Company description

Siena Farms is an award-winning, 50-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 2025 team as an Assistant Distribution Manager! 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 50-acre diversified vegetable 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 planting, cultivation, harvesting, and post-harvest handling, 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. 

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 share boxes to CSA host sites
• 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 two 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
• Safe and efficient operation of our Sprinter Van as our primary delivery vehicle, our 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 the 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
• Assisting Siena Farms production managers in the training and leading of field crew through various 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 Siena Farms harvest managers in the training and leading of field crew through daily and weekly harvest tasks
• Preparation and packing of orders for restaurant deliveries and our retail stores in Boston
• 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 respect, kindness, organization, communication, positive attitude, work quality, work ethic, work pace, and work schedule. Of all of these values, respect and kindness for coworkers is the top priority, as everything else follows from that. 

Qualifications

• Safe driving record
• 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). Daily schedule is 7am – 5pm year-round
• Weekly schedule, including the allocation of distribution and field work days, will be planned in close collaboration with the Distribution Manager
• One hour of paid lunch break per day is allotted to all farm staff

Compensation

• Competitive salary, generous PTO package, and fully covered health insurance benefits 90 days after 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, 43,888* - 50k

Application instructions

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Deadline

December 31, 2024