Common Life Church and Farm Hiring Farm Manager

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Common Life Church and Farm Farm Manager Position Announcement for 2018 – Saxapahaw, NC

About: Common Life Church and Farm is a vibrant expression of Christian love and justice that celebrates the Creator and creation. We are a new church plant affiliated with the United Church of Christ (www.ucc.org).

Our vision is to create and sustain three interlocking ministries:

1. A community that meets for worship by gardening and sharing a sacred meal together.
2. A farm business that grows produce to sell to the community and restaurants, using eco-friendly, sustainable agriculture practices that increase soil health, enhance water and air quality, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere.
3. A year-long program for young adults age 21-35 to learn about eco-justice, farming, and faith leadership affiliated with the UCC Young Adult Service Communities.

Setting: Common Life Church and Farm will lease ~1.5 acres of production area and farming equipment from TerraStay Farm in Saxapahaw, NC beginning in July 2018. The area has been under diverse, intensive, sustainable agriculture production from 2014-2017. Common Life will have use of ~1 acre of open fields, 3 high tunnels, 3 walk-in coolers, a BCS tractor, pole barn and storage shed, and various farm tools and equipment. We are planning to plant a summer cover crop in April to prepare the land for fall crops.

Job Overview: We are seeking a full-time Farm Manager to farm ~1.5 acres producing of year-round seasonal produce and culinary herbs for retail on farm and wholesale to restaurants. The Farm Manager will develop and manage all aspects of the Common Life Farm production fields including growing produce using sustainable agriculture methods; marketing and selling products at a farm stand on-site and to local restaurants through a farmers’ collaborative; managing volunteers (at least weekly); and assisting with on-farm events and educational activities.

This position requires a strong, practical knowledge of agricultural skills and farm management, and a passionate commitment to building community through food and farming. The manager has primary responsibility for the planning, coordination and implementation of all work and activities at Common Life Farm. The pastor and Leadership Team will supervise this position.

Key Requirements:

• Able to work in the field, including hard repetitive physical work;
• Maintain standards of production to ensure the highest quality produce;
• Maintain farm infrastructure and landscape with the help of volunteers;
• Produce annual field plans;
• Seed ordering and material acquisition;
• Planning and implementation of weekly planting schedule;
• Insect and weed control, fertility monitoring and general field observation;
• Cultivation activities;
• Plan weekly harvest schedule, harvest, and prepare for sale;
• Infrastructure planning, creation and maintenance;
• Irrigation planning and implementation;
• Soil building program including composting;
• Installation, maintenance and monitoring of deer fencing;
• Supervision of volunteers (patiently and respectfully);
• Coordination with Common Life staff and Leadership Team including monthly board reports;
• Assist with marketing and outreach efforts of Common Life;
• Integration of farm with other Common Life programs;
• Participate in planning for long-term farm development;
• Coordinate produce needs with Common Life programs;
• Cooperate with community partners;
• Some evening or special event hours may be required;
• Current driver’s license and a clean driving record;
• Comfortable driving a cube truck and operating farm equipment; and
• Good interpersonal skills.

Qualifications:

• Experience working in a team environment with proven leadership skills;
• Demonstrated ability to work independently;
• Demonstrated good organizational and record keeping skills;
• Minimum two years experience of year-round sustainable farming; some experience with farm management preferred;
• Demonstrated farm planning experience and working knowledge of farm infrastructure;
• Experience in growing using sustainable agriculture principles;
• Experience working with farm machinery;
• Basic carpentry skills;
• Interest in working with volunteers, including youth and young adult programs;
• Demonstrated good communication skills;
• Ability to repeatedly lift 50 pounds;
• Self-motivated, cooperative and flexible;
• Responsibly manage administrative and record keeping tasks related to running the farm business and overall success of the organization.

Compensation will be based on experience. Produce will be available for personal consumption. Ideal start date is July 2, 2018. We welcome all kinds of diversity in the applicant pool.

To Apply: Send PDF files of a one-page cover letter highlighting the reasons you are interested in this position and resume to Common Life Church and Farm CommonLifeChurchFarm@gmail.com by Friday, May 18, 2018. After reviewing applications, we will extend interview invitations to select candidates and request 3 references at that time. Interviews will take place from June 4-8, 2018.

 

To learn more about farming jobs and internships or to post an opportunity on beginningfarmers.org, go to: https://www.beginningfarmers.org/internship-and-employment-opportunities/