Production Research Lead

BALL HORTICULTURAL COMPANY • West Chicago, IL

59d • $95,000 - $110,000

About The Position

This multifaceted role will lead the PanAmerican Seed research team identifies opportunities and implements solutions for flower and vegetable seed production worldwide. This role includes planning, oversee execution, analyze/interpret/present results of research experiments with the goal of improving our products and our market position.

Requirements

• Minimum MS in Agriculture, horticulture, botany, plant ecology or related field and 3 years' previous experience in experimental design and execution.
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite.
• Basic knowledge of database principles, R, and statistics beneficial.
• Knowledge of seed testing principle.
• Knowledge of plant or seed physiology.
• Demonstrated excellent oral and written communication.
• Proven ability to work well in a team environment.
• Ensures Accountability: Holding self and others accountable to meet commitments
• Action Oriented: taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm
• Collaborates: Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to mee shared objectives
• Communicates Effectively: is effective in a variety of communication settings: one-on-one, small and large groups, or among diverse styles and position levels.
• Builds effective teams: Fosters open dialogue and collaboration among the team
• Travel: Frequent production site visits (international travel; up to 30%); Flexibility on working hours to accommodate our international production locations.

Nice To Haves

• Intermediate conversational Spanish a plus.

Responsibilities

• Work with multicultural production teams to manage and execute multiple, concurrent research projects to bring continual improvement to our production methods, technologies, and efficiency, ensuring we maintain or expand our market position.
• Discuss and collaborate with colleagues on exploring new opportunities to develop novel concepts and technical solutions to expand on our existing production processes and bring exciting new crops to the market.
• Write research proposals and reports, gather and analyze experimental data, formulate and communicate technical recommendations to provide necessary scientific rigor (and the supporting documentation) to make production improvements with confidence of long-term success.
• Drive strategic and operational changes to have a knowledgeable yet collaborative decision-maker leading the advancement of research and production goals.
• Coach, support, and develop employees to foster effective, open collaboration across our diverse seed production team.
• Management of the PanAmerican Seed Production Research lab (people, budget, facilities).
• Ability to work effectively with multiple business stakeholders (inventory, sales, etc.).
• Ability to make decisions quickly, communicate those decisions effectively, and follow through until issues are fully resolved.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, life and long-term disability insurance
• 401k/Profit Sharing Retirement Plan
• Paid time off benefits including vacation and holidays
• Tuition assistance
• Employee Assistance Program and Positive Health programs
• An onsite subsidized café overlooking renowned display gardens and restored natural areas

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level