Company description

A farmer's share is the portion of every food dollar that reaches the person who grew the food. That share has declined for decades. But the reason it declined isn't usually something happening on the farm — it's the missing middle: the aggregation, processing, distribution, and market infrastructure that regional food used to run through and largely no longer does. Rebuild that middle and value starts circulating locally again, in farm margins and in the rural economies around them.

A Farmer's Share Corporation works on that middle. We help build circular food economies — systems where food, money, and materials move within a region rather than out of it.

Our partners are farms, and also the organizations working alongside them. We help small, mid-sized, and family farms reach wholesale, institutional, and retail buyers. We build data and aggregation tools for nonprofits and food organizations that need to see and coordinate supply. We advise city and county governments, public agencies, and community organizations rebuilding local economies, with agriculture as the anchor — including policy development, feasibility work, and food system strategy.

Depending on what a place needs, that work may look like wholesale market development, business strategy, operational support, tool building, policy writing, or long-term partnership. We work across New York, Kentucky, and Alabama, under a Public Benefit Corporation charter that commits us to public benefit alongside financial return.

We believe thriving farms depend on reliable markets, resilient communities, and a food system that creates value for everyone involved.

Job description

The Opportunity

This is the first sales position at A Farmer's Share, and it is deliberately structured as a founding one.

Until now, sales has been carried by the founders. We're bringing in someone to build it properly — and the person who builds it is the person we want leading it. As wholesale volume grows, we anticipate creating a full-time sales leadership position. The contractor in this engagement will be the first person considered for it.

That means the work is broader than a territory. You'll be establishing which channels respond, which buyers convert, what the sales cycle actually looks like in this market, and what the eventual playbook should say. You'll have direct access to the Co-Founders, and your read on the market will shape how the function gets built. A Farmer's Share is actively expanding its network of participating farms across the Midwest and East Coast — as new producers and product categories come online, the buyer relationships you establish grow alongside the company.

We're honest about the tradeoff. The base reflects an early-stage company and a part-time engagement, and the commission structure is where the upside lives. This suits someone who wants to build something and has the runway to grow into it — a second income, a career change, or a way back into work that's worth doing.

The Work

The contractor sets their own schedule, methods, and approach. The engagement is measured by results.

• Building the pipeline. Identifying and qualifying wholesale buyers across multiple channels and developing a working target list of named decision-makers across New York State, New York City, northern New Jersey, and surrounding counties.
• Opening accounts. First contact through close. Presenting products and producers credibly, matching buyer needs to seasonal supply, and carrying qualified opportunities to signed orders or supply agreements.
• Knowing what we can deliver. Working command of producer products, seasonality, specifications, certifications, and wholesale pricing within the first two months.
• Reading the market and building the strategy. A monthly pipeline report and a short written summary — what moved, what stalled, and what you're learning about how this market buys.

Specific deliverables and volume targets are defined in the scope of work and discussed with candidates during the interview process.

Who We're Looking For

This engagement is built for someone who enjoys the pace of an early-stage company, cares about food, and likes selling and building relationships. We're looking at how you work and what you care about as much as at your résumé — so if this sounds like you but you don't think you meet every requirement, please apply anyway.

Required

• Demonstrated sales experience with a track record of carrying accounts from first contact through close.
• Strong relationship-building skills and an appreciation for consultative, long-cycle selling
• Comfort with cold outreach, rejection, and persistent follow-up
• Genuine interest in agriculture, food systems, and supply chains, with the willingness to learn the technical side of the business
• Ability to travel throughout the engagement territory and transport product samples

Preferred

• Experience in food, beverage, agriculture, hospitality, distribution, or wholesale sales
• Existing buyer relationships within retail, foodservice, institutional, or distribution channels
• Current food safety certifications
• Familiarity with organic, regenerative, regional, or specialty food sourcing
• Spanish or other languages considered a plus

Compensation and Terms

• $2,000 per month, paid as an independent contractor (1099).
• Commission on closed sales, tiered by buyer channel, plus residual commission on accounts you originate. Rates discussed with qualified candidates during the interview process.
• Remote, with travel of approximately 25%.
• Mileage and buyer-facing expenses reimbursed within an agreed monthly cap.
• You set your own hours and methods and are free to take other work that doesn't compete directly with this engagement.
• The engagement runs through December 2026 with the intention of continuing as the sales function grows.

<meta charset="UTF-8" />We expect this role to stay under 20 hours per week, and expect most people to complete it in 10–15 depending on experience. Against the $2,000 monthly base, that's roughly $46/hour at 10 hours, $31/hour at 15, and $23/hour at the 20-hour ceiling — base only, before commission.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, varies DOE, $10,000.00 - $10,000.00

Location

job can be done remotely

Application instructions

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Deadline

no deadline