Farm Production Administrator/Assistant Farm Manager at Southern Oregon University

POSITION SUMMARY:

Date application must be received for priority consideration by: November 29, 2024

Anticipated Appointment Begin Date: February 5, 2025

Closing Date or if blank, Open Until Filled:

Job Family Group: Support Staff

Support Staff Classification Title: Biological Sciences Research Technician 1

Division/Department: Academic Affairs/School of Science and Business

Compensation Range (commensurate with experience): Salary Range 13, steps 6-9 $18.93-$21.42/hourly or $3,282-$3,713 Monthly @ 1.0 FTE

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Appointment Basis: 12-month

Time Type: Full-time

Benefits Eligible: Yes

Renewable/Non-renewable/Grants/Limited Duration: Renewable

This position must possess and maintain a current, valid Driver License: Yes

This position is designated as a critical, security-sensitive or safety-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a Criminal Background Check: Yes

Lead Work/Supervisory Responsibilities: Yes

Work Location Type: On-campus

Work Hours: M-F (8:00a - 5:00p) Hours are subject to change with notice.

Worker Status: Must be able to legally work in the United States without visa sponsorship

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANT:

• Each applicant is required to provide (as attachments to the online application) the following supplemental documents: (1) a letter providing some detail of the applicant's qualifications and interest in the position; and (2) current resume/CV.
  • PLEASE NOTE - during the application process, you will be prompted to attach these documents in the area titled "Resume." Please either combine ALL documents into ONE attachment, OR upload each item separately in this section. Failure to upload ALL of the required documents may disqualify application from consideration.
• For inquiries and additional information, please contact Human Resource Services via email at hrs@sou.edu or by phone at (541)552-8553.
• To view SOU's very generous benefits and pension programs available to eligible positions, please visit https://inside.sou.edu/assets/hrs/Benefits/Benefit_Flyer/2024_Prospective_Candidate_Benefit_Overview_012024.pdf
• Our benefits package is an important complement to the offered salary and our Total Compensation Calculator, https://inside.sou.edu/hrs/comp-calc.html, demonstrates our value and commitment to our employees.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The SOU Farm Production Administrator/ Assistant Farm Manager serves to advance the mission and vision of The Farm at SOU. The Farm Production Administrator/ Assistant Farm Manager is responsible for ongoing management and administrative oversight of student staff, facilities, and programs. They will additionally support marketing and sales through harvesting and delivery. Farm Production Administrator/ Assistant Farm Manager will support a variety of Farm initiatives including Farm-sponsored programming and program partnerships with on- and off-campus entities. The Farm Production Administrator/ Assistant Farm Manager will work closely with the Farm Manager to advance the mission of the Farm at SOU. The Farm Manager and Farm Production Administrator/ Assistant Farm Manager will collaborate with The Director to partner in the advancement of SOU's commitment to sustainability.

The Farm at Southern Oregon University is a center for sustainability. The student-led organic farm produces healthy, sustainably harvested food for the SOU community. It is a hub for education, student and faculty research and community outreach to the Rogue Valley. Projects on The Farm inspire a generation of ecologically-committed leaders who promote a vision of living and working sustainably in community and on the land.

Minimum Requirements

• two years of college-level courses in (specific field of biological science); OR
• an equivalent combination of training and experience.

Preferred Requirements

• Bachelor's/Master's Degree in Business Administration, Management, Environmental Management, Environmental Science, Horticulture, Agriculture, or related fields.
• Demonstrated project management and collaboration skills.
• Prior experience in agricultural or horticultural management.
• Commitment to modeling sustainable practices in the workplace.
• Ability to engage in physical work in outdoor settings under a variety of conditions.
• Ability to work with diverse views and foster collaboration.
• Experience with simple construction and repair.
• Experience in coordinating, organizing, and implementing sustainability programs.
• Experience supervising students.
• Experience in environmental education.
• Organic Farm Management.
• Prior experience in marketing and sales.

Essential Functions

Duties - The following examples are typical work activities that are meant to illustrate the general range of work functions and are not meant to be all-inclusive or restrictive:

(40%) Administrative Support Services

• Purchasing of supplies and services.
• Assisting in invoicing of external and internal sales.
• Professional services contract.
• Hiring and onboarding employees.
• Marketing and sales.
• Coordination of employees and meeting schedules.

(20%) Farm Management

• Develop annual strategic farming plans to include yield calculation, planting calendars, seed and plant budgets, operational budgets, variety selection, and land use.
• Lead and direct farm operations including weeding, harvesting, planting, soil management.
• Orchard and vineyard care, irrigation, water conservation measures, restoration efforts, washing, food safety, and packaging.

(20%) Education and Outreach

• May serve as the instructor of record on agricultural program classes up to 12 ELU per academic year under the direction of the Chair of ESPS.
• Provide appropriate leadership opportunities and trainings for staff and students participating in Farm programs and operations.
• Provide regular one-on-one instruction and group instruction in sustainable food system management in partnership with the Farm Manager.
• Oversee education and outreach programs including those in partnership with Rogue Valley Farm to School.
• Serve as a liaison between The Farm at SOU and campus facilities, academic affairs, and other external partners.

