Job Listings

Production Manager

Center for an Agricultural Economy

• Posted August 16, 2019 at 9:31am
• Deadline Open until filled
• Location Hardwick, VT
• Type Full Time

OPEN IMMEDIATELY: Farm to Institution PRODUCTION MANAGER

We’re looking for the right mix of production and management skills to add to our Farm to Institution program, JustCut! If you know food safety, have a background in industrial kitchen-work, and have strong leadership qualities, we’d love to hear from you!

Position: Farm to Institution Production Manager Reports to: Executive Director. Contract: negotiable, at least 1 year contract required Hourly Compensation: $20.00/hr, dependent on experience and CAE’s benefits package.  

_____________________________________________________________ 

The Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE) is a not-for-profit organization, which works to build a local, healthy, regenerative food system in the greater Hardwick area and beyond. Through education, outreach, infrastructure, and technical services, the CAE uses partnership and collaboration to achieve a food system that can support working lands and working people. The CAE owns and operates the Vermont Food Venture Center, a food-processing facility, food business incubator, and regional food hub. The VFVC serves small food businesses, farmers and large scale vegetable and fruit producers, as well as our community members.

__________________________________________________________________ 

Our Farm to Institution Minimal Processing Program converts fresh produce into washed, chopped, fresh and frozen local farm veggies for colleges, hospitals, schools and other institutions.  

Summary of Position: The Farm to Institution Production Manager role is a critical position for the aggregation, processing and distribution of minimally processed local and regional products for institutional use. Operating within a shared-use kitchen poses logistical and food safety challenges that require consistent attention to detail. The primary goals of the program are to provide farmers with new markets, and consistently provide institutions with high quality local products. An emphasis is placed on institutions that feed food insecure individuals (schools, hospitals and colleges). This position will work directly with:

• CAE’s Just Cut Kitchen Production Team 

• Farm to Institution Sales & Accounts Manager

• Facilities Manager 

• Executive Director 

The position is full-time (up to 40 hours/week) and is primarily expected to be in the VFVC facility during production days. The Farm to Institution Production Manager must be able to work long hours on their feet and consistently move 25-50 lbs at a time. This role holds responsibility for the satisfactory completion of the following production and logistical tasks with the Kitchen Team: 

Employee Responsibilities: 

• Lead the production planning process on site, working with the Accounts Manager and VFVC Facilities Manager to:  

• Balance schedule requirements with production capacity - assess and adjust labor as needed

• Create production sheet with produce usage estimates/yields, lot tracking documentation, packing sheets, and BOLs & purchase orders

• Oversee the preparation, packaging, and shipment of weekly JustCut product orders 

• Track and manage processed inventory

• Create and delegate production efficiencies in order to meet pricing benchmarks

• Manage quality control – shelf life testing, R&D, samples, storage and waste/donations – in conjunction with Accounts Manager and Facilities Manager 

• Address and communicate any irregularities during production directly to VFVC Facilities Manager and Accounts Manager

• Identify solutions if issues arise in which product quality was jeopardized or no longer safe for consumption

• Create and print labels, pack cases clearly and accurately for pick-up by distributor

• Train, monitor, and educate all crew members on proper food safety practices, working ergonomics, and production timing efficiencies

• Create and implement a Food Safety Plan in coordination with the VFVC Facilities Manager

• Track and manage raw produce and materials inventory

• Manage the raw product supplies with Accounts Manager, ensuring that deliveries and supplies are appropriate for the program needs and sales goals

• Coordinate with Facilities Manager to schedule and plan for shipping space and pallets

• Manage quality control – product specs, ensure proper quantities of ordered produce, storage and packaging requirements 

• Receive raw product and problem solve crop deliveries as needed  

• Coordinate incoming and outgoing produce with attention to receiving, record-keeping, and food safety protocols

• Work with Accounts Manager to adjust sales goals to optimize production capacity

• Provide regular and timely feedback on production status against orders & schedules

