GENERAL DESCRIPTION / PRIMARY PURPOSE
Under the general direction of the Vice President, Ag Operations, this position directs activities in agricultural management for the Salinas, Huron, Oxnard and Yuma, AZ growing areas in addition to the Salinas Transplants greenhouse operations. The Sr. Director, Agriculture will be responsible for the sourcing of fresh pack crops and Value-Added crops to be produced internally or contracted through partner growers to meet company objectives.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS/DUTIES OF THE POSITION
- Responsible for developing sourcing plans to meet the demand of the fresh pack and VA sales requirements.
- Optimizes the grower base for the supply, quality, and raw product costs requirements
- Maintains relationships with current grower base as well as new growers for required growth of the business
- Responsible for Return to ranch profitability for internally grown or partner grown crops in each region
- Will coordinate the Operational Excellence activities from the production regions
- Advises all departments on Agricultural issues within each growing region
- Strong leadership, communication, and people skills to enable cross-functional interactions
- Responsible for contracting joint venture and purchase deals with growers
- The Director will have accountability for people management related activities such as performance evaluations, succession planning, goal setting, and personal development of direct reports.
- Maintains a positive work environment within Dole as well as with partner growers
.JOB SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES (KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS)
- Manages product sourcing function to provide the quantity and quality of product and the profitability as required for fulfilling budget requirements
- Knowledge of grower base and farming practices in each growing region including labor, land, water, and regulatory requirements.
- Trains and develops employees to be successful managers and understand the goals of the company as directed by senior management
- Demonstrated leadership skills including the ability to effectively set direction, coach, guide and develop employees and create an environment of positive accountability.
- Computer and Project Skills. Proficiency in Excel, Word required. Knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategies to support the achievement of business and financial objectives.
- Experience developing, monitoring, tracking budget and/or P&L expenses. Must possess strong business and financial skills including the ability to utilize financial metrics and knowledge of business cost structure in supporting and making decisions.
- Strong written and oral communication skills required as well as the ability to communicate at all levels of the organization and use influence skills effectively in a cross functional environment.
- Must possess strong negotiating skills and strong business acumen.
_
INTERNAL & EXTERNAL RELATIONS_
EXTERNAL INTERACTION
- With growers, crop production services, regulatory agencies, seed vendors
INTERNAL INTERACTION
- With Ag operations team, Purchasing, Sales organization, logistics and cooling teams, senior staff when planning and setting objectives, Food Safety and Quality teams.
_ _
EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION
- EDUCATION: Bachelor’s Degree in Crop Science, Ag Business or a related field of study
- WORK EXPERIENCE: Ten years minimum experience in Agriculture with a minimum of 5 years management experience.
- KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS: Excellent oral and written communication skills; knowledge of technical aspects vegetable production; good problem-solving ability; ability to handle multiple, diverse projects at one time.
- LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS: Fluent in both oral and written English; Spanish and regulatory acronyms helpful.
- OTHER: Must have the ability to make decisions, follow directions, interact well with co-workers, understand, and follow posted work rules/procedures and to accept constructive criticism. Working knowledge Windows, Excel, Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint
EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
- Cell Phone
- Two way Radio
- Laptop
- Other Conference Calling Card and Webex credentials
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Ability to travel – up to 30% required. (Notification required due to the Americans with Disabilities Act), carry/move up to 40 pounds and ability to sit, stand, crouch
Required Skills
- Demonstrated leadership skills including the ability to effectively set direction, coach, guide and develop employees and create an environment of positive accountability.
- Computer and Project Skills. Proficiency in Excel, Word required. Knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategies to support the achievement of business and financial objectives.
- Experience developing, monitoring, tracking budget and/or P&L expenses. Must possess strong business and financial skills including the ability to utilize financial metrics and knowledge of business cost structure in supporting and making decisions.
- Strong written and oral communication skills required as well as the ability to communicate at all levels of the organization and use influence skills effectively in a cross functional environment.
- Must possess strong negotiating skills and strong business acumen.
Required Experience
- Bachelor’s Degree in Crop Science, Ag Business or a related field of study
- Ten years minimum experience in Agriculture with a minimum of 5 years management experience
- Fluent in both oral and written English; Spanish and regulatory acronyms helpful
We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or on the basis of disability.