Sourcing Lead - Crop Protection

Farmers Business Network, Inc. (FBN®) is a pioneering digital marketplace and farmer-to-farmer network dedicated to empowering family farmers globally while promoting sustainable agriculture. With over 117,000 members, FBN's Farmers First® promise unites growers and ranchers in their quest to maximize profitability and increase food production. FBN leverages data, AI and direct-to-farm delivery to simplify the agricultural supply chain, boosting convenience and transparency, reducing farm input costs, enhancing access to financing and services, and providing personalized farm insights. Its Gradable® joint-venture helps thousands of farmers adopt and earn rewards for regenerative practices while simplifying the access of regenerative products for the world’s leading food companies and grain buyers.

FBN Marketplace is expanding its third-party supplier ecosystem, where external partners compete to serve farmer demand through a scalable platform. Reporting to VP of Category Management, the CP Sourcing Lead is the single-threaded owner for third-party supply of Crop Protection products within FBN Marketplace. This role consolidates supplier sourcing, supply coordination, negotiation, and performance management for non-manufactured products. In a lean operating model, this role functions as the primary third-party supply capability, partnering closely with Marketplace, Category Management, Demand Planning, Finance, and Logistics to ensure the right products are selected, funded, and available to meet farmer needs.

This is a senior individual contributor role with broad accountability for outcomes, not people management.

Serve as the single-threaded owner for third-party supply execution across FBN Marketplace for Crop Protection products

Consolidate supplier sourcing, commitments, and execution in a lean operating environment

Act as the central point of accountability for third-party product availability, timing, and readiness

Resolve third-party supply issues end-to-end without reliance on a dedicated supply team

Achieve savings targets by deploying appropriate negotiation strategies, such as bids, sharing price intelligence, and securing multiple supply options.

Own end-to-end relationships with third-party CP suppliers across all non-manufactured products

Lead supplier identification, evaluation, onboarding, and ongoing management

Negotiate commercial terms including pricing, payment terms, rebates, and service levels

Maintain clear supplier expectations aligned to Marketplace demand and operational constraints

Partner with Category Management to determine:

Which products are sourced vs. internally manufactured (GCS)

Which suppliers participate in each category

Support assortment rationalization to reduce complexity and improve execution

Ensure suppliers are operationally ready for new product launches, promotions, and seasonal demand

Work with Category Management on preferred model, ie, Vendor Stock on Demand or Direct Purchase

Work closely with Demand Planning to align forecasts, buy quantities, and replenishment strategies

Translate demand signals into supplier commitments and purchase plans

Identify and mitigate supply risks including lead times, shortages, substitutions, and supplier constraints

Adjust buy plans dynamically based on in-season demand and supplier performance

Partner with the Demand, Supply Chain and Logistics teams to execute inbound, storage, and drop-ship strategies

Ensure third-party products are positioned appropriately to meet customer delivery expectations

Coordinate timing, quantities, and fulfillment methods with logistics and demand partners

Act as the primary escalation point for third-party supply execution issues

Partner with Finance to manage cash requirements and working capital for third-party purchases

Track replacement COGS on a weekly basis

Balance product availability with disciplined cash management

Track margin performance and support variance analysis for third-party products

Support quarterly and annual planning processes related to third-party supply

Work closely with the Marketplace and Sales teams to ensure pricing, availability, and assortment support conversion

Support campaigns, promotions, and demand spikes with aligned supplier execution

Communicate supplier constraints, opportunities, and substitutions proactively

Own supplier performance metrics including fill rate, availability, margin performance, and service levels

Drive corrective actions with underperforming suppliers

Support a lightweight governance and approval process for new third-party product introductions

Ensure clear documentation and decision ownership across third-party supply activities

The following represents FBN's reasonable estimate of the US national average base salary range for this role based on market data and placement of internal employees: $129,870 - $144,300 annually. This salary range may vary based on geography and the higher cost of labor in some metropolitan areas.

Beyond Base Pay, FBN also offers all full-time/permanent employees competitive total compensation packages that include equity compensation (dependent upon job level), incentive/bonus plans (dependent upon position), paid holidays plus an additional floating holiday, work flexibility including paid time off and remote work if your role is eligible, parental leave, benefits including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, wellbeing, short & long term disability, life insurance, 401k, HSA employer contributions, and more.