Business Development Director

Location: Regionally-based (MN, IA, WI) with frequent travel required 

Department: Regenerative Agriculture Alliance 

Reports to: Executive Director, Diane Christofore   

Regenerative Agriculture Alliance seeks a Business Development Director to oversee the implementation
of Climate-Smart Chicken and Feed: Scaling climate-smart grain and poultry commodity production as a
system-level climate solution for the Midwest Climate-Smart Commodities Pilot Project. In partnership
with Regeneration International, the RAA is implementing a $5 million dollar Partnerships for
Climate-Smart Commodities grant program enrolling growers with a focus on practices related to row
crop, specialty crop, and livestock.

RAA Background  

The Regenerative Agriculture Alliance was created in 2018 to build a regenerative, equitable, and socially
just agriculture sector. We are focused on scaling up a systems-level regenerative poultry solution that
restores ecological balance, produces nourishing food, and puts money back into the hands of farmers
and food chain workers. To do this requires building a supply chain from the ground up, that integrates
grassroots organizing of farmers with physical infrastructure and other regenerative enterprises.  

A Job for a Changemaker
     The RAA was founded to design system-level strategies for change and to oversee the deployment of the business ecosystems to make such change happen. Every position in the ecosystem, from a farmer to a processing plant manager to an Executive Director is aligned with the organization’s strategy. We
approach regenerative agriculture through ecosystem management. Just as the regenerative poultry
system works with the entire ecosystem of the land to produce abundant food, scaling regenerative
poultry takes an ecosystem of businesses to produce regenerative outcomes. That is why collective
ecosystem management forms the backbone of what we do.
      The person in this position will have the responsibility to understand and visualize not only the business
level, but the ecosystem of businesses already engaged in the Poultry-Centered Regenerative Agriculture
(PCRA) system. This role will map and design specific pathways to further integrate the PCRA
enterprises in order to visualize the ecosystem’s full business development potential.
      As a changemaker, the primary role is to see poultry as the pivot of the whole theory of system change,
and after understanding the current business development progress achieved, find paths for the already
mapped PCRA business development opportunities to materialize.
      The focus of this position is defined by a Climate Smart Commodities grant, and it has a focus on grains
and poultry as part of this grant, but the position itself goes beyond this, hence the need for this person to
be able to visualize a much more integrated horizon of opportunities. There will be a need for the application of core financial planning tools (P&Ls, Cash Flows, Start-up
Budgeting, Balance Sheet, engaging capital markets, etc).

      Permanent systems change as the primary outcome will materialize as a result of the change in
ownership, control, and governance behind the whole ecosystem. This is an invitation for an intellectual
reloading of our understanding of business management, and to start thinking from the perspective of
“business ecosystem management”, and optimize the use of existing business systems to achieve the
desired outcomes. The definition of innovation we adhere to is “the ability to take what already exists and
make it exponentially better.” The RAA is building a process that pairs natural ecosystems and the
business ecosystems to ensure that natural wealth is not extracted from people and the land. The PCRA
ecosystem generates the capacity to create wealth that is further cultivated, enhanced, and expanded
until both the health of natural ecosystems and the business ecosystems have been optimized in a
circular and permanent flow of wealth. Centered on poultry, yet circular in its design, this job presents a
true opportunity for innovation and the person will be challenged to think beyond the confines of linear
economics, and linear business development and management.

Position Summary
This role will oversee and integrate the Climate Smart Commodities (CSC) project deliverables into the
Poultry-Centered Regenerative Agriculture Ecosystem with a systems-level design that de-risks,
streamlines, supports, and connects–like an ecosystem–the many interdependent elements of a truly
regenerative food system. Primary responsibilities will include leading strategic planning and scalability
strategies, developing relationships with key operating partners and market channels, and leveraging the
organization’s position as a federal grant recipient to raise extra capital.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Climate-Smart Commodities Enterprise & Value Chain Development

• Develop Poultry-Centered Regenerative Agriculture (PCRA) grain supply-chain relationships
• Grain Producers
• Feed Mills
• Grain Transportation Logistics
• Food Grade-Grain Market
• Poultry Feed Market
• Coordinate with Regenerative Agriculture Solutions (RAS) to engage CSC-enrolled grain producers
  and connect into the Poultry-Centered Regenerative Agriculture ecosystem through the aggregation of grains
• Strategic, business planning (financial and otherwise) & development for regional regenerative grain
  aggregation, grinding and mixing, whole grain mixing, and distribution channels
• Content Creation and Presentations as related to the PCRA ecosystem and specific to the Climate
  Smart Commodities grant (Example presentation outlets: Regenerative Poultry Convergence, External
  Partner Events/Conferences, Strategic Business Meetings)

Grant Reporting Responsibilities

• Data and Submit Quarterly narrative reporting of project activities
• Quarterly detailed progress reporting support for partner and marketing activities
• Financial and other record keeping of activities for reporting and audit purposes

Financial Analysis

• Review, update, and inform existing financial, enterprise, business unit models for producers and
  supply chain enterprises/activities involved in the PCRA ecosystem, ground truthing data where
  needed and updating models.
• Identifying and developing new financial, enterprise, and business unit models where needed (for
  instance, new business lines/supply chain to plug into Tree-Range Farms).

Ecosystem-Level Stewardship & Communication

• Integration of Ecosystem-Based Enterprise Development, Strategic Planning, and Business
  Integration/Alignment. The PCRA already incorporates up to 20 enterprise sectors. While this position
  is focused on grains, the integration of grain producers, aggregation and processing facility,
  distribution, marketing outside of the PCRA demand for these products, and ensuring that the
  ownership and control structures are such that the PCRA business ecosystem is consistently the pivot
  for any venture/enterprise that is aggregated.
• The Business Development Director will be responsible for creating and presenting content relevant to
  the Climate-Smart Commodities project and the PCRA system to be shared at stakeholder meetings
  and community outreach and partner events.

Qualifications

• Professional communication skills (interpersonal, written, phone)
• Self-motivated, proactive, detail oriented, focus
• Time management and prioritization skills
• Openness to participating in an open and collaborative environment
• Familiarity with Google Workspace
• Experience working directly with farms/farmers and food systems
• Experience with general accounting and budgeting
• Financial planning background
• Entrepreneur &/or experience launching new companies
• Collecting and Analyzing Data
• Develop Recordkeeping Systems
• Ability to identity patterns and clearly articulate that into financial biz planning tools for the ecosystem

Preferred Qualifications

• Accounting knowledge (MBA, Intermediate University Accounting Course Level Equiv. or above)
• Financial & Enterprise Analysis (credit, cash flow, investment, enterprise budgeting, etc.)
• Small-Grain Supply-Chain Experience
• Federal Grant Writing & Management Experience
• Bi-lingual (Spanish)
• Located appx. within one hour driving distance of Northfield, MN (organization’s headquarters)

Compensation: Salaried position, 90K-95K based on experience.

Benefits: Competitive health, dental, vision plan. 120 hours PTO annually.

Application Instructions: Please send a cover letter and resume or list of relevant
experiences to info@regenagalliance.org with the title Business Development Director.

Below are a few prompts for you to consider including in your cover letter:
1. What motivated you to apply for this role?
2. What excites you about this opportunity to join the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance
team and the ecosystem as a whole?

Deadline: April 28th, 2024

Questions: Reach out to info@regenagalliance.org

More information about our mission and work can be found at www.regenagalliance.org. The
Regenerative Agriculture Alliance is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome all to apply.
The RAA is committed to building an internal culture of inclusion, equity and diversity, while
overseeing the deployment of agricultural solutions that deliver critical social and economic
benefits to farmers of color, Indigenous peoples, and rural communities. We work on
systems-level strategies that restore ecological balance, produce nourishing food, and place
farmers and food chain workers at the forefront of defining the ownership, control, and
governance of the system.