Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society in Vancouver, BC is seeking a permanent Good Food Farm Manager!
ABOUT Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society
We believe in Good Food for All! Everyone should have access to healthy food, land, and community. We work toward this vision by cultivating and stewarding engaging schoolyard farms, gardens, and programs that catalyze healthy eating, ecological stewardship, and community celebration. Our fields produce good food for the community, empower youth through vocational skills development, and serve as hands-on outdoor classrooms for over 6000 students each year. Fresh Roots is blooming – we have so many cool programs on the go we are looking for a new team member to help us grow more food and engage more kids and youth in growing and eating good food!
DESIRED QUALITIES
- Enjoys working in a grassroots non-profit with a diverse group of people
- Able to work independently and as part of a small team
- Able to organize, multi-task, prioritize duties, delegate, problem-solve and remain flexible within a fast-paced and changing environment
- Excellent oral and written communication skills across various mediums
- Focus on internal and external client service
- +1 Year Farm Management Experience; with 2 years applied farming skills
- +1 Year experience supervising staff and organizing farm work
- Experience in selling farm produce (can be through markets, Community Supported Agriculture Programs, farm gate, retail or other)
JOB TASKS
Develop Farm Plan
- Crop and sales plan to achieve farm plan sales goals and at each site work to connect with the community and facilitate a healthy working relationship with our stakeholders. Will also work with local neighbourhood houses and food sovereignty organizations to support access to affordable local food.
- Manage both production and non-production spaces on school grounds (food production spaces, outdoor classroom areas, experiential learning raised beds, native plant garden and sensory garden).
- Work with the site manager to develop and implement 1, 3, 5 and 10-year farm site and infrastructure plans (irrigation, processing station, greenhouses, etc.).
- Evolve and share Fresh Roots protocols for farm operations (harvesting and processing standards, bed prep etc).
Implement Farm Plan
- Achieve farm plan sales goals at Vancouver based sites in ways that foster community connections and support program goals.
- Work with local neighbourhood houses and food sovereignty organizations to support access to affordable local food.
- Steward Vancouver sites to be excellent examples of educational farms on school grounds:
- Includes non-production spaces such as native plant garden, sensory garden, orchard.
- Work with site manager on long term farm goals and the building of additional infrastructure to support educational and production goals.
- Ensure all staff (managers, seasonal staff, youth) engage with Fresh Roots spaces safely to help further Fresh Roots’ goals.
Tool, Vehicle and Space Maintenance
- Maintain tools and equipment, including irrigation systems on each site and make new purchases as needed.
- Keep on top of vehicle maintenance.
- Maintain organization and cleanliness of storage spaces including coolers, greenhouse, containers and storage areas.
Manage Staff
- Develop staffing plan to accomplish the goals of the Good Food program pillar.
- Develop / re-assess job descriptions for farm staff as needed.
- Hire, train and manage farm staff.
- Manage the sales coordinator to support CSA and market sales.
- Work with Good Food Program Manager and Youth Empowerment Manager to develop ways to embed youth within the Good Food pillar.
- Support Good Food Program manager in the preparing for and hosting of team builds, volunteers and other farm programs on site.
Represent Fresh Roots Farms
- Maintain relationships with schools and other community partners.
- Represent Fresh Roots at local agricultural events and meetings.
- Support the Executive Director in sharing the Fresh Roots vision and mission.
- Take regular photographs and share them with the communications coordinator.
Requirements:
Farming: You are a farmer who is able to crop plan and prepare nutrient, pest, and seeding plans; you feel comfortable using Excel or Google Sheets.
Managing: You’re excited to inspire new farmers and can successfully hire, train, and manage your team.
Education: Interest in and enthusiasm for working with kids and youth.
Relationships: You will work with the staff at both schools (principles, teachers, engineers, custodians) to create farms where folks feel welcome and be respectful of the space and the land that we share with these schools. You will work with the other program managers at FR to grow programs and continue to develop in new and creative ways to further the goals of the organization.
Must have a class five driver’s license and be comfortable driving a large truck with a trailer.
JOB DETAILS
Term: Permanent, full time.
Hours per week: Varies depending on season
Wage: Full-time position, 40 hours per week at $42,000 – 45,000 annual salary. Hours may fluctuate during the summer and weekend work may be required. Extended Health Benefits program available after probationary period.
TO APPLY
Apply directly through the link: https://freshroots.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=22 with a short cover letter (500 words max) and resume. Review of applications will begin on December 21st.
Fresh Roots is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from underrepresented groups.
We regret that due to the high volume of applicants only those selected for interviews will be contacted.
Deadline to apply: December 21st, 2020
When applying, please mention you saw this posting at youngagrarians.org
LEARN MORE ABOUT Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society
Website: www.freshroots.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshrootsfarms
Instagram: instagram.com/freshrootsfarms
Twitter: twitter.com/freshrootsfarms