Associate Director, Research & Development (Plant Breeding) at Sakata Seed America, INC. – Woodland, California

The Associate Director of Research & Development serves as the deputy to the Director and provides department-wide leadership support across planning, coordination, execution, and administration. This position is responsible for improving operational alignment across the Research & Development function, ensuring effective follow-through on departmental priorities, and supporting the Director in managing budgets, reviews, reporting, and cross-functional collaboration.

This role is intended to strengthen the effectiveness and capacity of the Director by providing leverage in day-to-day leadership of the department and by building continuity and succession depth for the R&D function. The Associate Director has broad departmental scope and is distinct from site-level operational management roles.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Department Leadership and Coordination

• Support the Director in the overall management and coordination of the Research & Development function.
• Help translate departmental strategy and priorities into actionable plans, clear accountabilities, and measurable follow-through.
• Drive alignment across breeding, research support functions, and related operational activities to improve execution and consistency.
• Monitor progress against departmental goals and operating plans; identify gaps, risks, and corrective actions as appropriate.
• Support the Director in ensuring departmental priorities are communicated clearly and executed effectively.

Breeding Reviews and Research Planning

• Participate in breeding reviews and provide input regarding progress, priorities, resource allocation, and future plans.
• Coordinate follow-up from breeding reviews, including action tracking, accountability, and status reporting.
• Review major projects within the department and recommend adjustments to improve prioritization, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• Support evaluation of new technologies, initiatives, and opportunities relevant to the R&D function.
• Assist in planning and coordinating departmental activities that support long-term research objectives.

Budget, Reporting, and Administrative Support

• Support the Director in departmental budget planning, monitoring, and analysis.
• Consolidate reporting, operating updates, and management summaries to support leadership decision-making.
• Monitor departmental performance metrics and prepare analyses of trends, issues, and opportunities.
• Coordinate with Finance and other internal partners to support budget review, resource planning, and reporting requirements.
• Assist in preparation of materials and summaries for leadership meetings and management review.

Cross-Functional and Cross-Regional Collaboration

• Coordinate and collaborate with other departments to support shared objectives and effective execution of responsibilities.
• Help align research support functions, including biotechnology, pathology, data collection, and data analysis, with departmental priorities.
• Coordinate with Sakata subsidiaries and related partners to support germplasm sharing, common breeding goals, and development of competitive products.
• Promote effective communication and collaboration across teams, functions, and locations.

Leadership Support and Talent Development

• Provide leadership on delegated initiatives and responsibilities as assigned by the Director.
• Support continuity of leadership in the Director’s absence on designated matters.
• Reinforce management discipline, accountability, and consistent execution across the department.
• Support development of team capability, organizational effectiveness, and succession planning within the function.
• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, direction, and performance management to assigned staff.
• Review and approve expenses for assigned reports or delegated areas of responsibility.
• Conduct performance reviews, provide coaching and feedback, and support development planning for assigned employees.
• Ensure roles, responsibilities, authority, and accountability are clearly defined and understood.
• Identify training and development needs and recommend appropriate personnel actions consistent with company policy.
• Promote a positive, collaborative, and accountable work environment.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:

• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Strong analytical and reasoning abilities.
• Ability to establish credibility and be decisive.
• Demonstrated participative management style, advocates team concept.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills. Ability to get along with diverse personalities. Tactful - mature minded - flexible.
• Demonstrated ability to accurately attend to detail.
• Ability to train, supervise and evaluate the performance of subordinates.
• Results oriented with the ability to balance other business considerations
• Experience managing other breeding programs.
• Experience creating planning around both short, mid and long term plant breeding goals.
• Leadership experience that includes a growth mind set, leading by example and a strong competitive drive.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• M.Sc degree in agriculture or related discipline.
• Ph.D. highly desirable.

EXPERIENCE AND BACKGROUND:

• A minimum of 15 years’ experience ideally gained through increasingly responsible management positions.
• Sound administrative skills and well developed management skills.
• Proven ability to recruit, train and motivate personnel in order to balance staffing strength with profitability and growth.

WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Must be able to work long and irregular hours.
• Must be able to travel up to 25-50% of the time throughout the year.
• Must be able to sit for long periods of time.

BENEFITS:

Health & Wellness
Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
Monthly Wellness Stipend
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Disability Insurance (plans vary by location)

Financial Benefits
401(k) Program + Company Match
Profit Sharing Program (via 401(k)

Holiday Bonus

Performance Incentive Bonus Program
Tuition Reimbursement

529 College‑Savings Plan
Company-Paid Basic Life & AD&D Insurance

Time Off & Flexibility
Paid Vacation
Paid Sick Leave
14 Paid Company Holidays
2 Floating Holidays

Birthday Off

*To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty (as described above) satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.