Sustainable urban farms, flowers & veggies

Hiring: Assistant Farm Manager, 2025
Farm: City Beet Farm
Location: Vancouver BC
Eligibility: age 30 & under (funding requirement)

Please note that this posting is for an assistant farm manager. We will be hiring for farm hand positions later in March or April, so please check back on our website soon if that would be a better fit.

About the Farm

City Beet Farm is a small-scale urban farm located in the Mount Pleasant, Riley Park, and Southlands neighbourhoods in Vancouver. We grow vegetables and cut-flowers on 15 sites made up of front and backyards. We use ecological farming practices that improve the long-term health of the soil and support biodiversity. We are a small team and work alongside many neighbours: our relationship with the local community is very important to us. We sell our produce and flowers through our weekly CSA, pop-up market and partnerships with local community organizations. We aim to provide a collaborative and supportive work environment.

Job Description

We are hiring an Assistant Farm Manager for the 2025 season. This is a new position at City Beet, so the right candidate is someone who is excited about taking on a leadership position while working closely and communicating openly with the farm owner/manager (that's me! (Liana)) regularly to make adjustments to the role and responsibilities as needed.

The Assistant Farm Manager will be involved in most aspects of the daily operations of the farm from seeding to selling. Responsibilities include:

• Daily farm tasks including seeding, bed prep, transplanting, weeding, processing, equipment maintenance, etc.
• Implementing the weekly task list as set by the farm owner/manager
• Working with the farm owner/manager to set weekly goals and harvest targets, then taking leadership of the tasks necessary to meet them
• Leading a team of up to 3 other people while contributing to a supportive and collaborative environment
• Keeping up to date harvest records

For more clarity on the level of autonomy/ supervision: I will be working from home up to half-time this season, so the Assistant Farm Manager will work in person with me part of the time, and will work without direct supervision while leading the field crew approximately half of the time. The Assistant Farm Manager and I will work together early in their position for training and to establish a schedule that works for the team, and as the season progresses they will take on more responsibility for decision-making in the field on their own.

I will also be away from the farm for 2-3 weeks in August. The Assistant Farm Manager will be responsible for overseeing all farm operations during that period.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone to learn about urban agriculture and farm management while progressively taking on more responsibility.

Job Details

• Position: Assistant Farm Manager
• Start Date: April 1, 2025
• End Date: End of October to mid November, depending on the weather and when the CSA ends. Exact end date to be confirmed as we get closer.
• Hours: The position will be approximately half-time in April and will transition to full time, 37.5 hours/ week, in May.
• Schedule: The Assistant Farm Manager will work five days a week, including one of either Saturday or Sunday. In August the position may shift to Mon-Friday for the remainder of the season. Most days we work from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Our CSA pickup and market table are on Wednesdays from 4:00-6:30, so the Assistant Farm Manager may work regular hours that day, or from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, depending on need and preference (to be determined once we have hired the rest of the crew and according to availability and preference).
• Compensation: $24/hr plus 4% in lieu of vacation pay and access to fresh veggies
• Eligibility: We have applied for wage subsidies to partially fund this position that require candidates to be 15-30 years of age at the start of employment and must hold Canadian citizenship, Canadian permanent residency status, or Canadian refugee status.

Desired Qualifications

The ideal candidate for this position will have:

• At least two years prior vegetable and cut flower farming experience
• Experience in a leadership role on a farm, managing a team and daily operations
• Strong communication skills and ability to work collaboratively with the farm owner
• Ability to supervise and work alongside a small crew in a supportive and efficient manner, and to work both independently and as part of the team as required
• Experience operating small-scale farm tools such as a BCS two-wheel tractor, Quick Greens Harvester, and tilther in addition to common hand tools is an asset
• A valid driver’s licence and experience driving with a trailer
• Experience in customer service, especially working in a farmers market setting or something similar
• Passion for sustainable farming, building community and local food
• Good work ethic with the desire to work and learn in all weather.
• Ability to complete physically demanding and repetitive tasks, including lifting up to 40 lbs safely and efficiently,

The ideal Assistant Farm Manager would be reliable and highly self-motivated, and have a sense of fun! We are a farm with many moving pieces and we are looking for someone who can learn our systems and work cohesively alongside us.

We strongly encourage people who are underrepresented in farming and related fields or face barriers to employment to apply, including new immigrants and refugees, applicants who have not completed high school or previously been employed, women, Indigenous youth, members of racialized communities, and LGBTQ2SIA+ youth.

Even if you don't have all the exact qualifications listed above but you have equivalent experiences that make you a great fit for the position, we'd love to hear from you!

How to Apply

Please send your resume and a brief cover letter detailing what interests you about the position and why you'd be a good fit to Liana at info@citybeetfarm.com by 11:59 pm on Sunday March 2nd 2025 with '2025 Assistant Farm Manager Application' in the subject line. We'll conduct interviews the following week.

Thank you for your interest in City Beet Farm and for taking the time to apply. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Please mention you saw this at FoodWork.ca.