Midwest Dairy seeks a dynamic, motivated individual to join our Minnesota-based team as a Farmer Relations Manager.  Applicants must have a bachelor's degree in agriculture, dairy or animal science, marketing, communications or business and a minimum of five years' work experience in related fields, or a combination of dairy related education and experience providing equivalent knowledge.

In this role, you will be responsible for building relationships with Minnesota's dairy farmer shareholders and industry partners.  Most of the time will be spent conducting on-farm consultative sales calls to share checkoff value and build positive endorsements.  The manager will also work to develop farm and community leaders through various programming and training events, which include the Minnesota Princess Kay Program and recruiting dairy farmers for leadership programs. 

The territory for this role will primarily be Minnesota and occasionally North Dakota. Must be a resident of Minnesota.

The ideal candidate will have the following profile:

Knowledge:

• Knowledge of the dairy industry, from farm to food, with emphasis on the values and science regarding on-farm production practices including animal care, milk safety and quality, natural resources, and sustainability.
• Knowledge of the history, mission, strategies, goals, and systems of the organization.
• Knowledge of issues management and crisis communications principles and guidelines.
• Knowledge of dairy checkoff's act and order.

Skills:

• Skill of excellent interpersonal and communication skills to develop relationships with shareholders and partners.
• Skill of maintaining up to date shareholders and partner relationship management database CRM.
• Skill of organizing and directing the efforts of outside vendors and consultants.
• Skill of project management, delivering against objectives, and evaluating results.
• Skill of budget management, planning and effectively managing resources.
• Skill of time management, balancing time, and schedule to maximize outcomes across identified objectives.
• Skill in use of the Microsoft 365 suite of apps (e.g., Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, Teams, SharePoint, Dynamics, etc.).
• Skill in operating video, audio, and PowerPoint equipment to conduct presentations.

Abilities:

• Ability to work collaboratively in a matrixed organization structure, engaging with colleagues across departments to deliver outcomes for strategic plan.
• Ability to make decisions by selecting a course of action while considering appropriate variables.
• Ability to collaborate with others including program staff, board members and industry leaders to arrive at a conclusion utilizing compromise, persuasion, rationale, and diplomacy.
• Ability to present both self and ideas, orally and in writing, using knowledge and the perspective of the audience so that they understand and accept the ideas/information.
• Ability to educate and impart knowledge about the benefits and value of dairy farm production practices.
• Ability to travel on a regular basis with occasional overnight stays.

Midwest Dairy represents 4,400 dairy farm families to 39 million consumers across our region. We work on their behalf to build dairy demand by inspiring consumer confidence in our products and production practices. 

Please submit your resume for consideration by clicking APPLY TO THIS POSITION below.