Strategic Program Lead

AgCountry Farm Credit Services (AgCountry), Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica) and Frontier Farm Credit are financial cooperatives that operate under shared management across eight states. While each association is owned by its local farmers and ranchers, they collaborate by pooling resources, expertise, and talent to provide affordable credit, crop insurance, and financial services.

Our associations are united by a common mission and commitment to serving rural America and supporting each other, which drives the success of the farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness we serve. We take pride in being a great place to work, and this enthusiasm is reflected in the relationships our team members foster with one another and with our customers.

We are seeking a Strategic Program Lead. This role will play a critical role in our Associations’ strategic initiatives by partnering with Senior/Executives and Strategic Initiative Owners throughout the lifecycle of a strategic initiative. This role partners with the Strategic Initiative Owner and is viewed as the ‘right-hand person’ to help guide, coordinate, and execute the initiative through the entire strategy lifecycle (definition, initiative discovery, design, delivery execution and realization of the value of the strategy). This includes building & facilitating an effective program governance structure, building and maintaining high performing cross-functional teams, and influencing change. You will get the exciting opportunity to collaborate with Executive/Sr Leaders, Product Management, and teams in all phases of multi-year enterprise strategic program(s). This role may also oversee initiatives/programs sponsored directly by Business Units as well as one or many simultaneous strategic initiatives. 

• Guide/direct on all phases of an enterprise multi-year strategic initiative(s) or large-scale business unit priorities which require cross-functional engagement with key stakeholders, leaders, product management, business stakeholders, and partners. Collaborates with Sr Leadership/Product teams in planning, organizing, and directing an enterprise-wide strategic initiative, as well as providing overall program delivery/execution oversight to cross-functional delivery teammates. Ensure program infrastructure is defined and provides support to the readiness/delivery teams. Ensure strategic initiative has defined business outcomes, business case(s) and manage the budget/time parameters by establishing and monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) to make data-driven decisions. Identify any deviations/derailers of the strategy and raise risks to the Initiative Lead. 

• Responsible for the management and facilitation of the Program’s Governance structure & conduct/facilitate forums (ex. steering committees, stakeholder forums, readiness). Maintain relationships with key stakeholders (Exec Sponsor, Business Champion, Initiative Lead, and Initiative Readiness Team) to ensure alignment, engagement, and to gather feedback and ensure their needs are met. 

• Ensure processes, tools, methodologies, metrics and practices are in place for consistent/successful delivery of the initiative/program. Manage overall enterprise strategic program milestones, RAID, decision logs, escalations and raise risks and decision requirements to the Initiative Lead. Address and resolve conflicts/constraints within the program team(s) or with external partners. Gather and coordinate status reporting of the strategic initiative. Communicates with key stakeholders when decisions are made. Coordinates overall status reporting, communication, issue management, and cross-work stream risk & dependencies identification and resolution. 

• Percentage of time required to travel during the day - 25%
• Percentage of time required to travel overnight - 25%

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience preferred.

• 10 years of experience in Enterprise program management, Leadership/Sr leadership roles, strategy development with proven track record of working in collaboration across large, complex organizations is required.
• 10 years of experience in AgFinancing is preferred. 

Why Us:

For qualifying positions, we provide a competitive benefits package designed to support health and well-being, financial security, and work-life balance:

• Health Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Retirement Plans: 401(k) 
• Paid Time Off: Vacation, sick leave, paid holidays, and parental leave
• Additional Benefits: Life and disability insurance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), wellness programs, tuition assistance, and short-term incentive pay

For a comprehensive overview of our total reward offerigs, click here.

About Us:

AgCountry has 45 offices, is based in Fargo, North Dakota and serves portions of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, FCSAmerica is based in Omaha, NE and has 42 local offices serving rural communities and agriculture in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Frontier Farm Credit has six offices serving eastern Kansas. Together, we support nearly 82,000 producers and agribusinesses, meeting the needs of today’s agricultural industry with our combined 2600 employees providing lending, risk management, technology, commodity marketing, and customer and employee education.

AgCountry Farm Credit Services, ACA, Farm Credit Services of America, ACA, and Frontier Farm Credit, ACA are Equal Employment Opportunity employers, and they comply with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws.