Strategy Associate
Job Overview:
The Corporate Strategy team at Land O’Lakes works closely with the top leaders of our Cooperative to help them solve their most critical strategic problems. The team oversees designing strategic initiatives for the whole enterprise and each business unit, as well as analyzing how changing market conditions affect our businesses and what we can do about it. This team also leads the Corporate strategic planning process on behalf of the Executive Leadership Team and the Board of Directors.
Position Overview: The Associate role provides a tremendous opportunity to deepen and broaden your knowledge of Land O’Lakes’ food and agribusiness segments, accelerated professional development, and exposure to the leadership team. Associates are integral members of project teams and manage critical growth initiatives workstreams while partnering directly with internal client teams.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Planning: Support the development and implementation of corporate strategic plans in alignment with organizational goals, market trends, and competitive dynamics. Continuously assess and refine strategies to ensure responsiveness to evolving business landscapes.
Market Industry Analysis and Insight: Partner with Economic Research team to develop comprehensive market analysis, including competitor benchmarking, industry trends, and customer insights. Translate findings into actionable recommendations to inform strategic decision-making processes.
Strategic Growth Initiatives: Support strategic initiatives sponsored by executive leadership, with primary focus on growth, in consulting-like engagements. Develop rigorous, fact-based, quantitative analyses to support recommendations. Build and manage relationships with company executives, supporting and influencing decisions aligned with enterprise and business unit strategy. Collaborate cross-functionally and influence without authority to drive business decisions and advance long-term strategic efforts
Candidate Profile
- Curious and Analytical
- Intellectually curious with the ability to go beyond surface-level information to seek and understand key insights and business implications
- Ability to track down primary/secondary research, analyze data, and synthesize findings
- Business Acumen
- Experience using quantitative and qualitative strategic and financial frameworks to analyze the attractiveness and potential of growth opportunities
- Foundational knowledge and exposure to multiple business disciplines (i.e. marketing, supply chain, or finance/accounting)
- Driven and Results-Oriented
- Sense of urgency and flexibility to meet tight deadlines while juggling multiple priorities
- Motivated self-starter with the ability to work through ambiguity
- Commitment to consistent, high-quality deliverables
- Strong Collaborator
- Team player
- Track record of quickly gaining credibility, partnering with business leaders
- Able to effectively lead and contribute to cross-functional teams through influence
- Excellent Communicator
- Demonstrated professional confidence, communication and presentation skills when interfacing with executive leadership
- Proven ability to articulate business strategies
Experience and Education
- 4-year degree required
- Track record of outstanding performance while working on high-impact projects and initiatives, including project management experience required
- 4 or more years of broad-based business/commercial experience in strategy, consulting, finance, marketing, or supply chain required
- Food and agribusiness industry experience a plus
- MBA Preferred
Hiring salary is negotiable based on experience: $102,480-$153,720
About Land O'Lakes, Inc.
Join us and be part of a Fortune 250, farmer- and member-owned cooperative that is reimagining the business of food. We have been named a Top Workplace by Indeed and LinkedIn, and to the TIME 100 Most Influential Companies list.
Benefits for most full-time roles include medical, dental, vision, PTO, life & disability insurance, education assistance, a 401k and a variety of well-being resources. Most part-time employees are eligible for prorated PTO, holiday pay, employee development programs, prorated education assistance, and a 401(k).
Land O'Lakes, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) M/F/Vets/Disabled. The company maintains a drug-free workforce, including post-employment substance abuse testing pursuant to a Drug and Alcohol Policy.
Neither Land O’Lakes, nor its search firms, will ever contact you and ask for confidential information over the phone or in email. If you receive a call or email like this, please do not provide the information being requested.
What We Do
Land O’Lakes, Inc. is a 100-year-old farmer- and retailer-owned cooperative originally formed with the purpose of working together to create new market opportunities. Fast forward to today and we’ve built on that uniting spirit, developing a comprehensive and leading view of agriculture while maintaining an unwavering commitment to delivering strong annual performance and long-term, shared success with our member-owners.
Land O’Lakes believes farmers are the entrepreneurs who truly change the world for the better. By working together with our member-owners, we can continue to strengthen our system, champion farming’s true potential and place our farmer- and retail-owners at the heart of creating a better world for all.
