Grower Operations Sr. Manager

Driscoll Strawberry Associates, Inc; Lima Metropolitana3; On-site; PEN 412,000 - 618,000; Full time

Job summary

Driscoll Strawberry Associates, Inc. seeks a Grower Operations Sr. Manager in Peru to lead all aspects of production management with growers, including plant distribution, timing execution, and forecasting across the grower base.

You will drive regional strategy, engage with growers, and ensure cost-efficient operations aligned with enterprise goals. The role requires a Bachelor's degree in a related field and 10+ years of production management, with bilingual Spanish/English proficiency.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, business, or related field and 10+ years of production experience.
• Master’s degree desirable for advanced guidance.
• Bilingual Spanish/English required for regional collaboration.
• Proven leadership ability to influence and empower employees.
• Experience with production processes and forecasting.

Responsibilities

• Oversee production management with growers to deliver on plan, including plant distribution, timing, best practices, and grower engagement.
• Forecast supply outlook for blueberries from week one through crop life.
• Develop annual budget for OPEX, CAPEX, and headcount; monitor adherence.
• Represent Grower Operations in crisis management and ensure cross-functional support.
• Lead regional strategic planning, connect with global strategy, and set production targets.
• Strengthen grower relationships and manage a portfolio of growers for sustainable operations.
• Promote employee engagement, develop talent, and align with Driscoll’s values.

Skills

Leadership

Forecasting

Budget management

Communication

Strategic planning

Perishable commodities knowledge

Bilingual Spanish/English

Production processes

Travel availability

Adaptability

Interpersonal skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, business, or related field

10+ years of production management experience

Master's degree desirable

Job description

About the OpportunityThe Grower Operations Sr. Manager oversees all aspects of production management and execution within the region, including plant distribution, production timing execution, forecasting across Driscoll’s grower base, delivery of delightful fruit, and driving resolution for opportunities and concerns that emerge within the district from growers or employees.Leads the efforts to develop and deliver upon the longer-term strategic outlook for the region, to provide a reliable supply of delightful blueberries for the marketplace, and an attractive investment outlook for Driscoll’s independent blueberry growers. These efforts should be holistic, considering emerging genetics, production systems, and plant types, environment and labor resource constraints and cost inflation.ResponsibilitiesMeet or exceed Enterprise business objectives:· Oversee execution of all aspects of supply management with growers to deliver on plan, including plant distribution, application timing, sharing of best blueberry farming practices, and supporting grower engagement on all aspects of blueberry production, including agronomic troubleshooting, quality challenges, supply chain processes, food safety and social compliance.· Effectively forecast and communicate supply outlook for blueberries, from week one through the life of the crop.· Develop the annual budget for Grower Operations Management OPEX, CAPEX, and headcount, and ensure adherence to budget throughout the year.· Ensure that Grower Operations is well represented with crisis management, leading crisis incidents as necessary.Ensure team members are supported in their core efforts by all functions throughout Driscoll’s.Strengthen the strategic outlook of the Enterprise:· Oversee region engagement in the development of the annual five-year strategic planning process, including overall growth, new genetic deployment and new production technology, labor requirements, environmental impact. Facilitate highly engaged grower participation in this process.· Ensure that Region plans are highly connected with company strategy at the global level, business unit level, and within blueberry business plans.· Directly support development and execution of critical supply strategies.· Manage the development of production targets by application for inclusion in the annual operating plan.· Maintain connections to global knowledge sources, both within Driscoll’s and external to the Enterprise.Increase grower alignment and strengthen grower relationships:· Ensure grower relationships are productive for both parties, including accountability for the execution of our contractual business relationship, and development of meaningful relationships at all levels of growers’ organizations. Measurable through Grower Survey results.· Support the Blueberry Production Manager to connect closely with growers to develop well-informed multi-year business plans by grower that make sense for the grower and for the business.· Manage the portfolio of growers to ensure healthy and sustainable individual grower businesses and support the needs of the marketplace. Develop new grower relationships as appropriate.Maintain strong personal relationships with growers, based on mutual trust.Cultivate high levels of employee engagement and effectiveness across the grower operations management organization and region teams:· Develop an environment and culture within Grower Operations Management team that reflects Driscoll’s Values and insurgent attitude.· Support talent development across all members.· Support and navigate South America engagement with functional leadership across departments.Candidate ProfileBachelor’s degree in agriculture, business, or a related field and 10 plus years of production experience, or equivalent experience in production management requiredMaster's degree desirableBilingual and bi-literate (Spanish/English) required10 plus years of progressively responsible management experience necessaryExperience with production processes.Experience in forcatingExperience in developing strong connections with blueberry growersStrong business knowledge of perishable commoditiesTeam player with the ability to work in an environment in which processes and systems are being developed.Proven leadership ability to influence, develop, and empower employees to achieve their personal potential in addition to corporate objectives.Excellent skills in communication, motivation, innovation, adaptability, and interpersonal relationships.Proven ability to set effective strategy and lead execution.Proven ability to deal with conflict and complexity.Proven ability to learn on the fly and deal with ambiguity.Able to represent Driscoll’s to external stakeholders, including local agricultural leaders and community-based organizations.Travel availability