Manager Retail Operations - Application (Salinas, CA)

Role Overview:

The Manager Retail Operations - Application leads the safe, timely, and efficientapplication of fertilizers and crop protection productsacross agricultural field operations. This role is accountable for building and sustaining aculture of safety, operational discipline, and continuous improvementwhile ensuring customer commitments are met in a highly regulated, peak-season environment. The Manager sets the tone for how work gets done safely, efficiently, and with accountability every day and every season.

A Sample of What You'll Do in this Role:

• Lead day and nightfield application operationsin a 24/7, on-call environment.
• Foster asafety-first culture, ensuring compliance with all regulatory and company standards for agricultural chemical application.
• Manage and develop4-6 direct reports, overseeing a total team of approximately70 employees.
• Act as aplayer-coach, providing hands-on leadership during peak season, incidents, and operational disruptions.
• Ensure effective use of systems that support field execution, including scheduling and dispatch, spray controller software, fleet/GPS tracking, mobile field tools, and ERP systems.
• Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Safety, Compliance, Finance, Retail Store Managers, and external vendors.
• Lead incident response, investigations, and continuous improvement efforts toreduce accidents, errors, and inefficiencies.
• Align operational capacity with customer timing, seasonal demand, and environmental conditions.
• Manage the operational P&L, expenses, capital expenditures, budget, and gain approval for any large purchases needed for operations

What You Bring to this Role:

• Extensive experience inagricultural chemical application operations.
• Deep understanding ofsafety, risk, and regulatory requirementsrelated to fertilizer and pesticide application.
• Proven experience managing people leaders and overseeing large, distributed teams.
• Working knowledge of spray controller systems, dispatch and scheduling tools, fleet tracking, mobile field applications, and ERP systems.
• Ability to serve as a strategic, forwardthinking leader who proactively champions employee wellbeing and crop safety standards.
• Ability to lead calmly and decisively inhigh-risk, time-sensitive environments.

What Makes You a Great Fit:

• You demonstrate strong written and verbal communication skills
• You maintain a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
• You have strong interpersonal and teambuilding skills with a positive, collaborative attitude
• You build and sustain productive relationships with branch personnel, peers, and customers
• You understand and consistently uphold confidentiality standards

Compensation and Benefits:

• In compliance with all states and cities requiring transparency of pay, the base compensation for this position ranges from $104,900 - $146,920. Note that salary may vary based on location, skills, and experience.
• This position is eligible for an annual discretionary bonus and vacation, holidays, health, dental, vision, mental health, and retirement plan participation, including an employer contribution of up to 7% into your 401(k). Follow this link for more information regarding Wilbur-Ellis employee benefits: https://mywebenefits.com/