Food gardening, Urban farming & agriculture

Hiring: Urban Farm Site Lead Farmer
Organization: The PACT Urban Peace Program
Location: John Polanyi Collegiate Institute (JPCI) Farm/Garden Site, North York (640 Lawrence Ave W)

Urban Farm Site Lead Farmer, PACT Urban Peace Program

• Availability: April 7th, 2025 - Oct 31st, 2025 40 hrs / week, 30weeks
• Position Type: Full-time (seasonal)
• Compensation: $23.50/hr, 13 vacation days, company benefits plan

About Us:

The PACT Urban Peace Program is looking for a Lead Farmer at its John Polanyi Collegiate Institute (JPCI) location, one of our 3 “Grow-to-Learn” urban farm sites. PACT Grow-to-Learn (GTL) teaches schools and communities about food and gardening. GTL feeds families and seniors in under-resourced neighbourhoods, it creates safe, green spaces for pollinators, and it transforms communities in the Greater Toronto Area.

Our organic school gardens/urban farms provide safe, experiential, and positive learning environments and help to raise awareness of important issues related to healthy eating, nutrition, environmental sustainability, and food security in our schools and local communities.

The JPCI Garden/Farm is our most established site, and 2025 will be its 13th year in production. The site is just under one acre in size, and includes a variety of fruit trees, pollinator gardens, and communal gathering areas where we regularly host free community meals and other events. All produce grown is provided to our weekly Fresh Food Box program, which serves nearly 300 families in the Lawrence Heights community by providing a free bag of fresh produce each Wednesday from June - October.

The Urban Farm Site Lead Farmer will work closely with all other GTL staff and volunteers at PACT’s John Polanyi Site in North York, and reports up to the GTL Acting Director of Operations and Fundraising.

Required Qualifications:

• Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent
• Minimum 1-2 seasons of farming/gardening experience, ideally smaller-scale organic vegetable production
• Comfortable using Google Drive/Google Office Suite (or the desire and ability to learn)
• High level of organization and time management skills
• A positive attitude, and the ability to foster a respectful, inclusive work environment for all staff and community members

• Physically fit with strong stamina, able to regularly lift 50lbs and work in a variety of weather conditions
• The ability to work with high school aged students, leading and supervising them in simple gardening tasks, as well as facilitating garden-based educational workshops when the Community Engagement Coordinator requires assistance
• The ability to teach and supervise a variety of Community Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds during our twice weekly Community Volunteer Sessions.
• Completion of a Vulnerable Sector Screening
• Availability to work from approximately 9am-5pm, Monday - Friday (40 hours per week), or modified hours to accommodate earlier start and end times during the hottest parts of the summer. Occasional weekend irrigation may be required, with appropriate time off to keep work hours to 40 hours per week.

Preferred Qualifications:

• An understanding and appreciation of issues contributing to food insecurity, and a passion for increasing access to fresh, healthy food to those experiencing food insecurity.
• Possess a valid Ontario driver’s license (highly preferred for this position, even if you do not have your own vehicle. But please do still apply if you do not drive!)
• Experience managing others, ideally in a farm or gardening setting
• Bachelor’s Degree

Planning, Operations and Reporting Activities:

• Manage all direct growing operations including: crop plans and rotation, planting, watering, sowing, harvesting, weeding, mulching, cover cropping, plant care, tree care, compost maintenance, garden infrastructure, and producing a record of all harvested produce. Monitor, coordinate and oversee all required landscaping tasks and maintenance of garden sheds, fences, trellises, pathways, signage and all other related farm infrastructure.
• Working closely with the other staff to ensure all full-time and part-time staff are properly trained in all garden tasks, including appropriate field safety techniques.
• Maintain a clean, inviting, safe and organized space at all times, including maintenance of all tools/materials, storage sheds and all other garden assets and infrastructure.
• Track and record daily and weekly in-garden (non education/workshop related) production stats in an online spreadsheet including: harvest logs, compost rotation and compost collection logs.
• Provide monthly reports of all garden, production and distribution related stats and data to the Acting Director of Operations and Fundraising .
• Management of the assigned garden operating budget, carrying out all required purchases to support all growing and maintenance activities and updating online tracking spreadsheets of all weekly purchases and receipts.
• Work together with all GTL Staff to ensure the smooth operation of the weekly Fresh FoodBox Program, which serves approximately 300 families each week.
• Assisting site staff with maintenance of two other urban farm sites for periodic group work days

School, Community and Stakeholder Outreach and Relations

• Raise awareness about PACT and the GTL program within the local community to recruit volunteers and build/foster positive long-term relationships/partnerships with local food banks/feeding programs, community members and other related partner agencies and stakeholders.
• Support the staff to ensure that all volunteers, student and work placements are being fully vetted, registered, supported, trained, supervised and leveraged productively with assigned tasks in a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment.
• Support the staff to ensure that all student participants, school staff, guests and community members are fully supported and supervised in a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment.
• Promote an anti-oppressive, inclusive, safe and equitable environment that respects diversity.

2025 JPCI Crop Plan Execution & 2026 Planning:

• Working closely with the other staff to execute the 2025 crop plan as prepared by the previous Garden Site Lead Farmer, making changes as necessary.
• Planning for the 2026 growing season, including but not limited to: JPCI crop planning and rotations, past crop maps, crop summary (successes/ crops that have not worked in the space), pollinator and butterfly gardens

Organizational Support:

• Attend periodic GTL and PACT meetings, training and professional development activities as required and requested.
• Help plan, facilitate and attend PACT fundraisers/events and other community based events throughout the year representing GTL as schedule permits.
• Collect and provide periodic case studies, testimonials, photographs, success stories, garden stats etc. to support PACT website, social media channels, annual impact reports, newsletters and funding proposals.

TO APPLY:

Please send your resume and a cover letter explaining your interest and qualifications for the position to hiring@pactprogram.ca

Please mention you saw this at FoodWork.ca.

Deadline to apply is 5:00pm ET March 4th, 2025.

Job Types: Full-time, Contract

Contract length: 30 weeks

Pay: $23.50 per hour

Benefits:

• Discounted or free food
• On-site parking
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• Day shift
• Monday to Friday

Experience:

• Growing: 2 years (preferred)

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 2025-03-04