Sr Ag Operations Specialist

Title: Sr Ag Operations Specialist
Location: Connell, WA
About Lamb Weston
We love making fries almost as much as you like eating them! Since the 1950's, Lamb Weston has inspired customers with food they love, trust, and share with families and friends. As a leading global manufacturer of quality frozen potato products with over 9,000+ team members around the world, it's our business to see the possibilities in potatoes and people.
We are looking for team members with an appetite for a challenge! People who are hungry to join a winning team and help us make a difference in the world. When you join Lamb Weston, you join a community with a strong support network and training programs designed to nurture, inspire, and help you grow.
We are driven by a relentless pursuit of results and by people who think creatively and embrace our values of: Integrity, Teamwork, Inclusion, Drive for Results, and Empowerment. Exactly what you'd expect from the most inventive potato company in the world!
Join Lamb Weston! We bring the world together with our fries.
Job Description Summary
This position is responsible for acting as a liaison between the company and growers. Responsibilities for this position include performing data analytics, administrating commodity contracts, sampling and evaluating crops, working with the growers on their field and storage management and building strong relations while representing the company within the grower community. This position will also assist the corporate ag services group and interact across multi-functional groups ensuring that company business objectives are met. This position also assists in scheduling field and storage deliveries to meet production quantity and quality requirements. This position is assigned a company vehicle.
Job Description

• Maintains safe work practices at all times and participates in safety programs.
  • Directs safety programs for all those working directly for Lamb Weston, under the supervision of this position. Within its functional area this position is directly responsible for accident prevention and safety promotion, administration of activities with the confines of the current labor agreement, conducting, its activities in a manner to support positive employee/management relations, and adherence to company approved policies and procedures.
  • Trains and supervises subordinates in all safety and accident prevention practices to assure a safe employee and working environment.
  • Administers company personnel policies and provisions to maintain a safe productive work force.
• Understands basic mechanical operations of ag equipment
• Aids third-party or plant QA personnel to ensure efficient and proper raw product grading both for grower payment, as well as critical information needed for proper field and storage dispositioning.
• Works in a team environment supporting peer group and open to accepting direction to keep team on path to departmental goals.
• Ensures raw product information is gathered, is without error, is analyzed and presented in a manner that can efficiently be used to make timely raw product decisions.
• Samples field and storage raw product used for dispositioning decisions.
• Gives accurate contract information for field and storage raw product used to determine grower payment.
• Supervises the repair and maintenance of vehicles and equipment used by subordinates to assure the availability of this equipment for use in its appropriate function.
• Trains, evaluates, and directs employees involved in use of company owned equipment under this position's responsibility.
• Assures that the storage locations, field equipment and the operation of the equipment follow Lamb Weston and all regulatory agencies standards that pertain.
• Stays current with technological developments which could result in improved safety performance and/or cost savings to Lamb-Weston.
• Inspects automotive equipment, ensuring scheduling of needed repair or service work.
• Submits expenses and analyzes purchase and repair costs to control expenditures.
• Creates contracts and other legally binding documents for potato purchases and transfers.
  

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training hourly/temporary employees; planning, assigning, scheduling, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
• Coordinates movement of raw product with Lamb Weston and contracted hauler personnel.
• Gives accurate information to third-party sampling and grading personnel.

Basic & Preferred Qualifications

• BS degree in agriculture, agronomy, agribusiness, or related field preferred
• Must be able to read and write in English and communicate effectively with growers
• Must be able to use Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and have aptitude to learn, understand, and utilize company specific software used to organize all quantity and quality data of the potato crop.
• Three-years related experience preferred
• Strong preference will be given to the candidate that possesses excellent organizational and planning skills, with the ability to work across multiple functional groups, apply advanced analytical techniques to deliver results using excellent verbal and written communications and facilitate creative solutions to complex situations
• Knowledge of agronomic characteristics for potato crops
• Must be self-motivated and open to overcoming complex situations with minimal direction
• Must have the ability to travel substantially through storage and growing areas in varying weather conditions
• Must have the ability to work between multiple facilities to support production across multiple plant locations
• Must be able to build an effective relationship with the grower community
• Must be able to complete the LW Process Quality Program
• Must possess a valid driver's license and meet Company driving standards
• Must possess solid computer skills
• Able to work additional hours, including weekends, as needed, especially prior to and during potato harvest
• Must be accessible by phone when not on site or during leave and vacation timeframes

Industry-Competitive Benefits
Coupled with our compensation and bonus incentive programs, our benefits deliver rewards that are market competitive. Some of the most attractive elements of our benefit programs include:

• Health Insurance Benefits - Medical, Dental, Vision
  
• Flexible Spending Accounts for Health and Dependent Care, and Health Reimbursement Accounts
  
• Well-being programs including companywide events and a wellness incentive program
  
• Paid Time Off
  
• Financial Wellness - Industry leading 401(k) plan with generous company contributions, Financial Planning Services, Employee Stock purchase program, and Health Savings Accounts, Life and Accident insurance
  
• Family-Friendly Employee events
  
• Employee Assistance Program services - mental health and other concierge type services
  

Benefits may vary based on location, job role/level, job status, and/or the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreements.
Job Requisition ID: Req-234557
Time Type: Full time
Anticipated Close Date: 05/28/2024
In compliance with applicable state and local laws, Lamb Weston has opted to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. This compensation is specific to this position and takes into account a number of variables. Actual compensation may be higher or lower in the range posted based on various factors, including, but not limited to, job duties, experience and expertise. A candidate's work location could also impact the actual compensation being outside of the range to reflect local cost of labor. A reasonable annual estimate of the range for this role based on the variables previously mentioned is: $72,030.00 - $108,060.00
Lamb Weston is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected factor under federal, state or local law