Head of Global Cultivation
Division: Operations and Supply Chain
Job location: Greater Toronto Area with requirement to travel to across network of facilities
Hours: 40 hours per week (Monday – Friday) with flexible to work across multiple time zones
Employment type: Full-time Permanent

Aurora is proud to be a global leader in the cannabis industry. With a smart strategy, unmatched talent and focus on our long-term success, we believe we have a bright future.  
 
At Aurora, we’re passionate about helping patients improve their lives through high-quality premium medical cannabis under brands they can trust and rely on. Our products, available across Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, include leading brands like Pedanios, IndiMed, San Raf, Tasty’s, Whistler, Greybeard and CraftPlant.  
 
Our diverse team works passionately across various roles, from manufacturing to corporate positions, and many more, united by our purpose: Opening the World to Cannabis. Enabled by science and empowered by people, we care for patients and consumers. We collaborate globally, embrace change with courage, stay agile, and treat everyone with compassion. We live our values daily, making a meaningful impact on patients, consumers, communities, and our A-Team. 

Job Summary

Reporting to the EVP Operations and Supply Chain, the Head of Global Cultivation is a critical role responsible for the global strategy that ensures consistent, high-quality cannabis to all markets. This role will also be responsible for:

1. Providing leadership to Aurora’s breeding program, and ensuring the selection criteria are suitable to deliver cultivars that meet the needs of cultivation teams and patients and consumers globally
2. Establishing and managing applied cultivation research programs as required
3. Providing technical expertise with internal and external partners to ensure Aurora’s hybrid supply chain delivers commercially relevant products.

As the Head of Global Cultivation, you will provide:

Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and implement a comprehensive global cultivation strategy aligned with company goals.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Site Teams, Engineering, Quality, Planning, Finance, Procurement etc across multiple facilities to ensure operational consistency and excellence
• Provide strategic leadership for Aurora’s breeding program; responsible for aligning the selection criteria of the program with Aurora’s current and future-state needs
• Provide proactive thought leadership, including the ability to anticipate industry trends and influence strategic direction
• Provide governance towards KPIs and performance metrics to consistently monitor and optimize cultivation
• Support the Senior Director, External Supply Operations in identifying, vetting, onboarding and managing 3rd party suppliers to support the needs of the business.
• Balance market insight and consumer experience with technical expertise
• Leverage and strengthen existing global network of experts

Operational Oversight

• Provide governance and technical expertise towards all aspects of internal cultivation and post-harvest processes
• Partner with 3rd party suppliers to provide governance to support existing supply
• Drive multi-site cultivation projects and initiatives
• Support standardization of SOPs and processes across all facilities
• Collaborate with sites to troubleshoot issues and implement best practices

Innovation & Optimization

• Drive innovation in cultivation techniques, automation, and environmental controls
• Evaluate and implement new technologies to improve yield and quality
• Provide critical strategic guidance to Aurora’s breeding and genetics program to ensure breeding targets are aligned with production requirements and are commercially relevant.
• Support R&D initiatives relating to trials and plant genetics

Compliance & Risk Management

• Provide governance to ensure cultivation operations meet regulatory requirements (including, but not limited to Health Canada regulations, OHSA, GMP, GACP, etc)
• Champion a culture of safety across all cultivation operations
• Support risk management protocols to mitigate bio-security risks

3rd Party Partnerships

• In partnership with the Senior Director External Supply Operations, provide technical expertise to support maintaining strong relationships with 3rd Party cultivation partners
• Provide technical expertise to support maintaining strong relationships with 3rd party cultivation partners
• Monitor production trends to prevent and/or mitigate cultivation issues
• Support optimization of internal cultivation and post-harvest processes to meet Aurora’s quality standards
• Collaborate with 3rd party sites to troubleshoot issues and implement best practices

Talent Development

• As a subject matter expert, develop on-the-job training to strengthen cultivation knowledge across global cultivation teams
• Ensure global teams are effectively leveraging each others’ skill sets and experiences to advance the goals of the team members and the business at large.

You will be set up for success if you have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy, Horticulture, Plant Science, Environmental Science, or related field
• A graduate degree in plant science, or a related field, or formal research experience is a strong asset
• 10+ years experience in a large-scale agriculture/horticulture operation
• At least 5 years in a leadership role in cannabis cultivation
• Experience in a regulated industry such as pharmaceutical, food, or cannabis would be an asset

Bonus points if you have:

• Exceptional leadership, communication, influencing, and project management skills
• Deep understanding of cannabis cultivation and post harvest processing, ideally with experience in different environments
• Experience working in a science-led organization; understanding of, and respect for, scientific methods
• Proven ability to work effectively in a matrix organization
• Cannabis product expertise
• Ability to engage and excite diverse teams to identify common goals, drive consensus, and change

Next Steps

Apply today by submitting your resume through our website. You can expect your application to be reviewed by our Talent Acquisition Team and not an AI software/system.  We will contact you if we see a fit via email.

Think you’re the ideal candidate but you don’t meet all the requirements? Apply anyways. We would love to review your application to see if you’re the right fit or find you an alternative opportunity.  Not the role for you? Share this posting with your network while subscribing to our Talent Community to learn more about upcoming opportunities (if you are an Aurora employee, take advantage of the employee referral program by sharing this posting with someone in your network! If they are the successful candidate, you may be eligible for a bonus!). 

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging and Accessibility

At Aurora, we are proud to foster and celebrate a diverse community of professionals! We take pride in nurturing an inclusive culture that empowers our people to be their authentic selves, celebrate their differences and love where they work.

Our diverse community combined with our inclusive culture, is what sets us apart in the industry and equips our A-Team with superpowers – and this is why, we encourage all candidates to apply for job opportunities regardless of race, national origin, colour, religion, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital and family status, disability, or any other identifying characteristic.

We value the unique skills and experience each person brings to Aurora and are committed to creating and maintaining an accessible environment. We are committed to the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act so if you require accommodation during the hiring process, please let our Human Resources team know by contacting us at hr.services@auroramj.com