(20%) Student Farmer Supervision

• Recruit, hire, train, mentor, and supervise undergraduate and graduate students.
• Provide appropriate leadership opportunities and trainings for staff and students participating in Farm programs and operations.
• Ensure that Farm staff adhere to appropriate safety standards, SOU policies, City and State ordinance requirements, and aesthetic demands.
• Work closely with Facilities Management and Planning to maintain safe and legal operating conditions.
• Other Duties as Assigned

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Excellent communication skills; demonstrated ability to effectively communicate information in a clear and understandable manner, both verbally and in writing.
• Demonstrated customer service experience requiring a very high level of diplomacy and professionalism to effectively handle a broad range of sensitive interpersonal situations.
• Demonstrated ability to proactively assess work operations and anticipate potential problems; ability to develop and implement strategies for preventing/resolving problems.
• Great ability to effectively perform work of a highly sensitive and confidential nature that requires access to information. Must be able to exercise sound judgment and discretion, tact, and diplomacy.
• Takes initiative in independently planning, organizing, and performing work assignments within broadly defined parameters
• Demonstrated ability to work with a high level of productivity and accuracy/attention to detail.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the demonstrated ability to set own priorities to coordinate multiple assignments with fluctuating and time-sensitive deadlines.
• Excellent computer skills and proficiency with a variety of computer applications including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, online systems, social media platforms, Internet as well as online calendaring and email.
• Demonstrated ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, productive work atmosphere in and outside the University with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse population and with those from various cultural backgrounds.
• Willingness to and work effectively in a heavily bureaucratic environment which requires regular interaction with a number of levels within the organization and multiple outside agencies.
• Working knowledge or ability to quickly learn, university infrastructure, policies, and procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to provide training and direction to student assistants.
• Demonstrated skills in an institutional/educational environment utilizing a customer-oriented and service-centered attitude.
• Ability to implement policies and procedures where specific guidelines may not always exist.
• Ability to work with frequent changes in policies and procedures, under pressure of deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to teach undergraduates and graduate students in horticulture, agriculture, and agroecology.
• Ability to lead field research projects and supervise student research. Ability to proactively assess work operations and anticipate potential problems; ability to develop and implement strategies for preventing/resolving problems.
• Ability to effectively perform work of a highly sensitive and confidential nature that requires access to information.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and discretion, tact, and diplomacy.
• Working knowledge of plant physiology, plant ecology, soil biology, plant pathology, integrated pest management, and agroecology.
• Outstanding knowledge of irrigation systems, irrigation repair, water conservation strategies, and fluid dynamics.

Physical Demands

• Farm Production Administrator/ Assistant Farm Manager will make extensive use of computer equipment.
• The work environment will include prolonged outdoor work in a farm setting and may include occasional heavy lifting.
• Ability to engage in physical work in outdoor settings under a variety of conditions.
• The work environment will additionally include frequent foot-travel over uneven terrain.
• The Assistant Farm Manager will also assist student staff with regular maintenance, landscaping. and farm tasks.
• Will require the ability to travel between locations to pick up supplies.

Special Conditions

• Must be willing to travel and attend training programs off-site for occasional professional development.
• Must be able to work additional hours and adjust working hours to meet special jobs. May be called back periodically to perform work as needed on an emergency basis.
• Must be able to successfully pass a pre-employment background check.
• This position classification has been defined as non-exempt and is subject to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• The person holding this position is considered a mandatory reporter under the Oregon Revised Statutes and is required to comply with the requirements set forth by the Oregon Department of Human Services.

SOU is an equal access AA/EOE committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workforce

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Southern Oregon University will provide, if requested, reasonable accommodation to applicants in need of accommodation in order to provide access to the application, interviewing, and selection process. You are not required to note the presence of a disability on this application. If, however, you require a reasonable accommodation in the application and/or interview process due to disability, requests must be made in a timely manner to Human Resources.

Diversity Statement:

Southern Oregon University is a welcoming community committed to inclusive excellence and the celebration of diversity. Without diversity, our educational process is diminished. Working together in support of our commitment to diversity, we strengthen and enrich our role as learners, educators and members of a tightly connected global community. We encourage those who share in our commitment to diversity, to join our community and we expect all our employees to demonstrate an ability and desire to create an inclusive campus community.

SOU Land Acknowledgement

We want to take this moment to acknowledge that Southern Oregon University is located within the ancestral homelands of the Shasta, Takelma, and Latgawa peoples who lived here since time immemorial. These Tribes were displaced during rapid Euro-American colonization, the Gold Rush, and armed conflict between 1851 and 1856. In the 1850s, the discovery of gold and settlement brought thousands of Euro-Americans to their lands, leading to warfare, epidemics, starvation, and villages being burned. In 1853 the first of several treaties were signed, confederating these Tribes and others together - who would then be referred to as the Rogue River Tribe. These treaties ceded most of their homelands to the United States, and in return, they were guaranteed a permanent homeland reserved for them. At the end of the Rogue River Wars in 1856, these Tribes and many other Tribes from western Oregon were removed to the Siletz Reservation and the Grand Ronde Reservation. Today, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (https://www.grandronde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (https://www.ctsi.nsn.us/) are living descendants of the Takelma, Shasta, and Latgawa peoples of this area. We encourage YOU to learn about the land you reside on and to join us in advocating for the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous people.

Notice to Prospective Employees

Section 485 of the Higher Education Act, and The Federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 (now referred to as the "Clery Act"), require that prospective employees be notified of the availability of SOU's Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The report provides the annual statistics and campus policies for the reporting of and responding to campus crimes and fires; access to campus facilities; conduct code and campus policies on the use, possession, and sale of drugs/alcohol; and educational/information programs to inform the campus community about campus security procedures and crime prevention.

An electronic copy of the Annual Security Report (ASR)can be accessed at the following link:

https://inside.sou.edu/security/statistics.html. A physical copy of the ASR is available at no charge upon request. To request a copy please visit the Campus Public Safety Office at 382 Wightman Street, Ashland OR 97520. For more information call 541-552-6258, or email clerycoordinator@sou.edu