Seed Sales and Origination Manager

Ardent Mills•Pullman, WA

1d•$110,000 - $130,000•Remote

About The Position

Seed Sales and Origination Manager About Us: Welcome to Ardent Mills, a company dedicated to helping our customers innovate and grow, with the industry’s broadest range of traditional and organic flours, alternative grains, customized blends and specialty bread products. Our ingredients are backed by unrivaled technical support, food safety solutions and the supply assurance of a coast-to-coast network of more than 35 community mills and blending facilities, an artisan commercial bakery, and gluten-free pulse and ancient grains cleaning, milling and packaging facilities. We are Ardent Mills, working with you for the good of grain. And we’re looking for dynamic people to join our team. About Ardent Mills Emerging Nutrition: Ardent Mills is committed to being the one-stop partner of choice for customers seeking alternative grains and traditional flour solutions. Ardent Mills Emerging Nutrition is our center of expertise, supporting customers as they innovate with and incorporate alternative grains with confidence. As a center of expertise, we provide specific capabilities to support our customers’ growth through exploration, sourcing, and development. We provide specialized knowledge in on-farm programs, alternative grains, both form and function along with internal expertise from field to fork. The Emerging Nutrition group is a dedicated team committed to cultivating the future of alternative grains and plant-based ingredients. As a member of the Emerging Nutrition Risk and Grower Relations team, the Emerging Nutrition Specialty Grain Originator will explore, development, source and market alternative grains, ingredients and other value-added products aligned with Ardent Mills Emerging Nutrition Vision, Mission and Strategy. The Emerging Nutrition Risk and Grower Relations team will manage risk while collaborating cross-functionally to grow and market the organic wheat and alternative grains portfolio. The Role: Under the direction of the Specialty Grain Risk Merchant, the Specialty Grain Originator is considered a “boots on the ground” person that will cover the Emerging Nutrition origination in the Palouse region. This role will be instrumental in building producer relationships while originating alternative grains, pulses and organic wheat to support the Emerging Nutrition Product Portfolio. The Specialty Grain Originator should be familiar with origination strategies including the relative value of commodities, monitoring of competing crop rotation options and understanding of underlying commodity price direction. This role will need to understand the relationship between futures and cash markets, have a comprehension of wheat class spreads, freight, and possess a working knowledge of customer specifications and the grain optimization process. The Specialty Grain Originator must have excellent interpersonal, relationship building and communication skills. This role requires a person that can apply creativity, passion and entrepreneurial spirit to source and build out the Emerging Nutrition raw material supply chain. This role is an integral part of the Emerging Nutrition Risk and Grower Relations team. The expectation of the Specialty Grain Originator is to identify origination opportunities, expand the grower footprint and contract acres that align with our strategic intent. A successful candidate will have the following attributes: • The ability to deliver results in first-time situations, inspire others, and earn trust every day • The willingness to serve others with understanding, respect, and care • The ability to originate grain through an honest approach with integrity and price discipline • Willingness to engage with growers, administration staff and commercial teams to execute timely shipment of grain purchases and monitor contract applications • The competency to execute strategic origination plans tailored to enhance the EN Risk position • The ability to operate with simplicity, clarity, and transparency cross-functionally with Sales, Commercial Teams, RQT and Operations. • The ability to organize, prioritize, and own multiple tasks while meeting and/or exceeding deadlines • The ability to learn and apply new technology, with the willingness to share knowledge with others Above all, you will be expected to carry out all your activities with reliability, integrity, compliance, and in a safe, environmentally responsible, and efficient manner.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree Required
Minimum 5 years of experience in the following areas: commodity origination, applying commodity transaction principles, managing commodity margins, logistics and freight planning
Knowledge of agriculture and agronomy production
Proven experience working in a fast paced, transactional environment where you had accountability for decisions that had direct impact on a company’s ability to generate revenue
Proven communication, teamwork and leadership skills with the ability to deliver results by inspiring, serving others, and working to earn trust every day
Proven problem solving and analytical skills while operating with simplicity, clarity and transparency
Ability to formulate strategy, make decisions, and execute plans effectively
Ability to work as a member of a team towards a team goal, while managing one’s own projects
Demonstrated communication skills, both written and verbal
Demonstrated flexibility to adapt to changing conditions in the business and effectively apply change management leadership
Motivation and ability to execute projects/tasks on time, strong prioritization and time management skills
Must have an entrepreneurial spirit with the ability to drive innovation and passion for the Emerging Nutrition Product Portfolio and specialty processing across the business

Nice To Haves

Farm origination experience in the Palouse region.

Responsibilities

Frequent on-farm visits with growers throughout the Palouse region.
While collaborating with the Specialty Grain Merchant, execute the Emerging Nutrition Alternative Grains origination strategy through analysis of market data, customer needs, and market position.
Source specialty grains that align with business needs and growth opportunities to support the Ardent Mills Emerging Nutrition Product Portfolio, while maximizing the total business margin for Ardent Mills.
Regularly engage with customers and growers to understand their business, understand their needs, develop business relationships, and become the supplier/partner of choice. This will include phone calls, physical visits, and participation in industry sponsored events where applicable.
As needed, serve as a subject matter expert that will support strategy and growth plans for the business.