U.S. Nursery Order Fulfillment / Transportation Sr. Manager

Driscoll's; Watsonville (CA); On-site; USD 128,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Driscoll’s seeks a senior leader to oversee end-to-end movement of plant materials in the U.S. Nursery system and international channels. You will drive compliance, cold chain integrity, and operational excellence across commercial, foundation, research, and breeding programs.

You will lead a multi-disciplinary team, implement enterprise-wide transportation strategies, and partner with regulators while delivering scalable, high-quality outcomes across geographies. Remote travel will be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field; 8+ years in logistics or supply chain.
• Deep knowledge of phytosanitary regulations and international protocols.
• Experience with regulated agricultural products and cross-border movement.
• Lean/Six Sigma training preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end plant fulfillment within the U.S. and across borders.
• Design and optimize transport strategies, negotiate carrier contracts, and manage budgets.
• Develop SOPs, KPIs, and dashboards to drive continuous improvement.
• Collaborate across operations, R&D, breeding, quality, and 3PLs.

Skills

Bilingual English/Spanish

Transportation management

Data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Process improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

ERP / order management systems

Microsoft Office

Tableau / BI tools

Job description

This leadership role is accountable for the end-to-end order fulfillment and movement of all plant materials within and out of the U.S. Nursery system—including commercial, foundation, applied research, and breeding stages. As a strategic and operational leader, this position is responsible not only for ensuring compliance, timeliness, and quality in plant movement, but also for driving continuous improvement, innovation, and process optimization within the logistics and fulfillment ecosystem. The role requires a strong understanding of phytosanitary requirements both domestic and internationally for all berries, the ability to influence cross-functionally, and a commitment to enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and customer satisfaction. Success in this position is measured by the ability to translate complexity into scalable solutions, create enterprise-level value, and continuously elevate the way the Nursery network delivers for the business across multiple geographies.

Responsibilities

• Operational Excellence & Fulfillment Leadership: Plan, schedule, and execute the movement of all Driscoll’s plants within the U.S. and across international borders, ensuring regulatory compliance, accuracy, cold chain logistics and timeliness. Manage the daily activities of all carriers to ensure timely fulfillment of nursery operations while fostering strong relationships. Partner with USDA, CDFA and local county agents to build strong relationships that enable accurate interpretation and application of regulatory guidelines and testing protocols by country, effectively mitigating compliance risks and the ability to move plant material between geographies.
• Transportation Strategy & Cost Management: Design, implement, and continuously improve an enterprise-wide transportation strategy, balancing cost, service, risk and sustainability. Lead transportation bidding (RFP/RQP) programs, carrier selection, and contract negotiations using data-driven market intelligence. Manage transportation budgets, identify cost saving opportunities, and proactively evaluate future transportation and logistics models to support long term growth. Establish carrier scorecards and governance models to ensure performance, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Process Optimization & Continuous Improvement: Regularly evaluate and enhance fulfillment and logistics workflows to drive efficiency, accuracy, and scalability. Identify process gaps and lead improvement initiatives that simplify operations, reduce cycle time, and enhance quality. Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure clarity, consistency, and operational excellence.
• Systems & Data Management: Manage the Order Management System (OMS), Plant RAD and PBS to ensure visibility, accuracy, and efficiency in order processing and shipment of all orders. Leverage data reporting (Tableau and BI) and analytics to measure performance, identify trends, and inform strategic decision-making. Develop and maintain key performance indicators (KPIs) and scorecards to track fulfillment, delivery performance, and customer satisfaction.
• Team Leadership & Talent Development: Lead, coach, and develop the Nursery Order Fulfillment and Logistics team, with a strong emphasis on engagement, accountability, and professional growth. Build bench strength through cross-training, succession planning, and capability development across domestic and international functions. Promote a culture of accountability, continuous learning, and proactive problem-solving.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Stakeholder Alignment: Partner with operations, nursery locations, R&D, Breeding, quality control, supply chain, 3PN, 3PLs, and transportation companies/freight forwarders to ensure seamless coordination across regions and business units. Act as a bridge between strategy and execution—ensuring logistics operations directly support enterprise priorities.
• Governance, Compliance & Confidentiality: Follow company policies and practices while representing Driscoll’s in an ethical and business-like manner in all interactions with employees, governmental agencies, growers, customers, etc. Nurtures, supports and promotes the company mission statement and values. Ensures the confidentiality of Driscoll’s proprietary information.
• Other Duties as Assigned: Support enterprise or cross-functional initiatives aligned with Driscoll’s mission to deliver high-quality plants and foster organizational excellence. This job description is intended to describe the general nature of the work performed by employees in this job. It is not an exhaustive list of all the job's responsibilities. At Driscoll’s, all our jobs include broad responsibilities for continually improving the processes we use to develop our products.

Candidate Profile

• Bilingual (English/Spanish) fluency required.
• The location can be Redding, CA or Watsonville, CA.
• Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science, Business, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or a related field preferred (not required), with a minimum of 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in logistics, transportation, or supply chain roles involving regulated agricultural products, including international plant movement.
• Deep working knowledge of phytosanitary regulations, including USDA, CDFA, county-level requirements, and international import/export protocols.
• Demonstrated experience in process improvement, operational excellence, and change management; Lean, Six Sigma, or similar training preferred.
• Strong background in transportation management, including carrier sourcing, contract negotiation, performance management, and cost optimization.
• Experience designing and executing transportation bidding and RFP programs across multiple geographies.
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Office and data analysis tools; experience with ERP or order management systems preferred.
• Strong planning, prioritization, and execution capabilities; able to manage multiple initiatives in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; able to communicate clearly, consistently, and professionally at all organizational levels.
• Proven ability to collaborate cross-functionally and work effectively with teams outside the nursery function to drive business alignment and shared success.
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing teams, developing talent, and leading through change in complex, matrixed environments.
• Self-motivated and resourceful, with a strong sense of ownership, curiosity, and adaptability.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence without authority.
• Extended schedule availability required to support operational needs; requires approximately 25% of domestic and international travel.
• Valid California driver’s license and eligibility under company-sponsored vehicle insurance.

Compensation & Benefits

The following information is provided in good faith as a general description of the salary range and benefits for the position posted. The actual compensation offered to the successful candidate is dependent upon experience, skills, education, work location, internal pay equity, and other objective job-related factors.

Salary Range estimated: $128,000 to $160,000 USD annually.

Driscoll’s is committed to a culture of care and offers an attractive benefits package that includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance, and disability coverage for positions working more than 30 hours per week. Other benefits include: 401(k) with employer match, profit-sharing participation, paid sick time, paid vacation, paid personal and family care leave, and a free Employee Assistance Program (EAP). More detailed information regarding the benefit package will be shared during the application process.