• Track COGs and production report; update records with input/output

• Work with Accounts Manager to develop sales goals and R&D products, which, in turn, increase relationships with Institutions that further the program goals 

Please send your resume, and a letter of interest to Jon Ramsay, CAE Executive Director. Position finalists will be expected to provide three references.  (jon@hardwickagriculture.org) www.hardwickagriculture.org

Prepared Foods Assistant Manager

Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op

• Posted August 14, 2019 at 10:38am
• Deadline November 1st, 2019
• Location Middlebury, VT
• Type Full Time

Job summary: We are looking for a leader who embodies the values of the co-op to join our Kitchen team as an Assistant Manager. This is a full-time position, responsible for fostering growth in the Prepared Foods dept by supporting our staff and assuring our customers receive the highest level of service. In exchange for the excellent interpersonal communication skills and kitchen expertise that you will bring to this dynamic role, we will provide you with a great team, fabulous hours, and generous benefits package. 

Our ideal candidate has experience in the following basic functions:

1. Leadership: Supervising and motivating staff by actively and effectively responding to our production needs and fulfilling administrative duties in the absence of a manager 
2. Departmental Growth: Meeting regularly with department manager to strategize ways to reach our goals
3. Personnel: Supporting policies established to maintain a professional and fun work environment, assisting manager to ensure clear communication and coverage amongst staff
4. Customer Service: Actively model outstanding customer service in all areas for both customers and employees, seeking assistance and additional resources when necessary 
5. Department Operations: Performing duties consistent with needs for the shift, such as: preparing foods, managing recipes, and upholding high standards of cleanliness and sanitation

Company description: Tucked between the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain in a progressive college town, the MNFC is a democratic, member-owned cooperative committed to providing healthy, competitively priced foods; encouraging ecologically sound and healthful patterns of production and consumption; and responding to members’ needs accordingly. Since our beginnings more than 40 years ago, we have expanded to over 5,000 member-owners who are guided by shared values in sustainable business practices, growing the local foods movement, and supporting our community. 

Production Cook

Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op

• Posted August 14, 2019 at 10:26am
• Deadline November 1st, 2019
• Location Middlebury, VT
• Type Part Time

Job description: We are seeking a talented individual to prepare healthy natural foods as a  Production Cook as part of our growing Prepared Foods team. This entry-level role offers full-time or part-time hours on a dependable team with generous benefits and the potential for growth within the department.

Our ideal candidate has experience in performing the following:

1. Preparing large volumes of food accurately following recipes and standards
2. Working efficiently to meet or exceed daily production guidelines
3. Handling deliveries and problem-solving in a fast paced environment with strong communication skills
4. Observing safety and food safety rules to meet quality and sanitation expectations, such as properly labelling and dating products, cleaning all equipment and food service areas, cleaning dishes and food prep areas.

Company description: Tucked between the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain in a progressive college town, the MNFC is a democratic, member-owned cooperative committed to providing healthy, competitively priced foods; encouraging ecologically sound and healthful patterns of production and consumption; and responding to members’ needs accordingly. Since our beginnings more than 40 years ago, we have expanded to over 5,000 member- owners who are guided by shared values in sustainable business practices, growing the local foods movement, and supporting our community

Produce Staff

Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op

• Posted August 14, 2019 at 10:22am
• Deadline November 1st, 2019
• Location Middlebury, VT
• Type Part Time

Job summary: Our dynamic Produce department is seeking a talented individual who is passionate about sharing their love for local and organic produce with Co-op customers. This entry-level position offers part-time hours on a great team of staff who bring abundant physical energy to creating vibrant Produce displays, as well as attention and care to building relationships with farmers and other producers. Working at the Co-op offers opportunities for professional growth, face-to-face community engagement, and a generous benefits package. 

