Industry & Public Affairs Coordinator

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a unique organization that pairs grassroots ownership by more than 10,000 dairy farm families with global customers, national manufacturing capabilities and internationally recognized branded dairy products.

Position Overview:  

DFA is creating a new opportunity for an individual with broad interest and/or experience in business development, economic analysis, strategic communications governmental affairs and general business matters.  For the right person, the position will provide an exciting, demanding and very profile position within a dynamic organization.    

Responsibilities:

• Establish, maintain and grow relationships with representatives of communities, consumers, employees and public interest groups.
• Identify opportunities for public and private partnerships that benefit dairy farmers, and building business plans that lead to project implementation.
• Communicate with local, state and national legislative and regulatory officials through various channels, including letters, e-mail, and personal visits.
• Communicate with DFA members, and work with members to identify new opportunities for member services.
• Provide support to various DFA farm service entities.
• Provide support for the preparation and delivery of presentations to communities through collateral assembly, administration support and occasional presentation delivery when needed.
• Prepare reports to, and presentation for, senior management.
• Assist in management and coordination of DFA sustainability initiatives, and other corporate efforts. 

Qualifications:

Knowledge/Skills/Experience Required:

• 0-5 years of related experience.
• High level of energy.
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to communicate and work with local, state or national legislative and/or regulatory officials.
• Excellent writing, editing and strategic communication skills.
• Strong presentation skills.
• Advanced skills with Microsoft Office products (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
• Curiosity to identify business opportunities, perseverance to research opportunities, and networking skills to bring together resources.
• An "outside the box" thinker with the capability to transition broad concepts to actionable tactics.
• Confidence to work with senior management.
• An ability to convert large volumes of data into a small number of meaningful conclusions.
• Ability to define, perform and work on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong decision making ability and consideration for the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• In addition, experience in some, or all, of the following is helpful:
  • building business plans and proposals
  • following regulatory and legislative activity at state, regional and national levels
  • writing business letters
• Willing to travel.

Education Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Political Science or related field required.
• Graduate degree in Business, Economics, Political Science or related field desired.