Field Assistant

Position Summary:

The Farmer Training Program focuses on three areas: running a productive farm, providing an educational experience for Farmers-in-training (FITs), and providing a space for reconciliation and healing. Field Assistants continue to gain hands-on experience growing vegetables at high elevation, while taking on additional responsibilities. Field Assistants work with other staff to tend about three acres of vegetables, learning new and traditional skills and techniques vital to farming at high elevation, and join a network committing to supporting beginning farmers through incubator and land access opportunities, business planning, and community support. Field Assistants work with and assist other program staff in tasks including but not limited to the following, which may take place in both the FIT Plot and the Education Garden: working with FITs in field work; leading FIT groups; running the campus Farm Stand; attending early season at Durango Farmers Market; assisting with the CSA; using hand tools; operating small equipment; assisting with irrigation and repairs and daily operation; succession planting; weed management; harvest/processing; deliveries; events; and assisting in other daily farm tasks.

Job Description:

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• The team of Field Assistants will work to accomplish highest priority tasks, which may take place in the FIT Plot or the Education Garden and may include weed management, equipment operation, harvesting, processing, propagation tasks, cleaning, general farm maintenance and other tasks as identified by program staff.
• A team of Field Assistants will work to complete the following tasks:
  • Approximately 25% (depending on the time of year): Lead harvest prep, harvest, and post-harvest processing, including doing crop counts; adhering to food safety SOPs, including twice daily harvest shed cleaning on harvest days; overseeing the cleaning of harvest bins and supplies; establishing size and quality standards for produce with other managers and Assistant Director; training FITs and volunteers in produce standards; leading harvest shed-packout for markets, CSAs, and wholesale orders of produce from both the FIT Field and the Education Garden; and leading harvests in the Education Garden.
  • Approximately 25%: Supervising, training, and providing instruction to Farmers In Training, field assistants, and/or volunteers, in priority areas determined with other managers.
  • Approximately 25%: Providing overall care for the Education Garden, including watering, maintenance, succession planting, high tunnel management, and care of perennials, which includes managing weekly irrigation and providing crop counts when in production.
  • Approximately 25%: Working with other managers to determine and accomplish highest priority tasks, which may take place in the FIT Plot or the Education Garden and may include weed management, equipment operation, harvesting, processing, propagation tasks, cleaning, general farm maintenance and other tasks as identified by the Production Manager or Assistant Director.
• Field Assistants are also responsible for setting a positive, professional and respectful tone; following training and work guidelines created by management and setting an example for farm team and volunteers in terms of timeliness, focus, pace, and accuracy in the field; adhering to Food Safety SOPs; following instructions and training and responding to feedback; demonstrating care for tools and farm equipment by appropriate use, cleaning, and storage, and completing online trainings to become a FLC authorized driver.
• Field Assistants take on additional areas of responsibility, including leading groups of FITs, running the Farm Stand, attending early season Durango Farmers Market and/or assisting with CSA coordination.

Additional Functions and Responsibilities

• Contributing to staff meetings
• Creating content for social media and newsletters
• Working at the Farm Stand or Durango Farmers Market
• Packing the CSA
• Restocking and cleaning the Country Store
• Caring for perennials in the Education Garden
• Processing storage crops
• Assisting with setting up for, hosting, and cleaning up from public events

Required Education, Specialized Skills and Experience:

• Two or more seasons of vegetable growing experience
• At least one season growing at high elevations or in short seasons
• One or more years’ experience in leadership or teaching roles, especially in a farming context
• Experience working with teams from diverse backgrounds
• Significant experience working independently as a farmer or in a physical job
• Significant experience working in fast-paced environments, especially as a pace-setter
• Successful experience working collaboratively as part of a team
• Proficient with the use of Microsoft Office programs, Google Suite, and Dropbox
  • Interest in using google sheets for farm coordination
• Ease with email, Slack messages, and phone calls as forms of team and professional communication

Preferred Education, Specialized Skills and Experience:

• College degree in agriculture or related field
• Experience using small equipment

Reports To / Supervisory Responsibility:

Reports to the Production Coordinator and Old Fort Director

Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that an employee can expect while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Work is primarily conducted outside or in high tunnels in all weather
• Work may occur in heat, cold, snow, rain, wind, and other extreme weather conditions.
• Work may occur adjacent to tractors or require use of tractors or small machines (moderate noise).
• Office space is shared.

Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential function.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to, stand, sit; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to perform fine motor functions such as weeding, harvesting, packing, gripping, typing, texting, and operating tools.
• The job is highly physical and requires nearly constant activity.
• The use of hand tools is likely, including shovels, broad forks, digging forks, spades, rakes, and other tools.
• The employee is required to lift objects weighing up to 50 pounds.
• The employee is required to lift many items each day weighing between 5 and 40 pounds, especially on harvest days.
• On a daily basis, the field manager must perform actions such as lifting, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and reaching, and use tools to dig, rake, tilth, and additional actions as needed.

