R&D Scouting & Intelligence Lead

Company Description

About Syngenta  

At Syngenta Seeds Field Crops, we're shaping the future of agriculture and empowering farmers to meet the ever-growing demand for food and fuel. We’re a global Ag Tech powerhouse, headquartered in the United States, with passionate, local experts collaborating with farmers to deliver solutions that create market opportunities.  We unite precision breeding, advanced biotechnology trait choice, and digital platforms for unmatched in-field performance.  Our seeds help mitigate risks such as disease, insect, weed, and extreme weather pressures, all while promoting sustainable farming practices that protect and enhance our planet. Join our mission of revolutionizing food security and transforming agriculture. 

Job Description

At Syngenta, our goal is to build the most collaborative and trustworthy team in agriculture, providing top-quality seeds and innovative crop protection solutions that improve farmers' success. To support this mission, Syngenta’s Collaborations team is seeking a R&D Scouting & Intelligence Lead in Durham, North Carolina. This role will lead the organization's competitive intelligence, technology scouting, and external engagement activities for Seeds R&D, ensuring strategic decision-making is informed by comprehensive market intelligence and that R&D maintains a strong external presence.

This position is responsible for designing and maintaining R&D competitive intelligence (CI) infrastructure, coordinating strategic scouting initiatives with technical teams, and managing R&D's external brand positioning across conferences, partnerships, and innovation events. Drives intelligence-driven insights to leadership, facilitates cross-functional CI governance, and supports collaboration development through expert network management and partnership due diligence.  

Accountabilities 

• Coordinate internal and external scouting activities on strategic technology targets in collaboration with technical teams. 
• Identify emerging technologies, innovative startups, and potential collaboration partners aligned with Seeds R&D strategic priorities. 
• Conduct due diligence on potential partnerships by building and supporting buy/borrow/build analysis processes to enable decision-making by Technology & Collaborations Manager. 
• Partner with functional technical teams and Collaboration Execution & Technology Development Lead to ensure due diligence includes relevant technical assessments for effective decision-making. 
• Create new entries in Fusion database for first contacts as the starting point for collaboration proposal development.
• Design and maintain enterprise CI infrastructure and analytics frameworks, ensuring insights drive strategic decision-making at all organizational levels. 
• Lead CI strategic forums and govern CI efforts in cross-functional technical teams to align intelligence priorities with business objectives. 
• Deliver executive intelligence briefs, competitive trend analyses, and strategic landscape assessments for R&D leadership, disseminating strategic recommendations, actions, and decisions. 
• Synthesize complex intelligence from multiple sources into actionable insights that inform portfolio strategy, investment decisions, and risk mitigation. 
• Coordinate Seeds R&D external presence across sponsored events, conferences, workshops, partner engagements, and Innovation Hub tours. 
• Develop, manage, and optimize the R&D conference and sponsorship budget, ensuring strategic allocation of resources to maximize visibility, partnership opportunities, and intelligence gathering value. 
• Establish clear criteria and governance processes for conference participation and sponsorship decisions, tracking ROI and strategic impact of external engagement investments. 
• Develop and implement external engagement strategies that position Seeds R&D as a thought leader and preferred innovation partner. 
• Manage relationships with key external stakeholders including conference organizers, industry associations, academic institutions, and strategic partners. 
• Establish governance frameworks, standards, and best practices for CI activities across Seeds R&D. 
• Partner closely with Technology & Collaborations Manager, technical leaders, and business development teams to align scouting and CI priorities with strategic objectives. 
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration across R&D functions, Crop Protection (CP), and Vegetables R&D, to maximize the value of competitive intelligence and external insights. 
• Build strong partnerships with R&D leadership to ensure CI frameworks and external engagement strategies support research priorities and business needs. 
• Collaborate with Seeds Strat