Director of Farm Network Expansion Strategy

Finding the right place to grow your career isn’t (over) easy, so we’re here to help by sharing a few reasons why the grass is greener at Vital Farms. We think you’ll appreciate our focus on Conscious Capitalism, which drives business decisions that benefit all our stakeholders (leading to even better business results). You might be drawn to our innovative approach and refusal to settle for the “way things have always been done.” Or you could find it exciting to grow your skills while working for an industry-leading brand. Whether you’re into our values, our brand, or our egg-cellent puns, we hope you’ll join our Crew and help us change the world 108 square feet at a time!

At Vital Farms, we are proud of our incredible stakeholders, and the diversity they represent from all areas and communities in which we operate and serve. We view this as a source of strength for us and your job is to help us make it even better.

Your Role:

Reporting to the Vice President of Farm Engagement & Innovation, the Director of Farm Network Expansion Strategy will develop the strategy to expand our network of layer farms. You will partner with the supply team to develop our supply growth plan and then lead your team to make it a reality. The highlights of this role are: opportunities to partner with cross functional teams to develop a carefully crafted supply plan, monitoring the pasture belt to ensure we have an offering attractive to the farming community and then leading the new farm relationship team to onboard new farmers to make that plan a reality. You will lead process improvements and communicate with a variety of stakeholders to ensure we thoughtfully bring on new farmers in a way that provides them meaningful financial opportunities and ensures they feel aligned to the Vital Farms mission and values. 

What You’ll Do:

• Act like an owner and develop the strategy to expand our industry leading flock of new laying hen farmers. This role significantly influences the overall growth of the company and serves as a key driver to our continued success.
• Leverage an industry leading CMR to enhance the sales process and track key performance indicators to maximize team performance.
• Collaborate closely with internal and external partners to support our aggressive growth plan. Utilize network to share best practices, and elevate current processes.
• Develop deep understanding of the the contracts between Vital Farms and our incomparable lay farmers. Provide input on market landscape and changes as needed.
• Build a strong relationship and work closely with your finance business partners to monitor contract financials and farmer ROIC.
• Effectively communicate with financial institutions to help them understand our model and gain support of new barn projects
• Actively coach and develop the new farm relationship team by providing professional development, regular communications, and guidance as they work to achieve goals
• Design innovative strategies for farmer recruitment while driving continuous improvement of existing farm recruitment processes, procedures and policies
• Develop performance metrics to effectively measure and communicate progress toward supply milestones

What You Bring to the Table:

• 8+ years of experience in sales, business development, franchise development or ag recruitment
• Bachelor of Science degree and/or equivalent/relative experience in business and leadership, MBA a plus
• Ability to travel 25-35% for company meetings, team offsites, employee onboarding trips and other business needs
• Prior experience using CRM tools to visualize and optimize the sales cycle
• You are an organized, self-directed and detail focused individual
• You demonstrate strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate with all stakeholders from crew to farmers to executives
• You are performance driven and personally committed to ensuring all milestones are met on time
• You can manage multiple, time sensitive, priorities and deadlines at once
• You have the ability to lead and engage in creative problem-solving with both internal and external partners to identify barriers and come to mutually beneficial solutions
• Ability to travel extensively including overnight travel across the US to build our network and relationships with potential farmers
• Proficient in MS Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
• You’re no hero – You know the power of teamwork and celebrate the work of others before your own
• You give a sh*t – You believe in acting like an owner and making Vital Farms a place to be proud of
• You raise the standards – You know growth can be hard, but you strive to improve yourself and others each day
• You can walk in someone else’s boots – You seek to understand other’s viewpoints and think that you get to better answers by sitting on the same side of the table
• You don’t walk on eggshells – You’re not afraid to leave the bullsh*t behind and have honest conversations.

What We Bring to the Table:

• A fast-paced, energetic, remote environment with passionate people who are leading a movement to bring ethically produced food to the table.
• Competitive pay and benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, and Paid Parental Leave, just to name a few).
• Generous retirement contributions: 401(k) + 3% Contribution from Day 1.
• Free eggs and butter, along with friends and family discounts.
• Fun team SWAG that will make you the talk of the town.
• Professional development opportunities and an amazing team dedicated to your growth.

Who We Are: 

Vital Farms, a Certified B Corporation, offers a range of ethically produced foods nationwide. Started on a single farm in Austin, Texas, in 2007, Vital Farms became a national consumer brand that works with over 300 family farms and is the leading U.S. brand of pasture-raised eggs by retail dollar sales. Vital Farms’ products, including shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs, are sold in over 24,000 stores nationwide. Vital Farms’ ethics are exemplified by its focus on the humane treatment of farm animals and sustainable farming practices. In addition, as a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, Vital Farms prioritizes the long-term benefits of each of its stakeholders, including farmers and suppliers, customers and consumers, communities and the environment, crew members, and stockholders. In short, we exist to improve the lives of people, animals, and our planet through food. 

Next Steps:

Shortly after you complete your application, you’ll receive a follow-up email elaborating on any potential next steps in our process. If you don’t immediately receive said follow-up email, we would highly encourage you to check your spam filter!

In order to fulfill Vital Farms mission to “bring ethically produced food to the table,” we seek to build teams that leverage diverse perspectives to create a welcoming and innovative environment that is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunities. 

To that end, we make employment decisions based on qualifications, merit, and business need. Vital Farms does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender and gender identity, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, citizenship status, military or veteran status, physical or mental disability, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Notification to Agencies:

• Vital Farms is not accepting unsolicited third-party recruitment agencies in the hiring process for this role. If you are a potential candidate interested in a role with Vital Farms, please submit an application directly. If you have any questions about the application process or the role itself, please reach out to a member of our Talent Acquisition team at careers@vitalfarms.com .

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