Organic Farming & Gardening

Hiring: Farm Coordinator
Farm: West Coast Seeds
Location: Ladner, Delta, Greater Vancouver, BC

Join our team of talented, passionate, and dedicated professionals in a fast-paced, growing environmentally conscious company. Located on beautiful farmland in Delta, BC, our head “office” is a fantastic, renovated farmhouse with scenic views of our lush gardens and fields. We care about each other and what we do and are looking for an experienced individual who shares our values of supporting community, nature, organic principles, and inspiring joy.

The successful candidate will be a positive, independent, self-starting individual who possesses strong interpersonal skills. Your strengths will lie in your ability to genuinely engage with our team, provide excellent customer experience, and contribute positively to the organizational culture.

Our Company

West Coast Seeds believes, first and foremost, in the principles of organic growing and sustainable agriculture. Namely, we feel that food and all plants can be grown without the use of synthetic chemicals and that the seeds we supply are an important component within the broader approach to organic growing. We support growers as custodians of the land they grow on — however large or small — and through adopting organic gardening techniques such as composting, companion planting, and planting pollinator-friendly plants, we help repair the world by nourishing the soil and ourselves.

Founded in 1983, West Coast Seeds’ purpose was to source and supply seeds of a higher quality than had been available to home gardeners. Following the traditions of organic farming and gardening, the focus was on offering untreated seeds suitable for organic growing. Today we offer over 1,000 varieties of untreated, non-GMO, open-pollinated and hybrid vegetable, herb, and flower seeds.

Objectives

• Contribute meaningfully to West Coast Seeds’ variety trialing program by leading the growth of hundreds of varieties, evaluating, and documenting important characteristics. The trials include newly developed F1s, to industry standards, to heirloom OPs. High-quality data and photography are key outputs of the trials to assist product development, as our goal is to have excellent product offerings and information for our community of growers.
• Manage and maintain the West Coast Seeds ½ acre trial farm, 4,000 sq ft greenhouse, demonstration gardens and general grounds, as well as oversee the staff garden area using sustainable organic practices with the goal of becoming the “go-to” centre for organic farmers, gardeners and the community interested in agriculture and growing their own food.
• Engage with the gardening and the local farming community with farm tours, workshops and events participation.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Product Development Team, West Coast Seeds staff, and outside experts to develop short and longer-term plans for our farm and optimize the use of our site, including raised beds, landscape and grass area, fields and greenhouse following certified organic standards.
• Under the guidance of the Product Manager and Product Development Team, select, manage, and grow a wide selection of vegetables, flowers and herbs, both for the variety trials and demonstration gardens using methods that best reflect the West Coast Seeds message of successful growing using sustainable organic practices. This will include hands-on manual labour and basic farm equipment operations to prepare the soil, plant, water, weed, manage disease and insect damage, harvest, as well as supervising seasonal staff.
• Assist the Product Manager in data collection and documentation of variety trial analyses and results for both West Coast Seeds and AAS trials.
• Grow an additional 6,000+ seedlings for our annual charity Seedling Sale.
• Assist Product Development Team with quality control matters as applicable.
• Help develop and manage West Coast Seed community-based classes, events, and tours to engage the community in what we do and who we are.
• Represent West Coast Seeds in school and community gardening programs and offsite community events, and tradeshows as needed.
• Coordinate fresh produce donation program for excess farm production.
• Assist in providing staff with growing knowledge and information about our variety trials and demonstration gardens.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will have 3+ years or equivalent in direct organic farming experience and exposure to a variety of farming and gardening practices, and be passionate about gardening and farming. We require someone that is highly detail-oriented and organized and can maintain records for hundreds of different varieties. You should enjoy both the physical elements of growing and also delight in spreadsheets. Must have strong problem solving and communication skills. Prior knowledge and understanding of important variety characteristics, certified organic production, and data collection are definite assets.

Details

• Salary of $55,000 per year.
• 2 weeks of paid vacation time.
• Benefits after 3 months.
• Average of 40 hours per week, with the ability to bank time in the summer to take off in the off-season.
• Work from home possible in the off-season, primarily November and December.
• One day of weekend work required during the growing season, Sunday preferred.
• Ability to take home large amounts of fresh produce harvested on-site from our trial and demonstration gardens.
• Access to you own garden bed in our staff garden, if desired.

Please apply with your resume and a brief 1-2 paragraphs expressing your interest in the role by emailing kthomson@westcoastseeds.com and donna@westcoastseeds.com .

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