Category Head – Cotton - Hyderabad - GO/JC/4772/2026

• Job Details

Job Title: Category Head – Cotton

Job Location: Hyderabad

Work Model: WFO

Reporting To: Business Head

• Candidate Expectations
• Total Experience: 12–18 years
• Relevant Experience: 8 years
• Candidate Location: Hyderabad
• Skills – Mandatory: Category Management, P&L Management, Pricing, Forecasting, Portfolio Management, Market Intelligence, Go-to-Market, Leadership.
• Candidate Industry: Agri-inputs, preferably seed businesses with cotton portfolio exposure.
• Education and Certification

Qualification – Mandatory

• Bachelor's degree in Agriculture.

Good To Have

• MBA in Agri-Business, Marketing, or Strategy.
• Detailed Job Description

Job Summary

The Category Head – Cotton will be responsible for the end-to-end strategy, performance, and profitability of the Cotton portfolio within the Bioseed business. The role involves driving category growth, competitive positioning, pricing governance, product lifecycle management, and cross-functional alignment to achieve sustainable market leadership and strong financial performance in the cotton segment.

Key Responsibilities

• Category Strategy and Portfolio Leadership
• Define and execute the long-term Cotton category strategy in alignment with business growth objectives.
• Build and manage a differentiated and competitive cotton portfolio across regions and maturity segments.
• Drive product lifecycle management, including launches, scaling, performance monitoring, and portfolio rationalization.
• P&L Ownership and Financial Performance
• Own the Annual Business Plan (ABP) for Cotton, including revenue, volume, and gross margin targets.
• Monitor category profitability by hybrid and region and implement corrective actions where required.
• Develop and govern pricing strategies aligned with competitive positioning and margin objectives.
• Demand Planning and Supply Alignment
• Drive accurate demand forecasting in collaboration with Sales and Supply Chain.
• Align demand plans with production schedules to minimize stock-outs and excess inventory.
• Monitor inventory health and optimize working capital within the category.
• Go-to-Market and Commercial Strategy
• Define product positioning, value propositions, and commercial strategies for cotton hybrids.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing to design and execute product launches, campaigns, and farmer engagement initiatives.
• Monitor and drive the execution of demand-generation activities.
• Track market share trends, pricing realization, and channel performance.
• Market Intelligence and Competitive Strategy
• Monitor competitor portfolios, pricing dynamics, trait positioning, and regional market trends.
• Identify growth opportunities, market gaps, and potential risks in the cotton segment.
• Recommend portfolio, pricing, and promotional interventions based on analytics and field insights.
• Cross-Functional Leadership and Team Development
• Collaborate with R&D, Product Evaluation and Agronomy, Production, Processing, Quality Assurance, and Supply Chain teams to ensure pipeline-to-market alignment.
• Provide category inputs for product advancement and commercialization decisions.
• Lead and develop the Cotton category team, driving performance excellence and accountability.
• Key Skills

Mandatory Key Skills: Category Management, P&L, Pricing, Forecasting, Portfolio Management, Commercialization, Analytics, Leadership.

Good to Have Skills: Agronomy, Product Development, Market Research, Strategy.

• Other Specific Remarks
• Industry Preference: Agri-inputs, preferably the seed industry.
• Business Exposure: Experience managing complete crop portfolios and driving P&L accountability is essential.
• Functional Exposure: Strong understanding of category strategy, commercial planning, pricing, product management, demand forecasting, and market development.