence, reproductive health decision‑making, and any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also prohibit retaliation for raising concerns or participating in an EEO process. Applicants who need a reasonable accommodation to apply or interview can email [email protected].

A post-offer background check and drug screen is required.  Additional pre-employment requirements may be necessary based on position.

Kemin is a drug-free and tobacco-free campus. 

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