Field Operations Leader, Agribusiness Growth

Field Operations Director Position detail Approved / proposed arrangement Role title Field Operations Director Department Commercial / Field Operations and Supply Generation Location Field-based across Complete Farmer operating territories, with extensive travel to regional offices, grower communities, commercial farms, aggregation points and fulfilment centres Grade Director / Head-of-Function level; final internal grade and band subject to the approved job-grading framework Reports to Chief Commercial Officer Direct reports Regional Commercial Managers, Commercial Operations Manager(s) and Crop Sourcing Manager Role purpose and strategic context PRIMARY MANDATE Build and execute a reliable, scalable and competitively priced supply portfolio that meets Complete Farmer's approved crop, volume, timing, quality, traceability and unit-economics requirements across every operating territory. Detailed responsibilities Field supply strategy and operating plan Translate the company strategy, approved buyer-demand plan, crop priorities and financial guardrails into an annual and quarterly field supply strategy by crop, region, channel, source type and season. Define regional supply targets, acquisition targets, coverage ratios, service levels, cost envelopes and leading indicators that reconcile to the approved enterprise plan. Design the optimal supply mix across commercial farmers, cooperatives, Grower Agents, Aggregation Agents, aggregators and other approved partners, balancing scale, reliability, cost, quality and concentration risk. Maintain a national field capacity model covering territories, manager spans, agent density, crop lanes, agronomy coverage, travel, digital adoption, aggregation access and seasonal workload. Recommend entry, expansion, redesign or exit of territories and crop lanes using demand, supply density, performance, cost-to-serve, risk and route-to-market evidence. Own the function budget and operating plan within delegated authority and ensure resources are concentrated on approved commercial priorities. Demand-supply planning and S&OP Convert approved demand into a time-phased supply requirement by crop, variety, grade, specification, quantity, delivery window, territory and confidence level. Chair or lead the field-supply workstream of S&OP and ensure Regional Commercial, Commercial Operations and Crop Sourcing plans reconcile to the single approved demand and trade plan. Set and govern clear supply-funnel stages from identified source through qualification, verification, mapping, commitment, production or sourcing readiness, harvest, aggregation and internal handover. Review crop, acreage, yield, harvest-window, source-capacity, quality, pricing and execution assumptions and challenge unsupported forecasts before they enter company planning. Maintain primary, secondary and contingency sources for critical demand lines and trigger recovery action when coverage, timing, quality or cost falls outside tolerance. Escalate demand-supply gaps, oversupply, working-capital constraints and trade-offs with quantified impact and options early enough for an executive decision. Regional commercial growth and CF Grower adoption Direct Regional Commercial Managers to build buyer-demand-led territory plans for growers, commercial farmers, cooperatives and approved agents. Cascade acquisition, verification, land-mapping, activation, demand-matching, productive-use and retention targets by region, crop, cohort and channel. Ensure onboarding records are unique, consented, complete, current and auditable and that duplicate, inactive, ghost or unsupported records do not receive performance credit. Drive meaningful CF Grower adoption by diagnosing trust, literacy, language, connectivity, workflow and value-proposition barriers and coordinating product, marketing and assisted-channel responses. Build regional partnerships with credible cooperatives, associations, community leaders, commercial growers, aggregators and institutions under approved commercial and conduct standards. Review funnel conversion, acquisition cost, time-to-value, product usage, retention, complaints and grower outcomes and require corrective action where growth is low-quality or uneconomic. Crop sourcing and strategic source development Lead the Crop Sourcing Manager in building a qualified, diversified portfolio of commercial farms, aggregators, cooperatives and alternative sources for every priority crop lane. Approve source-development priorities and ensure due diligence covers identity, capacity, land or crop evidence, historical performance, compliance, quality, commercial terms, reputation and concentration risk. Ensure sourcing plans specify crop, grade, volume, location, availability window, price basis, logistics handover, traceability, inspection, rejection and documentation requirements. Develop multi-cycle relationships and preferred-source programmes that improve reliability, quality, data visibility, bargaining position and cost without creating unmanaged exclusivity or dependency. Track source performance across confirmation, quantity, timing, quality, claims, documentation, responsiveness, price and corrective-action closure and adjust allocations accordingly. Ensure commercial farmers and aggregators are integrated into the same supply visibility, traceability and forecast controls as platform-enabled growers. Supply pricing, market intelligence and unit economics Build and maintain evidence-based farm-gate and origin-cost benchmarks by crop, grade, region, season, source type and delivery point using approved market-intelligence methods. Develop the supply-side cost build-up covering produce price, agent or aggregation fees, field service, handling, first-mile movement, expected loss, quality risk and other origin costs. Recommend sourcing prices and negotiation ranges that secure supply competitively while protecting grower viability, approved gross-margin floors, working-capital limits and buyer commitments. Identify cost advantages through source mix, density, forward planning, aggregation design, partner terms, productivity, loss reduction and better information rather than through delayed payment or weakened standards. Monitor market movements and competitor activity, quantify exposure and recommend repricing, source substitution, demand reprioritization or escalation before margin or supply is lost. Prevent unauthorized field commitments, side agreements, unsupported advances, price manipulation, collusion and circumvention of procurement, contracting, payment or delegation-of-authority controls. Field execution and commercial-operations control Direct Commercial Operations to convert supply plans into campaigns, pipeline actions, field journeys, task assignments, source follow-ups, readiness gates, reporting cadences and escalation routines. Establish weekly regional reviews and daily control-tower routines during critical production, sourcing and aggregation windows, focused on actuals, forecast, variance, risk, recovery owner and deadline. Ensure Regional Commercial Managers maintain current territory, grower, farm, agent, crop, source, pricing and supply records in approved systems rather than in disconnected personal files. Set evidence standards for visits, mapping, onboarding, crop progress, source confirmation, harvest