Outdoor Farm Lead

Written By Alex Poltorak

Job Summary:
 
The Urban Canopy is a young organization working to build a local, ethical, sustainable food system in Chicagoland. We are seeking a skilled farm manager for Lead of our 2-acre outdoor farm in Auburn-Gresham. The ideal candidate has 3+ years of experience in production farming and managing a small team, excels at developing and practicing efficient hand-scale production methods, and is committed to environmental stewardship, local job creation, healthy-living initiatives, and community building.  

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:             

  • Develop and maintain a yearly budget with guidance from Urban Canopy Leadership

  • Guide the growth and direction of the branch; actively seek opportunities for improvement

  • Collaborative crop planning and continuous re-evaluation based on accurate data and analysis

  • Lead daily production work including: bed prep, planting, plant maintenance, documentation, tool inventory and maintenance, seed starting, monitoring soil health, watering, weed control, maintain compost, spring setup and farm winterization

  • Hire, train and manage farm crew

  • Lead all harvest work: upkeep harvest supplies, create harvest plan, monitor harvest efficiency, communicate with other branches on order fulfillment

  • Manage Branch communications with internal and external partners 

  • Gather and analyze harvest data to track crop viability and inform budget

  • Build relations with neighbors, city departments, urban farm partners and broader community

Qualifications:

  • 3+ years production farming experience, ideally small/organic

  • 3+ years management experience

  • Able to lift 75+ lbs and work outdoors in all Chicago weather

  • Competence and experience with Excel/Google Sheets coding

  • Efficiency-minded, self-driven, hard worker, able to give and receive instructions critically

  • Entrepreneurial spirit, recognize opportunities and means for growth

  • Valid license + comfortable driving large passenger vans and small box trucks

  • Comfortable with the ambiguity and stressors common to a growing small business

  • Able to shift gears smoothly and maintain momentum on multiple tasks

  • Able to meet deadlines, keep organized, maintain responsive and effective communication

  • Commitment to high quality, healthy produce and food access justice

Schedule:

  • This position is year-round starting in early Spring. During the growing season, the Lead will work full time on the farm.  In the off season we provide work in other branches, usually full-time if desired.

Additional Information: 

  • Wage ranges from $22.00 to $26.00 per hour.

  • Paid Time Off (PTO) earned at a rate of 1 hour per 17.5 hours of paid work.

  • 401k plan options with a 3% match after 1 year of employment

  • Maternity/Parental Leave after one year of employment.

  • UC employees have access to free and wholesale food: includes surplus produce from our markets and CSA, and occasional product from our partners.

  • Complimentary Compost Club membership: home pick-up option available to employees within our service areas. 

  • Eligible for health insurance options with a $200 monthly stipend plus an additional $200 monthly for one additional spouse/child/dependent.

To Apply:

Go to theurbancanopy.org/careers to fill out the  General Application form. Select Outdoor Farm Lead as the primary position you are applying for and attach a PDF resume. 

Any questions about the process can be sent to careers@theurbancanopy.org.

Alex Poltorak
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