Business Development Manager

Carthage System; Carthage (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

The Carthage System is seeking a Business Development Manager to support the CEO and leadership team by strategically growing our swine production and service offerings. You will identify and convert opportunities with contract finish growers, sow production units, and long-term weaned pig agreements, while building relationships with clients, growers, and partners.

In this role you will collaborate across operations, logistics, merchandising, and other support functions to expand PSM services,

Qualifications

• Five+ years of leadership experience in swine production, finishing, or related areas.
• Proven experience developing customer relationships and negotiating terms.
• Strong understanding of animal production systems and market dynamics.

Responsibilities

• Identify, evaluate, and develop new sow-unit, finishing-site, contract-grower, and strategic partnership opportunities.
• Originate, negotiate, manage, and support long-term weaned pig agreements and finisher grower contracts.
• Broker weaned pig, feeder pig, gilt, and related pig-flow opportunities by connecting buyers, sellers, producers, and partners.
• Collaborate with production, logistics, merchandising, ownership, and clients on pig flows, schedules, capacity, terms, and economics.
• Support contract approval and coordinate new agreements, amendments, renewals, and terminations.
• Develop and maintain an opportunity pipeline, customer visit cadence, and market-development plan.

Skills

Leadership experience

Business development

Negotiation

Relationship building

Communication

Project management

MS Office

Education

Animal Science / Agriculture / Business degree

Tools

MS Office

Job description

The Business Development Manager supports the Chief Executive Officer and executive leadership team by strategically and tactically developing growth opportunities for Professional Swine Management (PSM). The position identifies, develops, and converts opportunities involving new contract finish growers, sow production units, long-term weaned pig agreements, and brokering pig opportunities. Working across Sow Production, Finishing, Logistics, Merchandising, and other support functions, the role builds and maintains relationships with clients, growers, shareholders, strategic partners, and market participants while expanding PSM services and strengthening customer retention.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Identify, evaluate, and develop new sow-unit, finishing-site, contract-grower, and strategic partnership opportunities.
• Originate, negotiate, manage, and support the execution and renewal of long-term weaned pig agreements and finisher grower contracts.
• Broker weaned pig, feeder pig, gilt, and related pig-flow opportunities by connecting qualified buyers, sellers, producers, and strategic partners.
• Collaborate with production, logistics, merchandising, ownership, and clients on weaned pig flows, schedules, capacity, contract terms, and customer economics.
• Support the contract approval process and coordinate new agreements, amendments, renewals, and terminations in accordance with approved company terms, rates, and policies.
• Identify and evaluate short-term and long-term finishing-space options and other capacity solutions for the PSM system and its clients.
• Develop and maintain a disciplined opportunity pipeline, customer visit cadence, follow-up process, and market-development plan; provide clear updates to the CEO and leadership team.
• Build credibility and durable relationships with key customers, prospective clients, growers, shareholders, internal leaders, and strategic partners.
• Understand and clearly communicate PSM’s value proposition across management agreements, production systems, logistics, pig flow, genetics, labor, and client economics.
• Identify opportunities to improve customer retention, expand service offerings, strengthen strategic partnerships, and support profitable growth.
• Coordinate customer-facing presentations, proposals, marketing materials, and internal resources needed to move qualified opportunities forward.
• Follow up with weaned pig and gilt buyers, growers, and other market contacts; document commitments, open items, risks, and next steps.
• Ensure growers and counterparties are paid, reimbursed, or otherwise provided for in accordance with applicable agreement terms.
• Represent PSM professionally at customer meetings, farm visits, industry events, and partner discussions, with regular travel as required.
• Perform other business-development and strategic-partnership duties assigned by the CEO.

EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in Animal Science, Agriculture, Business, or a related field; an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.
• Five or more years of leadership experience in swine production, finishing, livestock merchandising, business development, strategic partnerships, or a closely related area.
• Demonstrated experience developing customer relationships, negotiating commercial terms, and moving opportunities from initial contact through execution.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Strong working knowledge of swine production systems, weaned pig flows, finishing capacity, grower relationships, and livestock-market dynamics.
• Strong business-development, marketing, negotiation, customer-service, project-management, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to understand operational and financial trade-offs and communicate them clearly to producers, owners, customers, and internal leaders.
• Effective written, oral, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills; proficiency with Microsoft 365 applications and shared business-development resources.
• Self-motivated, detail-oriented, adaptable, and able to work independently under frequent time pressure while maintaining disciplined follow-through.

PHYSICAL AND TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to travel regularly to farms, customer locations, partner meetings, and industry events, including occasional overnight travel.
• Ability to work in office, farm, and field environments and to walk, sit, squat, kneel, and stand for extended periods as business needs require.
• Ability to comply with PSM biosecurity, safety, confidentiality, and site-access requirements.