Director Food and Agribusiness Operations

Are you interested in working at one of the Best Places to Work in Kentucky?

At Farm Credit Mid-America, we believe people are our strongest asset. We are consistently looking to hire individuals from a wide range of experience and capabilities who have a desire to serve. Currently, we have over 1,100 employees across Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Director Food and Agribusiness Operations is responsible for leading a team of individuals who perform commercial lending and/or loan administration functions; providing leadership, management, and specialized technical expertise to operations team members and business associates.

About Food and Agribusiness:

The Food and Agribusiness division is responsible for servicing the Association’s largest complex customers. The portfolio includes Commercial Ag originations direct to borrowers, including those where Farm Credit Mid-America may be the administrative agent, as well as interests in multi-bank syndications and participations, and other debt instruments.

The Operations team supports the day to day operations of loans pertaining to niche industries that require unique handling and industry knowledge.

Key Responsibilities :

• Defining team operating standards and monitoring adherence to essential procedures
• Leading and mentoring others, setting team’s direction and deploying resources, evaluating performance, reviewing pay and recommending employment decisions
• Achieving results by leading members of their team as well as influencing and negotiating with team members in other areas of the organization.
• Maintaining technical expertise, business knowledge, and process development capabilities
• Being accountable for performance and results in business, functional or operational areas
• Developing processes and programs that promote an understanding of and positively contribute to the customer experience.
• Modeling organizational values, encouraging a shared vision and holding their teams accountable for culture preservation and growth
• Managing workflow and monitoring procedure compliance.
• Finding opportunities for improvement.
• Developing and/or monitoring reporting for use in processing, servicing, quality control, and department key metrics.
• Participating and /or leading project teams to meet project deliverables
• Being responsible for task prioritization, team quality assurance, maintenance, service level adherence, and special projects as assigned.
• Leading and mentoring team members to effectively support the lending process and account servicing consistent with the department and Association goals.

Directors ADAPT by:

• Adjusting departmental plans and priorities to address resource and operational challenges with focus on the next one to two years’ priorities
• Making decisions within their area of responsibility based on policies, procedures and business plan
• Using resource availability and functional objectives to achieve departmental goals
• Partnering with their leader on disciplinary or salary actions
• Applying acquired expertise to analyze and solve problems without clear precedent

Directors CONNECT by:

• Coordinating and collaborating with cross-functional leaders to make recommendations and solve problems
• Providing technical guidance to employees, colleagues and/or customers
• Completing department reporting to support sound credit administration and efficient work flow and supports the training for newer teammates, refresher for tenured staff and teambuilding.
• As appropriate, other duties may be assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Agriculture or an appropriate combination of education and experience; Farm Credit experience considered.

Five (5) or more years of experience in a financial services operations environment.

One (1) or more years of experience in a leadership role or proven leadership capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications:

Comprehensive understanding of commercial operations, including multi-bank syndications and participations

Understanding of the Farm Credit System

Knowledge of Project Management and Project Implementation concepts

Proven experience leading operations staff