Sr. Manager, Farm Recruiting Operations

Finding the right place to grow your career isn't (over) easy, so we're here to help by sharing a few reasons why the grass is greener at Vital Farms. We think you'll appreciate our focus on Conscious Capitalism, which drives business decisions that benefit all our stakeholders (leading to even better business results). You might be drawn to our innovative approach and refusal to settle for the "way things have always been done." Or you could find it exciting to grow your skills while working for an industry-leading brand. Whether you're into our values, our brand, or our egg-cellent puns, we hope you'll join our Crew and help us change the world 108 square feet at a time!

At Vital Farms, we are proud of our incredible stakeholders, and the diversity they represent from all areas and communities in which we operate and serve. We view this as a source of strength for us and your job is to help us make it even better.

Your Role:

Reporting to the Director of Farm Network Expansion Strategy, the Senior Manager of Farm Recruiting Operations is a tactical leader focused on enabling the daily success of our farm recruiting team. You'll directly manage a team of Farm Recruiting Managers, supporting them in real time by removing roadblocks, ensuring process consistency, and helping them move prospective farmers through the pipeline efficiently and effectively.

Your focus is operational: guiding the team, keeping the process moving, and ensuring our recruiters are set up to succeed each day.

What You'll Do:

Team Leadership & Daily Support

• Serve as the first point of contact and decision-maker for the Farm Recruiting Managers on day-to-day issues
• Provide real-time guidance and tactical support when recruiters encounter roadblocks with farmer communication, documentation, or onboarding
• Hold regular check-ins with recruiters to maintain alignment, surface needs, and keep work flowing smoothly
• Identify and communicate structural roadblocks upward to the Director of Farm Network Expansion Strategy

Operational Excellence and Process Ownership

• Own and optimize workflows for key activities including CRM use, guardrails management, documentation collection, land evaluation, contracting, and compliance checks.
• Continuously improve standard operation procedures (SOPs) for end-to-end recruitment process, from initial outreach through contracting and onboarding
• Track recruiting activity across all regions and keep the team moving in accordance with the timeline and standards already in place
• Support scheduling, logistics, and sequencing of community meetings, farm visits, and key handoff points
• Proactively identify process bottlenecks and work cross-functionally to implement scalable solutions that support growth across diverse geographies

Decision-Making & Enablement

• Make swift operational decisions within clearly defined guardrails to help recruiters stay on track
• Maintain familiarity with our policies and processes so you can confidently approve next steps when your team hits gray areas
• Serve as the escalation point for common issues and remove administrative, logistical, or situational blockers
• Partner cross-functionally with Farm Support, Pullet Planning, Pullet Production teams to ensure recruitment processes are aligned with broader organizational goals

Tools, Systems & Documentation Stewardship

• Own effectiveness of recruiting tools and platforms - ensuring accuracy and organization in shared systems (e.g., CRM, systems, documentation trackers, shared resources), and work with internal teams to recommend and implement improvements
• Document recurring questions or challenges and help the team apply known solutions
• Ensure rigorous data hygiene and information management practices across your team to enable accurate reporting and decision-making
• Maintain and continuously update documentation, playbooks, and templates to support consistency and clarity across the recruiting operation

People Development & Culture

• Set team-level goals and manage KPIs; use data to monitor performance, identify trends, and course-correct as needed for continuous improvement
• Foster a data-informed culture by ensuring your team understands and utilizes relevant metrics to guide their work
• Foster a strong, mission-aligned team culture grounded in accountability, collaboration, and equity
• Provide ongoing professional development, mentorship, and performance feedback to support growth and retention of your team
• Serve as a role model for inclusive leadership and ethical decision-making in community-based recruiting work

What You Bring to the Table:

• Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Rural Development, Business, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience required.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in agriculture, field recruiting, ag sales, or rural operations; 1-2+ years in a team lead, coordinator, or manager role required.
• Strong operational instincts with a proven ability to keep complex workflows organized and moving.
• Familiarity with CRM systems and shared tracking tools.
• Comfortable making in-the-moment decisions to keep the team unblocked and progressing.
• Clear, concise communicator and highly responsive teammate.
• Ability to travel up to 50% to support your team and maintain visibility into field execution.
• You're no hero - You know the power of teamwork and celebrate the work of others before your own.
• You give a sh*t - You believe in acting like an owner and making Vital Farms a place to be proud of.
• You raise the standards - You know growth can be hard, but you strive to improve yourself and others each day.
• You can walk in someone else's boots - You seek to understand other's viewpoints and think that you get to better answers by sitting on the same side of the table.
• You don't walk on eggshells - You're not afraid to leave the bullsh*t behind and have honest conversations.

What We Bring to the Table:

• A fast-paced, energetic, remote environment with passionate people who are leading a movement to bring ethically produced food to the table.
• Competitive pay and benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, and Paid Parental Leave, just to name a few).
• Generous retirement contributions: 401(k) + 3% Contribution from Day 1.
• Annual bonus and equity grant (subject to business results and company approval)
• Free eggs and butter, along with friends and family discounts.
• Fun team SWAG that will make you the talk of the town.
• Professional development opportunities and an amazing team dedicated to your growth.

At Vital Farms, compensation decisions are dependent upon a variety of factors, which may include, but are not limited to, skill level,experience, education, training, market demands, and business needs.A reasonable estimate of the current starting annual base salary for this position is $130,000 - $150,000. Please keep in mind that hiring at the maximum end of the range would not be typical in order to allow for potential continued future salary growth.