Company description

Siena Farms is an award-winning, 75-acre market farm growing diversified produce on the fertile soils of the Sudbury River valley, twenty-five miles west of Boston.  We grow over 100 varieties of vegetables for our year-round CSA, our farmstores in the Boston Public Market and Boston’s South End, and area restaurants including family-owned Oleana, Sofra, and Sarma.  We use regenerative, biological agricultural practices to build our soil’s health and productivity, free of chemical herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers.

Job description

We are seeking individuals who are motivated by a career interest in sustainable agriculture to join our 2024 team, for a year round Assistant Distribution Manager position starting immediately! One or more seasons of previous farming experience is preferred, but not required for the right applicant. 
 

Siena Farms’ Assistant Distribution Manager is a core member of the year-round team for our 75-acre organic produce farm. In this hybrid position, the Assistant Distribution Manager will split time between field work tasks (3 days/week) and distribution (2 days/week). Field work will generally consist of tasks such as seeding, transplanting, plant care and maintenance, and harvesting, while distribution includes working closely with our Distribution Manager to safely and efficiently deliver farm products to CSA members, wholesale customers, and our own retail outlets in Boston. As an ambassador of the farm to these groups of customers, CSA host sites, and retail staff, our Assistant Distribution Manager plays an important role in connecting the farm with the wider community not just in terms of delivering our products in a timely and highly organized fashion but as a key player in developing relationships and brand identity for the business. 
 

This position is full-time and is available immediately. Compensation is salaried and commensurate with experience. Benefits include a weekly CSA vegetable share, health insurance with monthly premiums fully covered by the employer, and staff discounts at our retail locations as well as Oleana and Sofra.
 

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities of our Assistant Distribution Manager include but are not limited to the coordination and execution of the following:
 

Distribution

• Year-round deliveries of farm produce to restaurants and other wholesale customers of the farm.
• Year-round deliveries of farm produce to, and between, our retail outlets in Boston; Siena Farms South End and the Boston Public Market.
• Periodic pickups of product from local orchards, farms, and specialty food producers.
• Leading CSA share deliveries when our Distribution Manager has time off 
• Safe and efficient operation of our Sprinter Van as our primary delivery vehicle, our currently rented 15' boxtruck, and our farm pickup trucks and F-350 flatbed.
• Delivery days include organizing and loading product on the farm in the morning, and cleaning out the van back on the farm at end of day.
• Providing friendly, knowledgeable and professional customer service throughout the day’s deliveries, to all recipients of our produce.

 

Field Work

• Planting, including greenhouse propagation and mechanical transplanting in the fields
• Cultivation/weed-control by hand and hoe
• Field work such as trellising, pruning, fencing & thinning
• Involvement in mushroom, cut-flower, and specialty crop production and our larger scale veggie production
• Assisting production managers in the training and leading of apprentices through field work tasks
• Daily harvest of our 150+ varieties of vegetables, fresh herbs, mushrooms and flowers
• Post-harvest handling, including washing, curing, packing, and transporting produce
• Assisting managers in the training and leading of staff through harvest tasks
• Preparation and packing of orders for restaurant deliveries and retail stores
• Preparation and packing of CSA Farm Shares for pickup and distribution
• Participation in farm outreach events such as CSA member farm-tours & volunteer days

 

Our Assistant Distribution Manager, like all of our employees, is held to high standards for organization, communication with coworkers, positive attitude, respect and kindness for coworkers, work quality, and professional work ethic and schedule. Of all of these, respect and kindness for coworkers is our top value here at Siena Farms; everything else follows from that. 
 

Qualifications

• Experience navigating the streets of Boston (or driving experience in other dense urban areas)
• Excellent work ethic 
• High level of attention to detail 
• Ability to problem solve independently
• Ability to take direction as well as to operate independently 
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs repeatedly 
• Interest in sustainable agriculture 
• Strong communication skills 
• Experience driving box trucks, Sprinter vans and pick-up trucks preferred, but not required
• 1 year of farm work experience preferred, but not required

 

Schedule

• Our Assistant Distribution Manager position is considered a full-time, year-round position, averaging 40 hours/week spread over 4 days per week in the “cold months” (December through March), and averaging 50 hours / week spread over 5 days in the “warm months” (April through November). 
• On a normal week during the "warm months", our Assistant Distribution Manager will handle our wholesale and retail deliveries on Tuesdays and Fridays, and focus on field work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  
• Core schedule during April through November is Mondays through Fridays, 7am – 5pm.
• Some portions of some seasons historically have required work days extend to 6pm in the summer and fall, so we keep that as an option but not a likelihood.  One hour of paid lunch break per day is allotted to all farm staff.

 

Compensation

• Competitive salary, including a generous PTO package and health insurance benefits after 90 days from start date.
• Perks include a weekly veggie farm share to take home, additional access to surplus produce, plus employee discounts at Siena Farms' retail sites as well as at family restaurants Oleana and Sofra.

 

Other

• We do not offer on-farm housing
• Reliable transportation to and from the farm in Sudbury is required (we are located in an area that lacks sufficient public transportation)

Compensation

this position is: salaried, 35,568* - 50k

Application instructions

Deadline

June 30, 2024