Sr. Veterinary Academic and Key Relations Manager

About the role

The Farmer’s Dog is looking for a resourceful, strategic, and relationship-driven leader to grow two critical areas of our veterinary strategy: our university programs and our network of influential veterinary professionals. You’ll deepen our presence across veterinary schools, build relationships with respected voices across the profession, and execute scalable initiatives that advance thoughtful, credible conversations around fresh nutrition.

What We Stand For

Veterinary professionals are the backbone of trust in animal health. For The Farmer’s Dog, building a real place within that community means showing up with credible education, strong partnerships, and real value for veterinary professionals and the patients they serve.

How You'll Make An Impact

• Execute and scale our university initiatives across campuses and digital channels, driving measurable impact with the next generation of veterinary professionals.
• Own and scale our Student Ambassador Program, from sourcing and interviewing candidates through onboarding, training, ongoing management, and expansion across additional veterinary schools.
• Manage and grow TFD's residency sponsorship and academic research programs, including student research support, manuscript development, and publication support, helping develop today's residents and researchers into future educators, specialists, and veterinary leaders.
• Develop and manage relationships across the academic and veterinary community, including school leadership, faculty, residents, student organizations, clinical leaders, specialists, and emerging voices like veterinary creators, identifying who can become meaningful long-term partners.
• Translate those relationships into credibility-building initiatives across speaking, education, content, events, research, advisory work, and media.
• Represent TFD across veterinary schools, conferences, specialty meetings, and industry events, building relationships while staying close to the people, trends, and competitive dynamics shaping where we invest next.
• Build scalable systems and own quarterly reporting for university and Key Relations initiatives, measuring student reach, relationship activation, ambassador activity, program growth, and outcomes.
• Partner cross-functionally with Veterinary, Conferences, Marketing, Communications, Research, and Field Vet teams to ensure university and Key Relations efforts reinforce the broader veterinary strategy.
• Attend virtual and in-person industry events, conferences, universities, practices, and meetings to speak, network, and build connections within the veterinary community (40-50% travel required).

We're Excited About You Because

• You have deep familiarity with the veterinary profession and understand how credibility is built across academic, clinical, and industry settings.
• A DVM/VMD is strongly preferred, though exceptional candidates with significant veterinary academic, professional relations, or industry experience will be considered.
• You are an exceptional relationship builder who can develop trusted, long-term partnerships with faculty, specialists, students, clinical leaders, and other influential voices.
• You are a strong communicator and public speaker who can represent The Farmer’s Dog confidently across campuses, conferences, industry events, and one-on-one conversations.
• Ideally you have built or scaled programs before and are comfortable owning strategy, execution, and measurement in a fast-moving environment.
• You are mission driven, intellectually curious, and willing to roll up your sleeves, whether that's building the roadmap, picking up the phone to open a new relationship, or learning something new from every visit.
• You are always looking to improve your environment and take things from good to great, and you seek out contrasting opinions so you can learn and grow.
• You are detail-oriented and proactive, you thrive as a self-starter and excel in managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• You love dogs, people, the veterinary profession, and are genuinely interested in building a brighter future for all.

Office Guidelines

We are an in-office culture, made of in-office people who thrive on the collaboration and magnetism of working in a shared space. We are seeking individuals who excel in this type of environment, where being present fosters deeper connections and engagement. We ask all team members to be in office 4 - 5 days a week to build a collaborative and invested environment to foster our unique in-person culture we are proud to have. This office policy is subject to change at company discretion.

Our Belonging Philosophy

At TFD, we believe Belonging is a shared commitment to creating a workplace where every person feels respected, valued, and empowered to be themselves. When people feel a true sense of belonging, they do their best work, take smart risks, and bring forward diverse perspectives — leading to stronger decisions and deeper relationships. We anchor this belief in a simple phrase: “Everyone’s welcome at the dog park.” No matter your background, identity, or role, there’s space for you here. There’s no one way to show up at the dog park— just shared space, mutual respect, and the freedom to be yourself. Being included is just the beginning, it’s about contributing your voice, growing through challenges, and building trust through shared goals. This philosophy guides how we lead, how we hire, how we communicate, and how we grow.

Benefits

• Dog-friendly office in SoHo
• Market-competitive compensation and equity packages
• Comprehensive Healthcare, Dental, and Vision
• Company supported mental health benefits
• 12 week paid parental leave
• Competitive 401k plan with company match
• Flexible PTO
• Discounted fresh food for your pup
• Your pet interrupting video calls (and in-person meetings) is now a feature, not a bug