Our ideal candidate has experience:

1. Creating attractive abundant displays to highlight our amazing produce

2. Providing top notch customer service in a fast-paced retail environment

3. Multitasking while paying incredible attention to detail

4. Prioritizing to meet our goals to contribute to our vibrant local economy

Company description: Tucked between the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain in a progressive college town, the MNFC is a democratic, member-owned cooperative committed to providing healthy, competitively priced foods; encouraging ecologically sound and healthful patterns of production and consumption; and responding to members’ needs accordingly. Since our beginnings more than 40 years ago, we have expanded to over 5,000 member-owners who are guided by shared values in sustainable business practices, growing the local foods movement, and supporting our community.

Sous Chef

Woodstock Farmers' Market

• Posted August 13, 2019 at 11:39am
• Deadline Open until filled
• Location Woodstock, Vermont
• Type Full Time

The Woodstock Farmers Market is a bustling year-round fresh market of fantastic food which generates over $9 million in annual sales. We’re a classic “small giant”: while our footprint is modest, we have created a dynamic fresh foods market with many facets—from our varied national and regional specialty products and our commitment to local produce and meats to our prepared foods kitchen and catering department to our customer service focused staff. 

• Zero Waste Theory--Be flexible and responsive in using foods transferred from other departments in the organization, maintaining a WFM store-wide zero waste policy. This means often using existing products for meals, not necessarily purchasing ingredients for recipes. 
• Communication – Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. Attending meetings on time. Being execution oriented; doing what you say you’d do in a given time constraint. 
• Coordinating While Cooking--Must be able to prioritize issues while supervising and performing cooking activities. 
• Cooking in Quantity— accurately cook in quantity following WFM recipes. 
• Conducting Training for Personnel-Training is the backbone of our organization. Sous Chef must work with Operations Leader to mentor, instruct by example, coach and teach others in a calming and informative manner. 
• Sanitation and Maintenance of Equipment and Facilities for State Regulatory Compliance—Must understand all state and federal sanitation practices as well as those at WFM. . Must be very clean and understand the importance of high sanitation on an everyday basis. Must be proficient in use of most standard commercial kitchen equipment.

Training: Will train with Chef—Operations Leader and Chef—Deli Service Leader. Must learn all aspects of the food production during training: Dish Station, Sandwich Unit, Entrée making, Deli Salad making, Opening operations, Closing operations, Catering.

Education –This job requires a minimum of 2 years in a similar work environment, with significant responsibility. We prefer a 2 – 4 year culinary education and /or 2 or more years of higher education. 

Time Commitment—This is a full time job. We estimate about 40-50 hours/week. At least one weekend day is required. Holidays and summer time are our busiest times and require planning and commitment. 

Salary depending on experience

RFP: Investments for the Future of VT Agriculture

Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB)

• Posted August 12, 2019 at 10:24am
• Deadline September 4th, 2019
• Location Montpelier, VT
• Type Freelance

The Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) seeks a consultant to develop a concise list of investments needed to address the issues laid out in the 2018 Exploration of the Future of Vermont Agriculture report.

Purpose: VHCB, in collaboration with UVM Extension, the Vermont Land Trust, the Intervale Center, and the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE), seeks to identify a comprehensive set of investments required over the next decade to respond to anticipated shifts in Vermont land use, production systems, and farm viability.

The 2018 Exploration of the Future of Vermont Agriculture report, along with other recent efforts, including the Vermont Dairy & Water Collaborative, resulted in an urgent call to action. The project partners believe that upcoming challenges to Vermont’s agricultural sector will require unprecedented investment and coordination among organizations. The goal of this project is to identify and articulate the collective investments needed in land conservation, farmland access, and business and technical assistance activities for Vermont’s agricultural sector over the next decade.