readiness, quantity, price and handover and conduct risk-based field audits and spot checks. Standardize playbooks, SLAs, checklists and exception paths across regions while allowing controlled crop- and territory-specific adaptation. Review cost per verified, activated and retained grower; cost per mapped hectare; cost per verified tonne; field productivity; travel; agent commissions and campaign return and correct inefficient deployment. Trade readiness and cross-functional execution Represent field supply in trade and delivery readiness reviews and confirm whether the proposed volume, source, timing, cost, crop condition, traceability and handover plan are supported by evidence. Coordinate Agronomy, QA, Supply Chain, Product, Sales and Finance owners around the approved supply plan, ensuring dependencies and acceptance criteria are explicit and time-bound. Ensure growers and sources receive the correct specifications, production or handling requirements, collection windows, documentation and commercial instructions from authorized owners. Monitor field-to-aggregation execution and ensure quantity, condition, lot identity and custody are accurately handed over to Inventory and Supply Chain at the defined control point. Lead recovery of field-controlled supply failures and contribute evidence to root-cause analysis, claims, supplier action and post-trade learning. Do not permit commercial urgency to override Agronomy protocols, QA hold/release decisions, traceability, safety, grower consent, payment controls or approved buyer commitments. Data, product enablement and performance visibility Define the operational data required to manage the supply funnel and ensure common definitions, ownership, timestamps, confidence rules and source-of-truth systems are used across territories. Maintain an executive field-supply dashboard covering demand coverage, funnel conversion, forecast, cost, quality risk, product adoption, team productivity, capacity, exceptions and recovery. Work with Product and Data teams to digitize high-friction field workflows, improve CF Grower self-service, reduce manual coordination and embed controls at the point of work. Prioritize product changes using quantified field impact, affected cohorts, operating cost, commercial value and control risk and verify adoption after release. Ensure critical bad news, data gaps, forecast changes and control failures are surfaced promptly and are never softened or hidden to protect reported performance. Leadership, organization capability and culture Set clear outcomes, roles, territory accountabilities and performance standards for Regional Commercial Managers, Commercial Operations and Crop Sourcing. Run disciplined weekly 1:1s and operating reviews, monthly performance reviews and quarterly talent and capacity reviews with documented actions and consequences. Coach managers to plan, delegate, use data, surface risks early, solve root causes and develop their teams rather than depending on director-level intervention for routine execution. Build succession and emergency coverage for critical territories, crops and sourcing relationships and address persistent capability or conduct gaps promptly with People support. Model Complete Farmer's leadership standards of Clarity, Ownership and People-First leadership and reinforce customer love, trust, learning, disciplined teamwork and smart efficiency. Create a field culture that respects growers and communities, rewards truthful performance and protects whistleblowers and employees who surface legitimate risks. Risk, compliance and grower protection Maintain a field commercial risk register covering supply failure, fraud, ghost records, land conflicts, mis-selling, bribery, collusion, data misuse, safeguarding, safety, quality, weather, concentration and community risk. Ensure growers, agents, cooperatives and sources receive accurate authorized information and are not promised prices, finance, inputs, purchase, acceptance, volume or payment terms beyond approved authority. Enforce contracting, consent, KYC, traceability, grievance, data-protection, cash-handling, commission, expense and conflict-of-interest controls across the function. Investigate or escalate suspected misreporting, diversion, unauthorized sourcing, price manipulation, retaliation or fraud and preserve evidence without compromising independent investigations. Ensure material incidents are contained, reported and closed through root-cause corrective and preventive action, with learning built into systems and training. Required experience, qualifications and technical capabilities Required experience At least seven years of progressive commercial, field operations, marketplace, agribusiness or distributed-network leadership, including at least five years directly driving growth and adoption in a fast-moving technology-enabled platform. Demonstrated ownership of substantial supply, acquisition, sourcing or marketplace targets across multiple regions, with evidence of improving conversion, reliability, cost, forecast accuracy and team productivity. Experience leading managers and dispersed field teams and governing contracted agents, cooperatives, aggregators, commercial farmers or channel partners through targets, digital evidence, coaching, audits and consequences. Proven ability to scale adoption in informal economies or underserved markets where trust, literacy, connectivity, identity, land and transaction data may be inconsistent. Strong practical experience in agricultural sourcing, crop production cycles, aggregation, commodity or fresh-produce supply chains, quality requirements and buyer-linked supply planning. Experience building evidence-based prices or origin-cost models, negotiating supply, protecting margin guardrails and managing supply continuity under seasonal and market volatility. Hands-on experience running demand-supply or S&OP cadences, confidence-rated forecasts, performance dashboards and recovery plans across cross-functional teams. Evidence of partnering effectively with Product, Data, Agronomy, QA, Supply Chain, Sales and Finance while respecting independent controls and decision authority. Track record of building operating systems, management routines and leadership capacity that reduce dependence on heroic individual intervention. Qualifications Bachelor's degree or equivalent demonstrated capability in agribusiness, agriculture, business, economics, supply chain, marketing, operations, technology or a related discipline. A postgraduate qualification or recognized professional certification in agribusiness, commercial leadership, supply chain, project management, analytics or a related field is advantageous but does not replace proven results. Strong numerical, analytical and written communication capability, including executive-level plans, forecasts, commercial recommendations, operating reviews and performance narratives. Fluent professional English; French and relevant local-language capability are advantageous or required according to assigned operating territories. Readiness for extensive field travel and work across rural and cross-border operating environments with variable infrastructure, connectivity and seasonal intensity. Valid driving eligibility and ability to meet company field-safety and travel requirements where applicable. #J-18808-Ljbffr Complete Farmer LTD