Regional Commercial Agronomy Lead - Prairie Region

About Pivot Bio:  

Fueled by an innovative drive and a deep understanding of microbiology, genomics, crop nutrition and agriculture, Pivot Bio is pioneering game-changing advances in fertilizer technology. Our first commercial product harnesses the power of naturally-occurring microbes, modern gene editing and application technologies to provide nitrogen to crops.  We are dedicated to providing new solutions for farmers to improve yield as they work to help feed the world’s growing population. Read/Hear more about Pivot Bio on Forbes or PBS News Hour.

We are seeking a Regional Commercial Agronomy Lead to manage, support, and lead a team of Commercial Agronomists on a regional level, while also providing agronomy support for an assigned portion of the region. As a key member of the Commercial team, the RCAL leads regional agronomy efforts for product performance data generation and sharing, seller agronomic and technical product training, and on-farm grower support. Pivot Bio products aim to deliver a more consistent and reliable source of nitrogen to crops and our Commercial Agronomy team strives to be industry leading nitrogen advisors. The ideal candidate will reside within this region.

Essential Functions:

• Provide regional leadership and management of Commercial Agronomists in geographical area.
• Lead technical product knowledge, nitrogen management, customer support, and agronomy information training and development of the assigned team of Commercial Agronomists.
• Lead commercial agronomy activites such as seller training, product demonstrations, and customer support for an assigned portion of the region.
• Provide supplemental or next level sales and agronomy support and training for agronomists in the region. Manage current and next generation product demonstration trialing and performance data generation efforts for the region.
• Support and facilitate commercial activities including regional product placement suggestions, regional marketing support, and regional sales staff trainings.
• Collaborate with Regional Sales Leader on regional strategy for distribution development and sales support.
• Lead agronomy training and trialing efforts with regional Retail distribution partners.
• Manage key 3rd party relationships and trialing efforts within region.
• Assist sales teams with regional sales representative trainings and customer facing events to provide technical product knowledge and agronomy support.
• Develop and provide regional agronomy research summary materials that can be used to support product management, positioning, field sales, and training.
• Work in partnership with the regional Product Development team to characterize and demonstrate the advantages of new commercial and pre-commercial products.
• Collaborate with Product Development regarding product testing and validation efforts with university organizations and other third-party partnerships.
• Regularly integrate emerging technology tools for evaluation of products as well as grower demonstrations and support.

Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to manage and lead a team of individual contributors.
• Strong background in agronomy or related field with a solid understanding of agricultural crops and inputs within the assigned geography.
• Experience with fertilizer and fertility knowledge of products, applications, practices, and crop needs.
• Fluent in understanding and ability to educate on nitrogen and nitrogen management.
• Ability to engage/present in customer field days, meetings, as well as certain company events.
• Strong background in field sales training with experience in technical knowledge transfer to both professional agronomists and customers or sales representatives.
• Ability to plan, troubleshoot and evaluate product performance in customers’ fields utilizing precision software and other technology tools, such as remote sensing and aerial imagery.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• This position manages a team of Commercial Agronomists within this region.

Work Environment:

• Home office based within region - this position will require travel 60% of time

Required Education & Experience:

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy or related field
• 10+ years experience in agronomy with solid understanding of agricultural crops and fertilizer inputs within the assigned geography
• 5+ years experience in people management

Must be authorized to work in the United States