Grower Contracts Manager

  • Driscoll's, Inc.
  • US - Watsonville, California
  • 1w ago
  • Full-Time
  • On-site

About the Opportunity

The Grower Contracts Manager is responsible for the end to end administrative management of grower agreements, ensuring accurate documentation, compliance with internal policies, and smooth execution of contract related processes. This role is not a legal function; instead, it focuses on operational contract administration, coordinating with internal stakeholders, maintaining contract systems, and ensuring all contracting activities are organized, tracked, and completed efficiently.

The ideal candidate is detail oriented, highly organized, skilled in process management, and comfortable partnering with cross functional teams—including Legal, Finance, Procurement, and Business Operations—to facilitate contract lifecycle activities.

 

Responsibilities

Contract Administration & Coordination (with support from Contract Coordinator)

• Serves as the primary point of contact for US/Canada grower agreement intake, routing, processing, and tracking

• Manage the full administrative lifecycle of US/Canada grower contracts, including drafting from templates, collecting required documents, coordinating signatures, and maintaining accurate records

• Work closely with internal teams to ensure US/Canada grower contract requests have proper approvals and align with company processes

• Monitor expiring agreements and coordinate renewals or amendments as needed

• Recommend enhancements to processes, templates, or systems to increase efficiency and accuracy

• Support the review of land descriptions for the purpose of test orders and the related land consents

• Ensure the security of Driscoll’s confidential and proprietary information and materials with discretion in all dealings internally and externally

• Lead processes to confirm the inputs for each nursery cycle’s plant orders to support Plant Supply deadlines for plant ordering and/or plant delivery deadlines (contracts, business model changes, planting incentives, term expirations, etc.)

Process & Compliance Management

• Ensure all US/Canadian Grower contract activities adhere to internal policies, procedures, delegation-of-authority guidelines, and document retention requirements

• Partner with the Legal team to escalate contract questions or issues requiring legal interpretation

• Coordinate with Product Leadership and Finance to confirm that contract data aligns with Business Model inputs & District specific parameters

• Support audits and internal reviews by providing contract documentation and reports

• Recommend enhancements to processes, templates, or systems to increase efficiency and accuracy

US/Canadian Grower Onboarding

• At the request of District Management, responsible for providing Non-Disclosure Agreements to potential (new) grower companies

• Gather appropriate New Supplier tax documentation and New Grower Information Forms and maintain Tradeflow screening and registration as required

• Generate new Master Agreements (Services, Sales Agreements & On Farm Testing Agreements) and related Plant Order documents as needed

• Upon execution of agreement, initiate US/Canada Grower Records for setup in ERP system

Stakeholder Support & Communication

• Provide guidance to internal stakeholders on contract processes, routing requirements, and workflow expectations

• Train team members on best practices for contract intake, documentation, and system usage

• Serve as a liaison between business owners and Legal/Procurement during the contracting process

• Provide guidance to internal stakeholders on contract processes, routing requirements, and workflow expectations

• Support On Farm Testing Agreements within the policy guidelines of Genetic Deployment and R&D

   

Candidate Profile

•    Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations, or related field—or equivalent work experience
•    8+ years of experience in contract administration, business operations, or similar administrative role
•    Strong analytical and project management skills
•    Demonstrate the ability to lead cross functional teams throughout the organization
•    Experience with Grower Contract management and general and transactional legal support 
•    Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook & PowerPoint – Advanced
•    Must have the ability to learn new software and technologies quickly
•    Contract Management software experience – Advanced 
•    Spanish preferred but not required 
•    French a plus
•    2+ years team management – a plus 

Preferred (other) Qualifications
•    Basic Contract Drafting highly desired
•    Experience in the agricultural industry a plus
•    Experience with IP licensing a plus
•    Progressively responsible experience in providing general and transactional legal support and supporting process improvement design and implementation 
•    Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills, the ability to develop close working relationships and to work and collaborate effectively across many diverse internal/external groups, teams and cultures
•    Excellent verbal and written communication skills required.
•    Strong collaboration skills, ability to organize and share information with a customer focused mindset
•    Ability to effectively prioritize and manage multiple projects or tasks at the same time
•    Reliability, attention to detail, and accuracy are a must
•    Should be self-motivated and able to work independently

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 for the Grower Contract Manager: $108,000 to $140,000 USD.

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 benefits package will be shared during the application process.
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