Project Manager, Sustainable Food Group

Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Life insurance

Retirement plan

Short-term disability

Long-term disability

Paid time off

Paid sick leave

Paid holidays

Job summary

IPM Institute of North America, Inc. seeks a full-time project manager to lead sustainability initiatives in the food and agriculture sector from our Madison, WI office.

The role focuses on developing a pesticide risk transparency system, managing partners and clients, and delivering actionable insights to improve environmental and business outcomes. You will guide development, testing and evaluation of dashboards and data-driven solutions, lead cross-organization collaboration, and report

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or 3–5 years’ related experience.
• PM experience leading large multi-stakeholder projects.
• Interest/experience in sustainable agriculture.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong organizational and time management abilities.
• High attention to detail and problem solving.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel and data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and pilots of a new pesticide risk transparency system across supply chains.
• Coordinate communication among project partners and stakeholders.
• Collect, interpret and prioritize grower/retailer feedback on system dashboards.
• Perform quantitative and qualitative analyses of pesticide use data.
• Lead R&D of sustainability programs, strategies and policies.
• Oversee implementation and evaluation of programs within food company supply chains.
• Produce reports and presentations for clients and partners.
• Foster a collaborative team culture.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Written & verbal communication

Excel

Time management

Attention to detail

Education

Master’s degree

3–5 years related experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Project management software

Job description

Do you have a passion for sustainable agriculture and supply chain sustainability? Are you interested in helping companies set and achieve their sustainability goals while working for a dynamic non-profit organization? We are seeking a full-time project manager to manage projects of IPM Institute’s Sustainable Food Group, a non-profit organization focused on helping companies in the food and agriculture sector create high-impact outcomes for the environment, people and their business.

The individual in this position will work with the project team, project partners, clients and other stakeholders to develop, implement, manage, maintain and evaluate initiatives that help advance sustainable agriculture.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and pilots of a new system to make pesticide risk transparent and managed across supply chains, supported by grower- and buyer-facing dashboards that translate pesticide risk data into practical, intuitive, standardized metrics for farm management and sustainable sourcing decisions.
• Manage communication across project partners and participants to support iterative design, data collection and platform testing in support of building and implementing a new pesticide risk transparency system.
• Manage collection, aggregation, interpretation and prioritization of grower and retailer feedback on a pesticide risk system and dashboards.
• Lead quantitative and qualitative analyses including data aggregation, analysis and interpretation of pesticide use data and farm-level sustainability metrics.
• Lead research and development of food company sustainability programs, strategies and policies.
• Lead implementation and program evaluation of sustainable agriculture programs, goals and initiatives for food company supply chains, adaptively managing programs to achieve strategic goals and objectives.
• Produce and deliver recommendations, reports and presentations for clients, partners and other stakeholders.
• Contribute to a positive and collaborative team culture.

Qualifications

Minimum qualifications include:

• Master’s degree or three to five years’ experience in a related field
• Project management experience including leading large multi-stakeholder projects.
• Experience, knowledge and demonstrated interest in sustainable agriculture
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• High level of proficiency with Microsoft Office including high level of comfort in Excel
• Excellent analytical skills

Preferred qualifications include:

• Experience or familiarity with agricultural production and conservation practices
• Familiarity with pesticide use in agriculture
• Familiarity with food company sourcing and/or supply chains
• Experience or familiarity with certification programs

We are seeking a candidate to work out of our Madison, WI office, located on the near east side. We offer a flexible schedule with potential for some remote work. Starting salary $55,000 - $64,000 annually depending on skills and experience. Excellent opportunities for leadership and professional growth. Benefits include health, dental and optional life insurance, retirement plan, short and long-term disability, paid time off, paid sick leave and paid holidays.

The IPM Institute of North America, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed in 1998. Our mission is to improve sustainability in agriculture and communities using the power of the marketplace. Our Sustainable Food Group team works on more than a dozen projects to increase adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and other sustainable agriculture best practices that reduce risk to health and the environment from pesticide use in agriculture and communities and improve human and environmental outcomes.