The Role:
We're looking for a Grower Relations Manager to identify, onboard and manage our grower partners. We're looking for someone with deep agriculture or produce industry knowledge and account management experience with farms. The position will require extensive travel to farms to work hand-in-hand with growers on innovating and improving harvesting methods with our supply team. The ideal candidate will have a solid knowledge of agriculture, produce pricing, an extensive farm relationship network and direct experience with buying or selling produce. The position will report to the Head of Supply and play a large role in the growth of our farm network. You will join a friendly, driven and passionate team, determined to solve food waste.
We are looking for candidates in the Bay Area or in California's Central Valley / Salinas, in close proximity to the farms that we serve. You will be expected to spend 4-6 days a month in our San Francisco office.
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Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy, Horticulture, Crop Science, Ag Business, or relevant discipline with broad interest in the agriculture industry
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Minimum of 3+ years of grower relations experience or produce procurement/distributor experience, preferably in California
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Operationally minded. Strong project management and sales / operational rollout experience
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Excellent negotiation skills and strategic acumen
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Very organized with strong follow-through, both internally and externally
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Strong ability to analyze data and make qualified judgments on results
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Ability to travel local and statewide to meet with outside growers, identify new growers and/or production regions, expanding the Company's presence
- Previous experience in a start-up or fast-growth environment a major plus
- Tech savvy - comfortable working with and learning new applications
- Opportunity to work on a great mission- solving food waste
- A fun, challenging environment that will give you the chance to significantly grow and learn
- Equity in a high-growth startup
- The most up-to-date technology, including company-issued Macs, the latest software and other tools needed to excel at your job
- Medical, Dental and Vision coverage
- In-Office Lunch several days a week
Looking for more info about us? We recently closed our Series A with Tier 1 tech and ag firms, Spark Capital and Cultivian Sandbox. Learn more in this TechCrunch article.
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Manage grower relationships to increase supply from existing and new growers
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Ensure constant expansion of farm network, strong supply pipeline to eliminate gaps and new produce roll-outs
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Partner with growers to innovate on-farm harvesting methods to reduce waste
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Strong negotiation skills with farms on produce costs, all terms of sales, product quality, specs, innovation, etc.
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Follow market conditions on commodity items and develop supply-side contract and pricing strategies
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Help to onboard new farms onto our online marketplace
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Maintain strong long-term relationships with growers
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Negotiate grower contracts, agreements and partnerships
