Location: Approximately 40km from Lethbridge, AB
Compensation: CA $35.00 to CA $40.00 per hour, plus performance-based bonus
The Sales Manager – Export Markets is responsible for driving domestic and international sales growth, developing key customer relationships, and expanding market opportunities for forage products. This role leads all sales and market development activities while maintaining strong commercial awareness of inventory availability, product quality, and shipment timelines to ensure customer commitments are realistic and achievable.
The Sales Manager serves as the primary commercial interface with customers and works closely with Farm Operations, Production, Quality Control, and Logistics to ensure alignment between market demand and operational capability. This is a sales-led role with supporting commercial oversight responsibilities to ensure effective execution of customer commitments.
Key Responsibilities
1. Export Sales & Market Development
- Develop and grow international sales in key export markets, including Japan, South Korea, and other strategic regions.
- Manage and expand relationships with key customers, importers, brokers, and trading partners.
- Identify and pursue new business opportunities and market channels.
- Lead contract discussions and support negotiation of commercial terms.
- Represent Kainai Forage in customer meetings, trade visits, and industry events.
- Develop and execute market growth strategies for assigned regions.
2. Customer Relationship Management
- Serve as primary commercial contact for assigned customers.
- Maintain regular communication regarding market conditions, pricing, product availability, and customer requirements.
- Build long-term customer partnerships based on trust, consistency, and service quality.
- Coordinate customer visits and product discussions.
- Support resolution of customer concerns and commercial issues in collaboration with internal teams.
3. Market Intelligence & Strategy
- Monitor domestic and international forage markets, pricing trends, and competitor activity.
- Provide recommendations on pricing, positioning, and market allocation strategies.
- Develop annual sales plans and revenue forecasts.
- Identify opportunities to improve margin, market share, and product mix.
- Provide regular market intelligence updates to senior leadership.
4. Product & Quality Alignment
- Maintain awareness of available inventory, production forecasts, and quality profiles.
- Work with Farm Operations and Quality Control to ensure understanding of product availability and limitations.
- Align customer commitments with operational realities to ensure deliverability.
- Flag potential risks related to quality, supply, or shipment timing that may impact customer commitments.
- Support decisions regarding product suitability for specific markets or customers (in collaboration with Operations and Quality teams).
5. Domestic Market Development
- Develop and manage domestic customer relationships.
- Support sales of non-exportable inventory into domestic channels.
- Monitor domestic market demand and pricing conditions.
- Identify opportunities to improve value recovery from domestic sales.
- Support timely movement of domestic inventory in coordination with internal teams.
6. Claim Prevention
- Support investigation of customer concerns related to quality or shipment outcomes.
- Work with internal teams to gather relevant commercial and product information.
- Assist in resolving customer issues in a timely and professional manner.
- Identify patterns or risks that may impact customer satisfaction or repeat business.
Qualifications
- Diploma, certificate, or degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Business Administration, Supply Chain, or a related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Experience in agricultural sales, marketing, or export.
- Strong experience in customer relationship management.
- Experience negotiating commercial agreements or contracts.
- Ability to work across multiple stakeholders and functions.
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally.
Preferred
- Experience in forage, hay, livestock feed, or agricultural commodities.
- Exposure to export markets (Japan, South Korea, or Asia-Pacific preferred).
- Understanding agricultural production systems and hay quality.
- Experience in export documentation and international trade.
Core Competencies
- Adaptability in changing operational environments.
- Relationship building and customer engagement.
- Strategic thinking and market development.
- Commercial judgment and decision-making.
- Negotiation and influence.
- Communication and collaboration.
- Leadership and team development.
- Accountability and results orientation.
Working conditions
This role requires regular attendance with office, plant, and field environments. The Sales Manager must maintain sufficient operational awareness of production, inventory, and quality conditions to ensure customer commitments are realistic and achievable.
During peak production and harvest periods, additional hours may be required, including early mornings, evenings, and occasional weekends. Travel is required for customer visits, market development, and industry engagement.
Pay: $35.00-$40.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
- Relocation assistance
- Vision care
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Lethbridge, AB: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- Agricultural Sales, Marketing, or Export: 3 years (required)
Work Location: In person
