• Own the AI roadmap and project portfolio: prioritize initiatives by business value, feasibility, cost, and timeline; sequence them; and manage them end to end from discovery through adoption.
• Educate leaders and key stakeholders on AI principles, capabilities, risks, and practical business applications; translate technical concepts into clear business recommendations.
• Lead business analysis for AI use cases: interview stakeholders, map current processes, quantify manual effort and data breaks, and define requirements and success metrics before any tool is selected.
• Run projects as the project manager of record: scope, timeline, resourcing, risk, testing, rollout, and status reporting for each AI and automation initiative.
• Manage outside AI consultants and implementation partners day to day: set deliverables, review work, test outputs, and hold partners to scope, budget, and timeline.
• Lead the AI-driven demand planning initiative from the business side: define the planning questions, coordinate data readiness (planting, harvest, yield, weather, holidays, sales), and validate model outputs with Production and Sales.
• Support the rollout of AI-assisted order intake and customer service automation: process design, user acceptance testing, and clean handoff into ERP and customer-facing workflows in coordination with the EDI & Production Systems Coordinator.
• Drive adoption of the company’s enterprise AI tools: identify use cases by department, deliver training and office hours, manage licenses, and track utilization and outcomes.
• Pilot and evaluate AI capabilities for forecasting, anomaly detection, document processing, and workflow automation; recommend build, buy, or partner decisions.
• Prepare AI program updates for company leadership and corporate stakeholders, including portfolio-level AI reporting and best-practice sharing.
• Maintain the AI governance framework with the IT Director: responsible use, data privacy, vendor risk, and change management.
• Own business continuity for AI tools, automations, and integrations once live: documentation, monitoring, fallback procedures, and clear ownership of what happens when a system fails.

Business Analytics & Reporting

• Define and maintain KPI definitions with Finance, Operations, and Sales so leadership reports from a single source of truth.
• Partner with the analytics team and outside partners on the company data lake and Power BI: prioritize dashboards, validate data, and drive adoption of governed reporting over manually built spreadsheets.
• Analyze structured and unstructured data (transactions, customer service notes, emails, call records) to surface trends, exceptions, and opportunities that feed the AI roadmap and leadership decisions.
• Identify where teams are manually assembling data the data lake already produces and migrate them to governed reporting.

ERP & Systems

• Understand the ERP data model and core processes (order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, inventory, financial close) well enough to design AI and analytics solutions that fit how the business runs.
• Translate business requirements into configuration and integration requests; work with the ERP administrator and implementation partner to deliver them.
• Improve data connectivity across the business systems stack (NetSuite, Salesforce, Power BI, ADP, VIDA18, and EDI middleware) so AI and analytics initiatives run on connected, trusted data.
• Champion master data quality across items, customers, vendors, and GL structure; lead cleanup and reclassification efforts that unblock reporting and AI.
• Review ERP release notes and platform AI features; recommend adoption to leadership.
• Document processes, data standards, and standard operating procedures for AI-supported workflows.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Data Analytics, Industrial Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• PMP, CBAP, or similar project or business analysis certification is a plus.

Experience

• 5+ years as a business analyst, systems analyst, or project manager in an ERP-driven environment (NetSuite, SAP, Dynamics, Oracle, or similar).
• Proven record leading cross-functional projects end to end and managing vendors, consultants, or implementation partners.
• Hands-on experience gathering requirements, mapping processes, and defining KPIs for operations, finance, or sales teams.
• 1+ years leading or contributing to AI, machine learning, or intelligent automation initiatives in a business setting; experience rolling out enterprise generative AI tools is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with a BI platform (Power BI preferred) and a data warehouse or data lake.
• Experience in food production, agriculture, manufacturing, or distribution is a significant plus.

Technical Skills

• Working knowledge of ERP data structures and core transaction flows; NetSuite experience is a plus, not a requirement.
• SQL for data validation and analysis; comfort with a cloud data warehouse (BigQuery or similar).
• Power BI or equivalent BI tool; dashboard design and KPI definition.
• Project management tools and methods (Agile or hybrid); requirements and process documentation.
• Familiarity with generative AI platforms, AI-powered analytics, and automation tools; ability to evaluate vendors and pilot solutions.
• Advanced Excel (pivot tables, Power Query, XLOOKUP); exposure to Python or scripting is a plus.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Business-first thinker: starts with the problem and the process, not the tool.
• Strong project management discipline: scopes clearly, communicates status, manages risk, and finishes.
• Clear communicator and teacher; explains AI to non-technical stakeholders, including executives and corporate, without hype.
• Data-literate and analytical; comfortable questioning numbers and validating results.
• Collaborative and pragmatic; builds trust across Accounting, Operations, and Sales.
• Curious and self-directed, with a growth mindset toward AI and automation.
• Organized and accountable; manages multiple vendors, projects, and deadlines at once.

LEADERSHIP EXPECTATIONS

• Act as the trusted advisor to leadership on AI, analytics, and business systems.
• Own outcomes, not just tasks: define success for each initiative, measure it, and report it.
• Manage outside partners and consultants to deliverables, budget, and timeline.
• Mentor the EDI & Production Systems Coordinator and other team members on analysis, data standards, and AI tools; potential future supervision of analyst-level staff.
• Champion responsible AI adoption and data literacy across the organization.
• Model professionalism, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Prioritize the safety and well-being of co-workers by following all company safety protocols.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

• On-time, on-scope delivery of AI and automation projects (demand planning, AI order intake, tool rollouts).
• Measurable time savings, cost reduction, or accuracy gains from AI initiatives, documented per project.
• Enterprise AI tool utilization and active use cases by department.
• Adoption of governed Power BI reporting and reduction in manually built spreadsheets.
• Quality of requirements, process documentation, and KPI definitions.
• Partner and vendor performance against scope, budget, and timeline.
• Stakeholder satisfaction across Finance, Operations, and Sales.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

This position offers growth into roles such as Senior Manager, AI & Transformation; Director of Business Systems; Director of Data & Analytics; or Vice President of AI, Transformation & Strategic Initiatives.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Standard business hours with extended support during project go-lives and key business cycles.
• Primarily on-site at Fresh Origins’ San Marcos, CA facilities.
• Office environment with regular visits to greenhouse, production floor, cold storage, and warehouse areas to observe processes and work with users.
• Routine use of computer, ERP and BI software, phone, and standard office equipment.
• Occasional after-hours work for rollouts or vendor coordination.