Harvest Coordinator

Fifth Crow Farm is looking to hire a new harvest coordinator. This is a great opportunity for someone with previous farm experience who is interested in learning more about the inner workings of a successful and highly diversified, mid-sized organic farm. The Harvest Coordinator works closely with the Farm owners, Crew Leader, and CSA Coordinator, to plan and oversee the harvests for 5 farmers’ markets, restaurant sales, and our 200 member CSA. For more information about Fifth Crow Farm please visit us at www.fifthcrowfarm.com.
This position is a year-round, full time staff position (40-50 hrs/week) with advancement opportunities. Pay commensurate with experience ($12/hr-$14/hr which is about $24,000-$30,000/year with one month non-paid vacation mid-winter.)
This position requires strong people skills, a capacity to communicate with enthusiasm about farm products, and significant experience with the harvest and post-harvest handling of a diversity of vegetables/herbs/fruits. The ideal candidate will have two or more years experience working on a mixed vegetable farm and experience in sales. This position is ideal for someone who has leadership skills, yet enjoys working on a team. The Harvest Coordinator is responsible for modeling proper and efficient harvest techniques, noticing problems as they arise and correcting them, and helping to maintain rigorous quality standards. The ideal candidate is detail oriented and organized, conversationally fluent in Spanish, good at time management, and willing to work in a dynamic and fast paced working environment.
Responsibilities include:
-maintaining and updating our wholesale availability list on a bi-weekly basis.
-establishing and maintaining a positive working relationships with restaurant and wholesale clients
-working closely with farm owner to coordinate harvest for 6 weekly farmers markets, restaurant orders, and collaborating with the CSA coordinator to coordinate the harvest for our 250 member CSA
-communicating harvest goals to the crew (in English and Spanish)
-managing and overseeing the post-harvest handling of crops while maintaining rigorous quality standards
-harvest and sales record keeping
-aiding in harvest, prep, and packing of produce
-work one farmers market/week
To apply please send resume, including two references, and a cover letter that includes responses to the following questions to Teresa at teresa@fifthcrowfarm.com or P.O. Box 527, Pescadero, CA 94060. Applications accepted until position is filled.
1. Thoroughly describe your previous farming experience (name, type of farm, your responsibilities).
2. What is your experience in sales? Management?
3. Why are you interested in this position?
4. Choose two of your favorite vegetables and describe them both concisely and so that a chef would want to buy them by the truckload.
5. Please provide an example of how you might communicate positively but effectively when a crew member continually makes gorgeous bunches of chard that are half as large as what you thought you had instructed her to make. Even better, use a different “real-world” example from your own experience learning to harvest a particular product.