Vice President, Agronomy

Agronomy Process And Strategy Lead- Global

Vice President, Agronomy is responsible for developing and implementing strategic agronomic processes and initiatives in a global scale within the agronomy areas. The main agronomy areas include irrigation management, technology and innovation, new products, fertility and IMP troubleshooting, fertility programs, IMP programs, and Agrodata. Areas overlapping with Farming Optimization and Knowledge sharing will occur in the areas of Driscoll's agronomy, field trials, genetic deployment, and road Mapping (SOPs). This role involves leading cross-functional teams, optimizing agronomic workflows, and ensuring alignment with the organization’s business objectives.

This position will work in collaboration with the Director, Global Agronomy and the Senior VP of Agronomy to design, implement, and execute a global-to-local agronomy program focused on creating a competitive advantage with the agronomy competency at RAC that will allow production to meet the mission of growing high-quality berries with high reliability. The position will focus on setting the strategy for the information needed for the agronomy technical team in the main areas identified above to help production drive agronomical excellence. The position requires local and global understanding of best practices as priorities and initiatives are set.

This role will work with the Sr VP of Agronomy and the Director, Global Agronomy to define the short-term and long-term strategies for agronomy, build the right global team, and create the global and local focus areas. The role will communicate the plan to the global leadership and help develop and deliver the local strategies to the local team. Additionally, the role must work with the Technical Agronomy Lead and knowledge share team to create the best global learning and educational program for ranch managers and the agronomy teams. This role is responsible for the Agrodata strategy, building a strong team to execute the project, and scaling to MX.

Agronomy Strategy

• Works closely with BU leads and production VPs to develop the “right” global strategy by building a business case on what agronomy will focus on to create a competitive advantage for RAC.
• Collaborates with the Agronomy Technical Lead to define what technical information is necessary and how it will be collected and relayed to the grower and agronomy team so that the Agronomy technical team can make the best recommendations.
• Develops a strategy for using data to make better decisions in the field and drive agronomical accountability and adaptability.
• Understands and develops a business case on what technology can assist growers in fertility and IPM management (e.g., Ayora and/or Blue light technology for disease and pest management). Ensures alignment with Farming Optimization and Driscoll’s.
• Works closely with the regional agronomy and technical leaders to ensure global priorities are being met across MX and the US (E.g., Agrodata).
• Works with the Farming Optimization and Innovation manager to help drive collaboration with Driscoll’s on strategy alignment.
• Understands what good agronomy looks like at RAC and how to replicate that across the footprint.
  
  

Local Strategy

• Maintains close connections with the local production and agronomy teams to understand local problems and help set strategies.
• Collaborates with the Agronomy technical lead and the District Leads to design local agronomical structures that best suit the district's agronomic challenges (Crop, Media, partner, WO, etc.).
• Understands and implements a program balancing PCA vs. Inhouse service and building the best structure for RAC.
• Ensures the local agronomy team is heavily embedded with production and seen as one team.
• Spends time in the field to understand what is working agronomically and why.
• Drives adoption of data to help make informed decisions
  
  

Agronomical Processes

• Supports the Farming Optimization Team in implementing initiatives focused on better execution across multiple berries and districts. (Road Mapping Project)
• Drives the Agrodata focus areas and project management.
• Understands from the field where current agronomical pain points exist and then strategizes with the Farming Optimization Team on improving processes.
• Creates global processes guided by collecting and using the correct information at the right time.
• Develops the best strategy for soil and foliar analysis (internal vs external) working with BFS.
  
  

Agronomical Communication

• Ensures that BU leads and Production VPs are clear on agronomic strategies.
• Works closely with Sr VP of Agronomy and Agronomy Technical Lead to communicate annual and 3- 5 year agronomy strategy.
• Works with Agronomy Technical lead to message local initiatives aligned with local concerns related to Agronomy.
• Supports the agronomy technical team with educational material preparation.
  
  

Knowledge (Include Level Of Expertise)

• Being able to relate to all stakeholders in production (VP’s to Frontline) – High
• Ability to gather information from the production teams in the field- High
• Knowledge in the agricultural sector – High
• Degree in Agronomy with some practical production experience
• Familiarity with precision agriculture technologies and data analytics.
  
  

Skills & Abilities

• Effective Communication (verbal, listening, written, presentation) - High
• Organization - Very High
• Leadership - High
• Teamwork - High
• Root cause analysis (drive understanding of the why) - Medium
• Information Analysis - High
• Handling Multiple Work Priorities - High
• Time Management
• Proven track record of developing and implementing successful agronomic strategies and processes
• Results-oriented
• Proactive
• Responsible
• Organized
• Assertive communication
• Decision - making
• Frustration tolerance
• Diverse Cultural Orientation
• Collaboration - ability to work collaboratively across multiple disciplines and geographies.
• Strong networking abilities within the agriculture industry, including connections with research institutions and industry organizations.
  
  

Education Level / Schooling: Bachelor's Degree Completed with Specialty

Field(s Of Education / Related Studies Or Careers)

• Agronomy
• Agriculture / Farming
  
  

Years Of Experience

• 10+ plus years of production exposure ; Experience in managing agronomic processes for large-scale farming operations.
• 5-10+ years' leadership experience, either directly or indirectly managing a team of 2 or more.
• PCA, CCA or similar certification/license a plus.
  
  

Licenses: Driver's License, Passport, USA Visa

Pay Scale: $229,083-$272,300