Hiring: Vegetable and CSA Program Manager – The Trustees of Reservations

About The Organization

The Trustees is an organization with a fascinating past and an exciting future. Our places are open to all and we thrive by involving as many people as possible in what we do. Founded in 1891, by a group of visionary volunteers, we preserve, for public use and enjoyment, properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value in Massachusetts and work to protect special places across the state. We have helped protect more than 60,000 acres, including 25,000+ acres on 116 reservations that are all open to the public. We are a nonprofit conservation organization funded and supported entirely by our visitors, supporters, volunteers, and more than 50,000 members.

The Trustees Farms

The Trustees has extensive expertise in farmland preservation and is one of the largest private farmland owners in the Commonwealth. Our work in agriculture aligns with our larger organizational mission to protect the special places of Massachusetts for public use and enjoyment. Farming allows us to steward the rich cultural and natural resources on our properties with agricultural history, generates revenue that supports the care of our farmland, and serves as a platform for visitors to engage with our properties.

Our current network of agricultural properties includes four community farms featuring vegetable production; Appleton Farms in Ipswich, Powisset Farm in Dover, Weir River Farm in Hingham, and Chestnut Hill Farm in Southborough. The vegetables produced on these farms reach people through our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, food access efforts, and retail and wholesale ventures. We aim to create vegetable operations that are financially sustainable, have positive environmental and ecological benefits, and produce food that connects people to our properties and our mission. 

Position Summary

The Vegetable and CSA Program Manager shapes the direction, growth trajectory, philosophy, policies, and goals for the Trustees’ vegetable farm operations, within the context of the vision for the organization’s agriculture program and overall mission. The Vegetable and CSA Program Manager reports to the Agriculture Program Director and oversees all Trustees Farm Managers engaged in vegetable production, and their staff. S/he collaborates with Trustees region-based staff, Operations & Programs Department colleagues, and other agriculture program contributors to collaboratively realize the statewide agriculture program vision. The Vegetable and CSA Program Manager brings cohesion and overarching support to existing vegetable and CSA operations through oversight of budgets, coordination of operations, development of farm plans and policies, and planning of new projects and operations. The Vegetable and CSA Program Manager is a leading member of a growing agriculture team that is working together to shape an impactful set of operations and strategies for agriculture at The Trustees.

Essential Functions

• Supervise the organization’s vegetable operation growers, including Farm Managers and their staff, cultivating a performance-driven, collaborative team environment among farm staff and apprentices.
• Work closely with Farm Managers to develop and track annual farm budgets and meet budget goals. This includes setting realistic revenue expectations, closely monitoring expenses and labor costs, and identifying opportunities for efficiency and increasing net revenues/impact.
• Work closely with Farm Managers and other Trustees colleagues to budget, plan, and implement infrastructure and capital improvement projects, as well as equipment purchases, to support our vegetable operations.
• Identify new market opportunities for our vegetables to support strategic and financial goals and increase engagement with the Trustees through our agricultural products. Also, assist in planning and visioning new and creative farm operations and enterprises that support our agricultural vision and organizational strategic plan.
• Work with Visitor Services, Membership and finance staff to develop systems to support CSA and other customer-focused vegetable operations.
• Develop a suite of policies, standards, and best management practices for our vegetable operations, including production, food safety, employee/volunteer safety, etc., in collaboration with the Agriculture Program Director, Farm Managers, and other Trustees staff. Drive the implementation, adoption, and promotion of these operational standards and policies. 

Supporting Functions

• Support volunteer engagement on our farms, in collaboration with colleagues in volunteer management and development.
• Support agriculture program fundraising and development efforts, including developing project budgets, assisting with project visioning, and assisting with funder visits and development events.
• Support and in some cases identify and drive research opportunities to develop or test new best practices and promote findings within the agricultural community as appropriate.
• Support visitor experience and programming in support of property goals on each of the vegetable farms.
• Collaborate with colleagues in ecology, stewardship, and cultural resources to achieve organizational goals that span all of these areas. Understand and exemplify the strategic goals of the organization as outlined in the Strategic plan update, The Path Forward.
• Other duties as assigned with or without accommodation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural production, Agricultural economics, Business Administration or a related area.
• 7+ years experience in the farm/food world, including 5+ years vegetable production experience; additional farm retail/business management preferred. Experience operating and maintaining farm equipment.
• Significant staff and budget management experience; ideally overseeing multiple staff and budgets over $500,000.
• Familiarity with the Massachusetts and New England farm community preferred, as is experience working with a farming non-profit and a range of local food system stakeholders. 

Additional Skills/Qualifications

• Proven interpersonal skills, commitment to staff development, and a successful track record of recruiting, supervising, motivating, training, and working with a diverse team.
• Proven understanding and ability to support a farm operation within a non-profit as well as comfort working within a highly customer service-focused organization.
• Interest in working for a mission-driven organization focused on achieving conservation and agricultural impacts at the local, state, and regional level.
• Excellent computer skills, including Excel, and the ability to quickly learn organizational budget and e-commerce software.
• Strong writing skills.
• Excellent people skills and ability to communicate Trustees philosophy and farming practices to colleagues, donors, and the public.

Other

• This position will require frequent travel across eastern MA and periodically throughout the state; access to a personal vehicle for this purpose is necessary.
• Valid driver’s license and a satisfactory driver’s record check.
• Satisfactory CORI (criminal background check).
• Work on weekends, evenings, and some holidays will be required.

Benefits and Salary

The Trustees offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, life and disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, vacation, sick and personal time, as well as the option to participate in our 401(k) and 529 savings plans. We also offer the opportunity to be part of a dedicated team across the Commonwealth who love the outdoors, who love the distinctive charms of New England, and who believe in celebrating and protecting our special places, for everyone, forever.

APPLY NOW – Vegetable and CSA Program Manager

Click here to see all job opportunities at The Trustees of Reservations

No phone calls please.

In addition to being an Equal Opportunity Employer, The Trustees of Reservations aim to create a thriving, inclusive workplace that values each member of our team.  We aspire to reflect and effectively serve the residents and communities of Massachusetts who are at the core of our mission.