Position: General Manager (Organic Farm)
Organization: Juniper Farm (http://www.juniperfarm.ca/)
Location: near Wakefield Quebec (30 mins north of Ottawa-Gatineau) (with on-site accommodation options, see below)
Juniper Farm is an organic (and biodynamic) farm comprised of 200-acres of farmable and forested land near the village of Wakefield, QC. We currently grow and provide food for an onsite farmstore, restaurants, retailers and individuals. We have been in operation for 13 years and have 5 acres and 4 greenhouses (100ft*30ft) in veggie production. We also have a side fermenation business. We have a dynamic team made up of 10 – 15 people for 7 months of the year and 3-5 people for the remaining colder months.
Weekly community lunches, harvested fresh food, seasonal staff gatherings and special events build the Juniper Farm community. We are generally a fun, cheerful but diligent bunch who are excited to welcome a new person into our farmily. We have various rental options (from outdoor cabins, a studio apartment or a four season cabin/house) on the farm for those who would be considering relocation. Wakefield is an beautiful little riverside town with a whole lot of soul that has a great music & arts scene and is close to the Gatineau Park with amazing trails for hiking, biking, skiing and snowshoeing. We are also a mere 35 minutes from Ottawa/Gatineau.
General Manager
We are looking for a general farm manager to join and grow with the Juniper Farm team.
If you feel like you might be this person, have the capacity in your life to take this role on, and would like to spend several years (or longer with possible collaboration or profit sharing opportunities) on Juniper Farm then please contact us ASAP.
Skills and Requirements
- Minimum three years experience working on a market garden or mixed vegetable farm
- Strong leadership skills and skilled delegator
- Comfort with responsibility
- Physically strong and able to do hard labour
- Quick learner, thinker and mover
- Tractor operator and comfort with machinery (an asset)
- Staff management experience
- Bilingual an asset (French and English)
- Ability to prioritize information
- Love of growing and eating great food!
Primary duties and responsibilities:
- Evaluate needs of farm operations
- Understand farm vision
- Ensure overall time management of the farm is being upheld
- Understanding all field operations and tasks
- During working hours having an open line of communication with owners (by mobile or walkie)
- Contributing to efficiency (in terms of feedback) in all farm operations from software to field tools.
- Increasing and streamlining efficiencies between the farm and the packing hub
- Sense of tools, inventory of tools, and where they are kept on farm
- Participating in festivals and farm events.
Staff Management
- Training new staff to their new roles
- Run field crew meetings
- Capacity to manage all farm staff
Field Management
- Assisting in farm planning and seed ordering
- Record keeping
- Improvements in parts of record keeping
Field/Greenhouse planting coordination
- Communicate with greenhouse manger
- Communicatewith transplanting team
- Proper time management of team and materials
- Communicate with irrigation manager
- Record keeping with plantings
- Monday morning observation walk
Volunteer and Casual Labour coordination:
- Greeting volunteers with enthusiasm and interest
- Training of volunteers
Decision Making:
- Fill in where most needed and valuable on farm
- Making decisions when owners are not present
System Understanding
- Continually consider systems of farm, efficiencies and gaps and communicate effectively with owners.
Hourly Requirements:
Overall you will be working between 1600–2000 hours / year.
- Start date: tbd
- March 11th: available for some weekly greenhouse work and training (estimate 8-16hrs/week)
- April 1st–December 1st: There will be a requirement to be available Monday-Friday for 8 or more hours a day. There will be occasional weekend work with farm events.
- Following Dec 1st, there will be weekly planning days again and perhaps seasonal work.
Other Benefits:
All fresh eating needs can be harvested from the garden or taken from cold room as seconds.
All other products in the farm store are 15% off.
Accommodations:
There several paid accommodation options available to be discussed
Compensation:
Depending on experience this person will receive $18-$20 per hour (depending on experience)
APPLY TO:
Juniper & Alex
819-459-1630