| Click to download - TGC job description 2021 |
Veg Box Scheme Manager and Grower (Maternity cover)
JohPurpose of role: To oversee the veg. box scheme, leading on administration and being part of the growing team.
Maternity cover from April – November 2021.
Hours: 24 per week, possibly up to 36 in busy months (June-August).
Pay: £9.30 per hour
Location: Blackhaugh Community Farm, Spittalfield, Perthshire, PH1 4JZ
Holiday: 11 days paid holiday (28 days pro-rata)
Terms: Self-employed
Maternity cover, with potential for future long-term position.
Position from April – November 2021
Website: www.taybankgrowerscoop.com
Key duties:
Leading on veg box scheme co-ordination and admin, including:
Vegetable growing, work closely with the other growers to manage all aspects of a 3 acre, no-dig intensive market garden, including:
General:
Person specification
Essential:
Desirable:
Other info
Applications
We strongly recommend you call us before applying for an informal chat about the post. Johnny 07737030560
Application is by CV and cover letter (400–600 words) to hello@taybankgrowerscoop.com
Deadline: 9pm 18th Feb 2021, Interviews to be held the following 2 weeks.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions interview will probably be online but you are welcome to visit the farm beforehand if desired.
About Taybank Growers Co-operative
Taybank Growers Cooperative (TGC) is a workers cooperative beginning its fifth season running a market garden at Blackhaugh Community Farm. We are a small, friendly coop of 3 part-time staff, helped by enthusiastic local volunteers and a supportive community. The business centres around a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) veg-box scheme with further sales to local businesses and from our farm honesty shop. We started the market garden from scratch and are proud to have created a sustainable business with a strong community approach. We grow using intensive no-dig practices and aim to improve the soil health and biodiversity on the farm. The market garden is located in beautiful Perthshire and provides a positive environment for workers, volunteers and community.
The veg box scheme is currently the largest income stream for the market garden. It is our primary engagement with the local community, has been popular and is growing steadily. We plan to produce 80 veg boxes per week in 2021, filled entirely with produce from the market garden. We operate a farm pick-up and a few local pick-up points.
We operate as a workers co-op with a strong emphasis on collective decision making and team work, we meet weekly to discuss priorities and make decisions together. The Veg Box Manager will be fully integrated into the team.
Blackhaugh Community Farm
TGC are one of several businesses / projects located on the 43 acres at Blackhaugh Community Farm. The farm is run by a voluntary committee; Blackhaugh Farm Action Group (BFAG). There is space available on the farm for new projects and therefore potential for the candidate to develop another small-scale farming venture alongside the advertised role. Current enterprises on Blackhaugh Farm include: Appletreeman tree nursery, Cut flowers, a small Willow coppice and various livestock.
www.blackhaughcommunityfarm.weebly.com
Maternity cover from April – November 2021.
Hours: 24 per week, possibly up to 36 in busy months (June-August).
Pay: £9.30 per hour
Location: Blackhaugh Community Farm, Spittalfield, Perthshire, PH1 4JZ
Holiday: 11 days paid holiday (28 days pro-rata)
Terms: Self-employed
Maternity cover, with potential for future long-term position.
Position from April – November 2021
Website: www.taybankgrowerscoop.com
Key duties:
Leading on veg box scheme co-ordination and admin, including:
- Liaising with customers and managing the TGC email account
- Responding to customer enquiries and concerns
- Coordinating deliveries and pick up points
- Planning and overseeing box packing, including working with volunteers
- Regularly updating social media accounts with veg box information
- Raising and reconciling invoices (we use Excel and Xero)
- Ensuring customer payments are up to date and resolving any discrepancies promptly.
- Recording and interpreting box scheme finances and communicating the results with team members
Vegetable growing, work closely with the other growers to manage all aspects of a 3 acre, no-dig intensive market garden, including:
- Bed preparation, including composting (option for tractor work).