We are seeking a consultant who can work with the project partners between September 2019 and January 2020 to collect data from each organization on past investments and impacts and anticipated trends, further research trends in Vermont’s agricultural sector, facilitate the project partners to come to consensus on priority investments, and write a report based on the work. The report will need to include a variety of considerations in order to build an evidence-based case for the recommended investments, including but not limited to:

Historical data on the scale of investments and impacts

• Land conservation
• Farmland access
• Business and technical assistance

Projections on changes in the agricultural sector over the next decade

• Incoming vs. retiring farmers
• Land use trends
• Farms and acreage affected by these trends and changes
• Level of financial and technical assistance needed to support positive outcomes given these trends and projections

Recommended investments based on historical data and projected needs

• High level budgets to show how investments will address needs
• Role that each organization and potentially other partner organizations will play in the work
• Anticipated impacts, by investment type

Scope of Services Requested: The consultant shall work with VHCB on the work described above, including the following activities:

• Facilitate three meetings with project partners
• Collect historical program data and anticipated trends and needs from project partners
• Conduct research on trends in the Vermont agricultural sector
• Develop a framework that uses historical data and anticipated needs to estimate future investment recommendations
• Draft and finalize a report with background information and investment recommendations

Timeline: Approximately September 2019 through January 2020.

Recommended scope and timeline:

September/October 2019

• Facilitate one half-day meeting with VHCB, UVM Extension, Intervale Center, Vermont Land Trust and CAE staff to collaboratively: clarify the scope of activities to be included in the report; determine a set of research questions based on which data will drive the analysis; and identify a list of experts who can provide the necessary data.
• Produce a report outline to guide the collection and analysis of information
• Meet individually with project partner staff to collect relevant data on historical program investments and impacts
• Develop definitions to delineate and clarify program services (technical assistance, research, general outreach/promotion, educational programs, economic development initiatives, etc.)
• Conduct research on trends in Vermont’s agricultural sector (may require interviews with topical experts)
• Develop a framework for determining needed investments (e.g., formulas for estimating funding needs; tables to show relationships between organizational funding needs)

November/December 2019

• Facilitate one half-day meeting with project partners to assess project status and address outstanding questions
• Continue to collect information from project partners and conduct research
• Develop a draft set of projections related to agricultural production, land conservation, and farm transfers based on historical data and anticipated changes in the agricultural sector
• Complete a first draft of the report

January 2020

• Facilitate one all-day meeting with project partners to review project results and come to consensus on a list of recommended investments
• Facilitate report revisions and finalization
• Provide digital archive of all project notes for future reference by project partners

Proposal Format: Proposals should include a description of approach to be used to accomplish the scope above; experience and qualifications of the consulting team; hourly or per diem rates for all individuals to be compensated; a total, all-inclusive maximum proposed cost to perform the scope of work; links to sample work products/reports if applicable; and three references. VHCB will not be responsible for expenses incurred in preparing this proposal (RFP) and such costs should not be included. Please note that additional materials and notes from meetings leading up to this RFP may be available to those developing proposals.

Evaluation and Selection: Staff at VHCB and project partner organizations will evaluate proposals and may request a meeting by phone to discuss your proposal in advance of making a decision. Decisions will be made by September 16, 2019. Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Qualifications and experience of the principal(s) who would be conducting the activities and preparing reports;
• Prior experience with similar projects and references;
• Sample work product and reports;
• Quality and clarity of proposal in addressing scope and goals;
• Ability to meet timeframe of the proposed project;
• Proposed approach to project; and
• Proposed cost.

Seeking Farm to School AmeriCorps Member!

Maplehill School and Community Farm

• Posted August 9, 2019 at 9:35am
• Deadline September 1st, 2019
• Location Plainfield, Vermont
• Type Full Time

Serve Your Community Through AmeriCorps at Maplehill School and Community Farm as a Farm to School AmeriCorps Member!

The Vermont Youth Development Corps AmeriCorps (VYDC) program is recruiting AmeriCorps members for the 2019-2020 service year! AmeriCorps is a national service program that creates community service opportunities across the county, and VYDC places AmeriCorps members throughout Vermont to promote hope, justice, and well-being for all Vermont youth and families. The Maplehill School is one of the sites with which VYDC places AmeriCorps members and one of the sites for which VYDC is actively recruiting.

