Farmlink Project National Produce Sourcing Manager Remote · Full time Company website

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Each year in the United States, billions of pounds of food go to waste. At the same time, over 35 million Americans experience food insecurity. The Farmlink Project is a non-profit organization that connects farms with surplus to food banks to feed people in need, reduce carbon emissions & empower the next generation of changemakers in the food system.

National Produce Sourcing Manager

Role Summary

The National Produce Sourcing Manager is Farmlink's primary connection to the national

produce supply chain. This role is accountable for building and maintaining the supply relationships, market awareness, and national sourcing strategy that ensure Farmlink has a robust post-harvest food donation pipeline. This is an external and market-facing role built on meaningful relationships, strategic timing, and readiness, requiring an intuition for opportunities that secure food for those in need.

The National Produce Sourcing Manager operates at the speed of the produce industry.

They maintain real-time visibility into surplus conditions across major growing regions, distribution hubs, and ports of entry, ensuring Farmlink is positioned to act within 24 to 48 hours when food donations become available. Building deep industry relationships and market intelligence is central to this role, along with operating with speed and judgment in time sensitive situations. This role requires being trusted inside the produce industry as well as comfort with ambiguity, capability to sustain relationships over long cycles, and staying present in a dynamic market without forcing outcomes.

On the strategy side, the National Produce Sourcing Manager is a key driver of Farmlink's

national post-harvest sourcing approach, identifying gaps in current supply coverage, and building new channels across the full produce supply chain, from growers and packers to importers, cold storage operators, and logistics providers. They engage at every level of the industry, building trust and establishing Farmlink as a reliable partner for redirecting surplus food.

The National Produce Sourcing Manager works in close collaboration with the Senior Advisor for Food Recovery Strategy, the Senior Manager of Program Optimization & Sourcing, and the Food Program Operations team, ensuring that national sourcing efforts are aligned with organizational priorities, distribution capacity, and operations.

Key Responsibilities

Market Intelligence & National Strategy

Real Time Supply Visibility & Readiness

• Develop visibility into time sensitive food supply and ensure the organization is positioned to act quickly when product becomes available
• Position the organization ahead of potential availability by maintaining ongoing visibility into supply conditions, even when no immediate opportunity exists
• Ensure readiness to move donated product within 24 to 48 hours by aligning with Food Program Operations team ahead of confirmed opportunities

Market Awareness & Timing

• Maintain strong awareness of commercial sales cycles, harvest patterns, and regional production shifts
• Monitor market dynamics that influence surplus, including pricing pressure, grade outs, and shifting demand
• Maintain familiarity with import market dynamics, including ports of entry, import seasonality, and the conditions under which imported product becomes available for donation
• Align outreach and positioning with dynamic market conditions

National Post-Harvest Strategy

• Inform organizational post-harvest sourcing strategy
• Collaborate closely with the Senior Advisor for Food Recovery Strategy, Senior Manager, Programs Optimization & Sourcing, and the Food Program Operations team to ensure national sourcing efforts align with organizational priorities and distribution capacity
• Identify gaps in current sourcing coverage and develop new supply channels
• Strengthen presence in high volume production and distribution markets
• Maintain familiarity with major U.S. growing regions and their seasonal production patterns to inform ongoing strategy

Industry Relationships & Opportunity Activation

• Build, expand, and maintain supply relationships across major produce regions and the produce supply chain, including:
• Growers
• Packers and shippers
• Sales desks
• Importers and exporters
• Cold storage operators
• Logistics providers
• Engage effectively at all levels, from executives to warehouse and dock staff, to develop awareness of supply conditions and uncover opportunities
• Build trust with industry partners to support making Farmlink the first call when a donation window opens and product needs to move fast
• Generate consistent, high quality supply leads across key growing regions, distribution hubs, and ports of entry
• Develop leads into actionable opportunities, maintaining momentum through confirmation and a clean transition to the Food Program Operations team
• Collaborate, as relevant, with the Manager of Agricultural Relations to coordinate grower relationship management

Food Program Operations (~25%)

• Maintain post-harvest food donor pipeline in organizational systems to support ongoing relationship cultivation, stewardship, and tracking
• Ensure smooth food donation handoffs to the Food Program Operations team, and execution, clearly documenting and communicating product details, timing, and logistics windows
• Collaborate with Food Program Operations team to transition ongoing food donor account management and engage as relevant to provide seamless customer service, communications, and relationship stewardship

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in the fresh produce industry required (e.g., grower, shipper, wholesaler, terminal market, sales desk, sourcing)
• Strong understanding of the commercial produce supply chain
• Proven ability to build relationships and operate independently in fast moving environments
• Demonstrated ability to maintain relationships through long or irregular cycles without losing momentum
• Ability to read market conditions and anticipate where supply will emerge
• Experience with or exposure to import markets, including key ports of entry and cross border produce flow, strongly preferred
• Comfortable making decisions quickly with incomplete information
• Strong communication skills across a wide range of stakeholders
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred, particularly valuable when working with growers, packers, and shippers operating across the U.S. Mexico border and Latin America
• Willingness to travel as needed to maintain and build relationships

What This Role Is Not

• Not a purchasing or procurement role
• Not focused on inventory management, forecasting, or ERP systems
• Not managing a fixed portfolio of donor accounts
• Not responsible for recipient agency placement or distribution coordination
• Opportunities in this role are unpredictable and time sensitive. Candidates who prefer structured workflows, long planning cycles, or clearly defined pipelines are unlikely to find this role a fit

What Success Looks Like

• Real-time market intelligence actively informs sourcing strategy and organizational positioning, with the National Produce Sourcing Manager recognized as an internal expert on national supply conditions
• Consistent generation of real time supply leads across multiple regions with the ability to confirm and hand off opportunities within 24 to 48 hour windows
• Growth in national supply relationships and sourcing coverage resulting in increased volume of fresh produce entering the distribution pipeline
• Industry partners return with opportunities because Farmlink has established itself as a trusted and reliable partner in the commercial produce supply chain