The Seed Innovation and Protection Alliance (SIPA) is an industry-based association of seed related organizations from the American Seed Trade Association dedicated to education around the benefits of seed innovations and the various forms of intellectual property associated with these innovations.

Title: Executive Director

This position of Executive Director leads the Seed Innovation and Protection Alliance (SIPA) association to achieve goals set by the membership board and drives the strategic decisions and solutions to ensure the association meets their objectives regarding education, communication, marketing, investigation and other activities involving seed innovation and intellectual property rights.

This position requires a strong work ethic, excellent communication skills, diligence to details, analysis and interpretation of information, collaboration, problem solving, ability to view and facilitate different points of view, strong team building, facilitation, organizational, planning and time management skills.

Responsibilities:

The Executive Director has diverse responsibilities including, but not limited to:

• Develop educational and promotional materials on seed innovations and intellectual property rights.
• Develop resources to assist members in the protection of their innovations.
• Travel and speaking engagements at seed related conferences.
• Organize and coordinate educational events related to association objectives.
• Facilitate and write educational articles for various publications on a regular basis.
• Engage with leadership and legal teams throughout the world, including North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.
• Develop and administer strategic partnerships and relationships within the agriculture industry in the United States and abroad, including membership development.
• Recruit membership
• Provide regular communication to members regarding programs, events and news.
• Organize committee and board of director meetings.
• Advise SIPA board of directors, officers, committees and members on SIPA program activities and development.
• Develop and implement corporate governance documents.
• Manage internal and external employees, service providers and contractors.
• Identify, structure, negotiate, and execute contracts between members with diverse views and philosophies.
• Manage the SIPA budget of income and expenses.
• Administer the SIPA Tip Line and facilitate tips to stakeholders.
• SIPA Desk top investigative services.

Qualification:

• Juris Doctorate preferred, with expertise in intellectual property and experience in the seed industry.
• Experience and strong background in the agricultural industry
• Superior communication in speaking, writing, influencing and networking skills.
• Strong organizational skills, keen attention to detail, and ability to prioritize projects and meet deadlines.
• Ability to develop strong working relationships with a diverse group of people.
• Must be willing to work under a contract position.
• Must be willing to travel, approximately 25% of time.
• Part- or Full-time position of approximately 80-140 hours per month (negotiable) with a preferred start date of July 1, 2020.

Application:

To apply please contact Corinne Marshall at cmarshall@sakata.com