The Farm to School AmeriCorps Member supports: 
Farm to School and community outreach activities, including assisting youth in learning about & completing farm chores, shopping for and serving meals, co-coordinating community events, building partnerships with local organizations and leading weekly Harvest of the Month cooking demonstrations. 
The Maplehill School Healthy Food Program, which provides healthy, locally grown food to our students and staff year-round, including working with the Farm to Table Coordinator to plan and cook meals as well as working with the Farm Educator to tend to the farm and garden. 
Programming that the AmeriCorps member supports involves healthy nutrition, culinary life skills, humane animal care and food production basics - including planting, tending, harvesting, preserving crops. 
General programming at Maplehill School includes but is not limited to attending field trips, mentoring students, participating in electives, vocational training and PE activities.

A car is needed for monthly travel to AmeriCorps training and site specific travel between campuses. Maplehill School is located in Plainfield, VT. Minimum age requirement is 23, with a clean driving record and a commitment to a full time year of service beginning Sept 1.

Benefits Include: 
$14,100 living allowance for service term 
$6,095 education award that can be used for qualified student loans or continuing education 
Loan forbearance/deferment for qualified student loans 
Extensive professional development opportunities 
Mileage for service-related travel when in service 
Healthcare and childcare assistance (if full time position)

For more info, visit www.vermontyouthamericorps.org, email vydc.recruitment@wcysb.org, or contact the site supervisor Vivian Stein at vivian@maplehillschoolandfarm.org

Farm Mechanic and Route Operator

Black Dirt Farm

• Posted August 8, 2019 at 1:09pm
• Deadline August 8th, 2019
• Location Greensboro Bend, Vermont
• Type Part Time

The Farm Mechanic & Route Operator plays an important role in managing the farm’s equipment maintenance and repair, as well as operating the farm’s food scrap collection operation one day per week. This self-driven role will be responsible for maintaining the good working-order of all equipment on the farm and supporting the continued success of the food scrap collection route.

Job Tasks and Requirements

By and large the role will include the following tasks:

Route Operation – (30% of time)

• Weekly collection of food scraps from customers
• Operation of generator, hot water pressure washer, and 12-volt fresh water pump.
• Daily tracking and reporting of data.
• Visually inspecting containers for contaminants and removing them.
• Customer service as needed while on customer premises.
• Collection of sawdust as needed and delivery of sawdust to customers.
• Occasional farm tractor operation as needed.
• Weekly & monthly meetings.

Equipment Repair and Maintenance – (70% of time)

• Oversee farm equipment repair and maintenance, including overall project/task management, preventative maintenance and associated schedule, repair, and equipment histories, as well as documenting procedures that will need to be replicated in the future.  This role will execute as much repair and maintenance work as possible. The applicant does not need to know how to repair everything. Of equal value is the ability to recognize when a repair should be handled by a third-party. The applicant will be responsible for coordinating third-party repairs and maintaining strong relationships with equipment shops we work with.
• Oversee the mechanical shop, its organization and its tools.

Misc equipment and operations

• Back up chores when necessary
• Special projects as necessary
• Record keeping – recording time, managing equipment repair and maintenance logs, and other related information tracking as requested.

Qualification: 

• Three years mechanical repair experience; preferably with small engines
• Five years driving experience and ideally, one year of commercial or heavy truck driving experience
• Excellent work ethic and appreciation for efficiency.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills.
• Superior personal skills, including communication, stress management, and teamwork.
• Willingness to follow and develop protocol.  Curiosity about and ambition for operational excellence.
• This job requires the operator to:
•        Handle containers up to 350 pounds (on wheels).
•        Lift 100 pounds safely.
•        Climb in and out of truck bed routinely with comfort.
•        Shovel heavy material for extended periods of time.
•        Execute semi-repetitive tasks over time
•        Operate outdoors, in variable weather
•        Bend, stoop, and climb stairs
• Excitement about compost, farming and the food system.

Hours per week: 24-30 hours per week, with potential for growth.