Agronomy Director

Five Star Cooperative•New Hampton, IA

10d

About The Position

The Agronomy Director is responsible for the business and financial results of the Agronomy department within Five Star’s geographic area. The incumbent's responsibilities include directing, promoting, and coordinating agronomy operations in a manner that will optimize the cooperative’s market share and savings, improve the cooperatives efficiency, help achieve the cooperative’s mission and goals, and result in outstanding customer service. The Agronomy Director’s responsibilities involve supervision of sales agronomists, marketing, profitability and sales, reporting, purchasing, resale pricing, inventory, service, and other duties as assigned by the General Manager. The incumbent will establish and communicate department goals and results to the sales team, staff the department and delegate the workload amongst team members and support team member growth. This position will maintain a positive attitude that promotes teamwork within the agronomy department, as well as within the cooperative and always upholds a favorable image of Five Star Cooperative.

Requirements

Associates or Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture or related field (Experience may be substituted for education)
Strong written and verbal communication skills necessary
Computer skills required – Proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel
Good customer service skills and approach necessary
Agronomy sales experience
Agriculture Chemistry knowledge
Collaborating and directing a team
Valid driver’s license required
Speaking, Writing, Listening, Monitoring, Judgement and Decision Making, Time Management

Nice To Haves

Class A CDL preferred

Responsibilities

Establishes department goals with assistance from the GM
Conducts department planning and updating meetings with the GM and CFO
Develops and implements agronomy departments marketing plans, objective, and policies consistent with the goals and objectives of the company
Directs and supervises all efforts of the sales team and develops customer marketing programs
Assigns team member responsibilities and maintains job descriptions, develops performance standards, completes and administers bi-annual and annual (or more often) performance reviews for team members, plans and provides opportunities for advancement, training, and development.
Contributes to the development of policies and procedures for various activities related to the company’s assigned activities, such as: contracting, pricing, risk management, marketing, logistics, etc.
Aids in developing programs to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the company’s agronomy presence
Promotes company communication efforts at all levels regarding agronomy market intelligence, policies, procedures, and agronomy department direction as it relates to the assigned market
Communicates the strategic direction and needs of the company to the vendors, the industry, and the employees
Applies sound business principles in the management of the department
Oversees the procurement of Agronomy products
Researches and develops financing and business solutions to increase market share and profitability
Develops annual and long-term strategic and operational plans for the Agronomy department
Assures other divisions understand the business plan of the department and that efforts with other departments are not in conflict
Responsible for product purchasing and establishing product margins that meets the financial goals of the cooperative (including understanding the distributor CPP programs)
Assures that the agronomy division team members understand company-wide objectives and how the agronomy department supports company goals
Assures the cooperative is a leader in agronomic recommendations and creates superior value to its customers
Recommends fixed asset purchases to the GM consistent with equipment replacement schedules or business conditions
Provides excellent customer service
Enforce and abide by all cooperative policies
Enforce and uphold the cooperative’s credit policy
Assists with recordkeeping and filing needs
Handles customer complaints smoothly
Notifies supervisor of problems
Solves problems as quickly as possible, either personally or through communication with the supervisor