Travel:

• Less than 5% is expected for this position.

FLSA Status/ Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

• Exempt includes workman’s compensation and sick leave
• Hourly, 15-35 hours/week depending on season and responsibilities ;
  • March and April: 15-20 hours/week
  • May through October: 30-35 hours/week
    • Must include Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday during season; Some Saturdays from mid-May through mid June at the Durango Farmers Market
  • Early November: 15-20 hours/week
• Start times: 8 a.m. or 7:30 a.m. for peak harvest days
• Harvest days may run until 4 or 5 p.m.
• 45 minute unpaid lunch break
• March 15/May 1 through October 31/November 15th, depending on responsibilities
• May take one unpaid week off during the farming season
• Must be available May 13-15 (FIT Orientation) and August 29-30 (Convergence)

Compensation

The hourly rate for this position is $19-$21/hour

Additional living stipends are available from Native American Agriculture Fund grant.

A complete application packet includes:

• Cover letter explaining your interest in the position and ideal weekly schedule and desired start and end dates.
• Resume
• Names and contact information for three current, professional references

Application packages received by February 18th The position will remain open until filled.

The successful candidates will be required to pass a background check and possess a clean driving record.

About Fort Lewis College:

On a sage-brushed mesa overlooking downtown Durango and the La Plata Mountains, Fort Lewis College is Southwest Colorado’s premier public undergraduate research institution. With more than half of the 3,300 students identifying as people of color, FLC’s academic programming and campus life thrive on nurturing safe, diverse spaces for intellectual exploration and helping people achieve their career goals. A Native American-serving, Non-Tribal Institution, FLC is committed to promoting economic development in neighboring tribal communities and connecting students with the education they need to be the change in the world they want to see. Degree programs span the arts, business, education, health sciences, humanities, and social and natural sciences. Coursework builds on the natural, cultural, and historical resources found around the Four Corners region. Students work closely with faculty on research projects with real-world implications. Like the mountain town it resides in, FLC promotes a culture of work-life balance for students, faculty, and staff. Skyhawks enjoy unparalleled access to a healthy outdoor lifestyle thanks to 300 days of sunshine a year and more than 300 miles of hiking and biking trails in and around Durango

Notice to Prospective Employees:
The Fort Lewis College is required by the Clery Act of 1990 to notify prospective employees, current employees, students and applicants where to access our Campus Security Report. The report is updated and published annually in accordance with the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, Federal Student Right-to-Know, the Federal Drug-free Schools and Campuses Act of 1989. This report contains information about:

• Fort Lewis College's alcohol and other drug policy
• Sexual assault policy
• Campus security policies
• Campus/community resources
• The Colorado Riot Offense Statute restriction on enrollment
• Where to find registered sex offender information
• Crime statistics for the previous three calendar years
• Reporting crimes

The Campus Security Report can be accessed in two ways:
By going to the internet website at: www.fortlewis.edu/AnnualSecurityReport Fort Lewis College Student Affairs Office will also provide a paper copy of the annual security report upon request. You can reach them at (970) 247-7331.

Equal Opportunity
Fort Lewis College does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, color, religion, national origin, sex*, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, family or domestic status, political beliefs, veteran status, pregnancy, or genetic information. Accordingly, equal opportunity for employment shall be extended to all persons. The College shall promote equal opportunity, equal treatment, and affirmative action efforts to increase the diversity of students, faculty, and staff. The College is dedicated to building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty and staff committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. To file a report, get resources, read policies, or make an appointment, See www.fortlewis.edu/CARE.

Discrimination Questions?

Office of Compliance and Community Standards
David Pirrone, Director of Compliance
165 Education Business Hall
1000 Rim Drive
Durango, Colorado 81301
(970) 247-7182 djpirrone@fortlewis.edu

Questions about Title IX sex discrimination?
Office of the Title IX Coordinator
Madeleine Gillman, Assistant Director of Compliance and Title IX Coordinator
230 Skyhawk Station
1000 Rim Drive
Durango, Colorado 81301
(970) 247-7049 mgillman@fortlewis.edu

Information about Fort Lewis College’s alcohol and drug policy, sexual assault policy, campus security policies, campus crime statistics, fire safety procedures and fire statistics, and campus/community resources can be found in the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Hard copies are available upon request.

* Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Part 106 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, including in admission and employment. Inquiries about the application of Title IX and CFR 106 to Fort Lewis College may be directed to FLC's Title IX Coordinator and/or to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department of Education.

ADAA Accommodations
Any person with a disability as defined by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) may be provided a reasonable accommodation upon request to enable the person to complete an employment assessment. To request an accommodation, please contact Kristin Polens by phone 970-247-7459 or email kpolens@fortlewis.edu at least five business days before the assessment date to allow us to evaluate your request and prepare for the accommodation. You may be asked to provide additional information, including medical documentation, regarding functional limitations and type of accommodation needed. Please ensure that you have this information available well in advance of the assessment date.