Executive Vice President and General Manager of Agriculture (Wine Jobs: Management & Administration)

  California Olive Ranch (http://www.californiaoliveranch.com)

  Chico, California

The EVP Agriculture (EVP) will be comprehensively responsible for all aspects of COR’s growing operations, grower management, agricultural policy, agricultural processing facilities and serve as the external face of COR for agricultural industry leadership.  This will include the management of company-owned olive orchards and the contracting of olives with unaffiliated growers.  In addition, the EVP will take a leadership role at an industry level, continuing to advance the use of technology throughout the enterprise.  S/he has responsibility for the strategic oversight and operational performance of the company’s farm assets, raw material procurement and olive oil production.  The successful candidate will be very hands-on, working closely and collaboratively with the other members of the senior leadership team in executing California Olive Ranch’s aggressive growth strategy.

Principal Responsibilities

·         Develop and implement a strategic and tactical plan for all agricultural operations to ensure on-going ability and capacity to grow.  Includes both COR-owned orchards, sourcing olives from other growers and processing activities.

·         Develop planning and budgeting for the all areas of the company’s olive oil production operations.

·         Identify state of the art processes and resources to use inputs efficiently so that resources such as water and land are used to optimize production and profitability.

·         Plan, coordinate, and control the daily operation of the agriculture organization through its managers.

·         Manage the agriculture strategy and P&L, including all agricultural revenue, capital expenditures and direct costs.

·         Motivate and lead the agriculture team; improve employee productivity and efficiency through training, internal growth, programs, etc.

·         Ensure that the growing operations are aligned with changes in changing customer requirements, such as sustainability, and growing consumer demand (for example organic olive oil).

·         Contribute cross-functionally as a member of the senior leadership team.

·         Professionally and competently represent California Olive Ranch externally in dealings with government, media and industry in a manner that supports and perpetuates the Company’s leadership position.

·         Shall be well versed and agree to the business continuity Commitment to Food Safety and Quality. Shall report anything that may compromise food safety and quality to appropriate personnel, including the SQF Practitioner.

·         Shall comply with the regulations as outlined in the corporate Document Control Policy.

·         Shall dress and behave in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP’s), Good Agricultural Practices (GAP’s), and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP’s), when applicable.

·         Shall fulfill certain roles for the CEO in their absence, as deemed appropriate.

·         In the event that the EVP is absent or unavailable, the back-up for their duties is the CEO, unless otherwise described.

·         Manage and ensure site security.

·         Communicate a positive image of the company to the entire staff and customers.

·         Apply all safety rules and regulations and prevent work hazards.

We seek a results-driven executive who has excellent strategic thinking skills, relevant management and experience in a rapid-growth environment, a strong team-oriented attitude, and a business builder’s perspective, thought process, and execution capability.  The winning candidate will have an at-the-farm gate, dynamic management style, and strong interpersonal skills that are equally effective in an on-farm visit with a grower and in the boardroom, along with an entrepreneurial view that supports the Company’s growth strategies.  Successful candidates will have a proven track-record of building lasting, trust-based relationships among stakeholders.

• Ability to read and understand company policies and procedures and implement appropriately.
• Assist in problem solving and in making this a more effective organization.
• Demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills including read and write the English language.
• Manage details of multiple projects in an efficient and organized method.
• Produce work in a timely, budgeted, scheduled and profitable manner for the Company.
• Must apply human safety procedures and principles daily and protect self and others from injury.
• Communicate a positive image of the company to fellow staff members, customers, and the public.
• Exemplify the company values: break down silos, be a pioneer, never stop growing, and enrich your environment.

Experience and skills required

·         Minimum of 10 years of full P&L management experience in businesses larger than $50MM, preferably some in the agriculture or manufacturing arena. 

·         Minimum 5 years experience with external supplier / customer account management and / or technological development

·         A solid grounding in and deep knowledge of capital-intensive industries where long-term planning attuned to market risk is crucial.

·         Initiative to develop new policies, systems and procedures to make work processes more efficient.

·         A strategic thinker—and hands-on doer-- with the knowledge, skills, experience and judgment to evaluate the existing and ongoing utilization/performance of the company’s orchards.

·         A track record of designing and executing plans that drove improvements in the sustainable performance of a business.

·         Knowledge of enterprise-wide business practices and the systemization of total quality management.

·         Proven collaborative, negotiation, communication, and integrative skills that are effective at all levels of the organization from board room to the farmer tailgate.

·         Demonstrated strong leadership and team-building expertise.

·         Experience with and understating of sustainable agricultural practices in a large growing operation.

·         Strong analytical aptitude and mind set.

·         A business builder’s perspective and thought process

·         Solid understanding of how technology can be used to improve efficiency and drive out costs. 

·         Superior judgment to quickly prioritize opportunities and build consensus upon them

 The role reports to the President/CEO and will have the GM-Consumer Packaged Goods, CFO and VP of Technical Services as peers.

·         The position is supported by a team 60 people (higher during harvest) including seven direct reports.

·         The Company is located in Chico, CA, but location can be flexible for the right candidate.

·         Regular local travel to meet with growers and other constituencies and stakeholders.  Otherwise driven by research, recruiting and strategic activities.

 

 

 

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