Team Leader

DETAILS:

Hours: Full time
Reports to: Director of Integrated Services
Location: Work from our Waupun, Wis., or Kaukauna, Wis., locations OR flexible to work from home, residing in northeast Wisconsin.
Deadline: April 19, 2024

YOUR PURPOSE:

Experience a career working with CentralStar Cooperative, a member of the Select Sires Federation and the largest Dairy Herd Information (DHI) program in the United States. As a Team Leader, you’ll be a senior member of the field-leadership team, overseeing daily cooperation of roughly 50 Artificial Insemination (A.I.) Specialist, DHI Specialist, sales, and consulting team members. You’ll work closely with business-unit managers and be responsible for the full utilization of all available CentralStar Cooperative resources to establish stronger team relationships and to optimize business results for key accounts and CentralStar Cooperative.

ABOUT CENTRALSTAR COOPERATIVE:

CentralStar’s goal of enhancing producer profitability through integrated services is fulfilled by incorporating an array of products and services critical to dairy-and-beef-farm prosperity. CentralStar’s product and service offerings include Accelerated Genetics, GenerVations and Select Sires genetics; extensive artificial-insemination (A.I.) technician service; genetic, reproduction, and dairy-records consultation; DHI services; diagnostic testing; herd-management products; research and development; and more. CentralStar’s administration and warehouse facilities are located in Lansing, Mich., and Waupun, Wis., with laboratories in Grand Ledge, Mich., and Kaukauna, Wis. The cooperative serves dairy and beef producers throughout Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana, with additional DHI territory in various surrounding states. For more information, visit CentralStar Cooperative Inc. at www.mycentralstar.com.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Day-to-day responsibilities:

• Work in cooperation with business-unit managers and other management personnel;
• Manage, coach, and support training activities, and provide supervision to team members;
• Promote high professional standards, positive interpersonal relationships, open communication, and a problem-solving approach to the resolution of issues and concerns;
• Actively help recruit and be involved with legally-sound interviews to maintain adequate staffing levels;
• Work to actively understand the role of each team member in order to most effectively utilize their skills within the team;
• Ensure training programs are provided to all new field personnel and monitor the progress, completion, and submission of all required new-hire-training paperwork;
• With focus on the producer, strive to present a positive company image at all times;
• Serve as a coach and mentor to field personnel to develop new accounts, while maintaining and growing current accounts;
• Initiate herd contacts with current customers to continue building relationships and evaluate customer satisfaction;
• Work in cooperation with business-unit managers and finance team members to review sales reports for field personnel;
• Work in conjunction with DHI managers and technical support to ensure timely testing schedules are maintained;
• Work with team members to approve, organize, and record time off/vacation schedules;
• Ensure field personnel submit accurate paperwork and computer uploads regularly and in a timely manner;
• Monitor and help minimize accounts-receivable balances;
• Work closely with other Team Leaders, identifying opportunities to improve and foster stronger team skills with the optimal goal of improving producer profitability;
• Utilize knowledge of CentralStar products and services to promote a higher level of integration among all business units, so team members can effectively surround the customer with integrated product and service options;
• Contact appropriate consultants, as requested, to provide services such as farm records analysis, benchmarking of reproductive statistics, etc.;
• Present organizational and technological changes in a positive manner;
• Maintain appropriate documentation relative to each team member for the purpose of individual staff development, with goal setting, and perform and analyze annual performance reviews;
• Support the full implementation and utilization of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program;
• Continue to develop skills and knowledge through attendance at supervisory or other educational sessions;
• Work with field personnel to maintain an appropriate inventory level;
• Strive to continually build trust, value others, communicate effectively, drive execution, foster innovation, focus on the customer, collaborate with others, solve problems creatively and demonstrate high integrity, modeling these behaviors for those they work with;
• Consistently demonstrate a thorough knowledge of and support for CentralStar’s mission, vision, culture initiative, policies and procedures, confidentiality standards, and the code of ethical behavior; and
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS:

• Must have a strong dairy-industry background;
• Bachelor’s degree in animal science, management, agri-business, or related field with five or more years of experience desired (a combination of successful experience and education considered);
• Successful management experience with an emphasis on sales and service required;
• Outstanding people skills, with service-oriented attitude;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Exceptional public-speaking skills, including pre-speech preparation, dynamic delivery efforts, and the ability to interact with the audience and answer questions;
• Must be self-motivated with a high degree of initiative;
• Strong planning, organizational, and time-management skills required;
• Display consistent professionalism;
• Demonstrate ability to engage and motivate others;
• Strong work ethic, with the ability to work independently, as well as in a team structure;
• Must be able to honor confidentiality;
• Must be able to accommodate an irregular work schedule to provide field assistance, and to facilitate and attend training sessions and/or meetings.
• Requires a valid driver’s license and a safe driving record;
• Must be able and willing to travel, as necessary, throughout CentralStar’s service area; and
• Excellent computer skills, including but not limited to DairyComp 305, DART (formerly PCDART), e-mail, spreadsheets, presentation programs, and customer-management programs, with the ability to learn other associated software, as needed.

BENEFITS:

• Salary;
• Paid time off;
• Health-, dental-, and vision-insurance options;
• Flexible-spending account;
• 401 (k) – retirement savings plan with up to 4% match;
• Company-sponsored life insurance and long-term-disability insurance;
• Optional short-term-disability insurance;
• Continuing-education opportunities;
• Employee-assistance program;
• Employee-awards program; and
• Company vehicle provided.