- Sowing and transplanting
- Weeding, watering and feeding
- Pest control and crop care
- Harvesting produce for the veg box, shop and wholesale orders
- Working alongside volunteers and trainees
- Planning and coordinating which crops to harvest for the veg box.
General:
- Uphold good communication with the team through team meetings, online apps (Signal, Todoist) and collective planning and prioritising.
- Adhering to TGC’s Health and Safety practices and agreed working procedures.
Person specification
Essential:
- Some vegetable growing experience, preferably in a market garden
- An interest in no-dig and ecological farming
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Good people skills and the ability to work closely with colleagues and volunteers, make decisions together and work towards a common goal.
- Good work ethic, self-motivated with a willingness to help others and muck in.
- Good physical health and ability to work outside in all weathers.
- Ability to work quickly and to a high a standard with attention to detail.
- Strong administrative and organisational skills, including ability to manage and prioritise workload independently.
- Competency in or willingness to train in Word, Excel, Email and Xero
- Own Smart phone and willingness to use Signal and Todoist Apps for team comms.
Desirable:
- Extensive experience in growing vegetables- propagation on a large scale, watering, feeding, transplanting, preparing beds, plant care, weeding and knowledge of pests and diseases.
- Experience in running a CSA veg box scheme.
- Knowledgeable about no-dig ecological agriculture and an appetite to learn through reading and researching.
- Driving licence
- Tractor Driving skills
- Machine maintenance experience
- Able to see the bigger picture of the market garden, community farm, CSA network, ecological agriculture.
- Interest in and commitment to co-operative group working
- Experience of using social media for marketing
- Book-keeping experience
Other info
- The post is offered on a self-employed basis, the candidate will be responsible for their own tax return and invoicing.
- Basic, temporary accommodation may available on the farm for the short term if needed for relocating, please enquire for more details.
- Grower pay is set at £9.30 per hour, subject to meeting our projected sales targets. If we fall short or make more than planned we will decide as a co-op how to distribute the income.
Applications
We strongly recommend you call us before applying for an informal chat about the post. Johnny 07737030560
Application is by CV and cover letter (400–600 words) to hello@taybankgrowerscoop.com
Deadline: 9pm 18th Feb 2021, Interviews to be held the following 2 weeks.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions interview will probably be online but you are welcome to visit the farm beforehand if desired.
About Taybank Growers Co-operative
Taybank Growers Cooperative (TGC) is a workers cooperative beginning its fifth season running a market garden at Blackhaugh Community Farm. We are a small, friendly coop of 3 part-time staff, helped by enthusiastic local volunteers and a supportive community. The business centres around a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) veg-box scheme with further sales to local businesses and from our farm honesty shop. We started the market garden from scratch and are proud to have created a sustainable business with a strong community approach. We grow using intensive no-dig practices and aim to improve the soil health and biodiversity on the farm. The market garden is located in beautiful Perthshire and provides a positive environment for workers, volunteers and community.
The veg box scheme is currently the largest income stream for the market garden. It is our primary engagement with the local community, has been popular and is growing steadily. We plan to produce 80 veg boxes per week in 2021, filled entirely with produce from the market garden. We operate a farm pick-up and a few local pick-up points.
We operate as a workers co-op with a strong emphasis on collective decision making and team work, we meet weekly to discuss priorities and make decisions together. The Veg Box Manager will be fully integrated into the team.
Blackhaugh Community Farm
TGC are one of several businesses / projects located on the 43 acres at Blackhaugh Community Farm. The farm is run by a voluntary committee; Blackhaugh Farm Action Group (BFAG). There is space available on the farm for new projects and therefore potential for the candidate to develop another small-scale farming venture alongside the advertised role. Current enterprises on Blackhaugh Farm include: Appletreeman tree nursery, Cut flowers, a small Willow coppice and various livestock.
www.blackhaughcommunityfarm.weebly.com