Location: Stone Barns Center For Food And Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York

Supervisor: Ecosystems Director

Employment Classification: Full-time/Salaried, Non-Exempt

Frequency of Pay: Bi-weekly

Salary: $58,000 - $65,000/year

Benefits: Comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, a 401k plan, generous paid time off, paid holidays, and sick time.

Schedule: 5 days, may include some weekends and evenings

The Land Care Operator is a member of the Stone Barns Center Ecosystems Team, and reports directly to the Ecosystems Director. The work of this team encompasses Stone Barns Center's landscaping, compost and fertility cycles, beekeeping/pollination work, and forestry program. This person will play an essential role in maintaining the health, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning of the gardens, pastures, fields and forests at SBC, as well as assisting with maintenance of site infrastructure essential to this working landscape. They will also be a key player in the farm fertility cycles through stewardship of the compost and creative on-site waste management operations. A desire to steward land for beauty, minimize waste, and generate ecological health is essential. With the focus on R&D at Stone Barns Center, there are many opportunities for collaborative and exploratory projects.

Responsibilities:

Landscape and Grounds

• Support members of the Ecosystems team with machinery operation when necessary
• Support maintenance of site infrastructure such as carriage trails, drains, footpaths, and fences
• Work with groundskeeper to maintain clear fence lines and network of historic stone walls
• Assist with tree work: clean up of downed trees, pruning and maintenance of landscape trees
• Participate in care for agroforestry projects such as chestnut and hazelnut production, care of truffle oaks riparian buffer zones, and silvopasture trials
• Support management of invasive species through weeding, trimming, mowing and coordination with goat grazing program
• Help with fieldwork on special projects such as our native warm season grassland restoration grant project

Compost/Fertility

• Perform regular in-vessel aerated compost operations associated with food and butchery waste
• Timely processing of animal manure and landscape waste bulk aerated compost systems
• Maintain organized and clean compost pads, tidy feedstock piles, and ASP equipment
• Regular feedings, watering, and maintenance of vermicompost system
• Carry out scheduled applications of compost and compost tea to vegetable, pasture, landscape, and fruit operations
• Maintain records of compost batches and temperatures in alignment with PFRP, utilizing ArcGIS software
• Ensure equipment, schedules, and logs are in compliance with standard operating procedures
• Perform regular operator maintenance on all machinery used for compost systems under guidance of Facilities mechanics

Programming/Education

• Assist with programming, including but limited to: weekly tours, Stone Barns/Blue Hill pop ups, public interpretation, and fundraising events
• Participate in cross team collaborations towards R & D goals as requested, and related programming for the public

This is a highly physical role. While performing these job duties, the employee is regularly required to see and reach. The employee is regularly required to sit, walk, and stand for long periods of time (e.g., up to 8 hours or longer) and to don appropriate personal protective equipment in response to COVID-19, including face coverings. The employee is required to use dominant hand coordination for simple grasping, pushing/pulling, and fine manipulation. The employee is also required to lift and carry up to 50 pounds, bend, squat, kneel, and reach above shoulder level. The employee may be exposed to extreme temperatures, dust, dampness, moving machinery, food allergens, and cleaning agents. Due to the nature of the farming industry, the employee may be required to work longer hours and varying schedules to reflect the business needs, which may include overtime, weekends, and holidays. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job, so long as they do not cause undue hardship.

Preferred Skills/Knowledge:

• Interested in the Stone Barns mission
• Committed to the values of health, ecology and sustainability
• An interest in the ecological health of working lands
• Experience with community education is a plus
• Enjoys talking with people of all backgrounds
• Takes initiative and excels at independent work
• Solutions-oriented approach
• Organized and able to prioritize and manage a full and diverse workload
• Ability to operate skid steers, wheel loaders, chainsaws, wood chippers and other heavy machinery is a plus
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
• Familiarity with Google Documents
• Early-riser who enjoys working outdoors in all weather conditions
• Must possess and maintain a current, valid driver’s license

About Stone Barns Center:

For 15 years, Stone Barns Center and Blue Hill have demonstrated the power of farmer-chef collaborations to inspire change in the food system. We are now poised to deepen our impact and address some of the greatest environmental, health, and economic challenges of our time. We have a bold vision to catalyze an ecological food culture that supports a thriving regenerative food and farm economy. We will build on our long standing work at the intersection of farmers and chefs to activate critical areas with the potential for exponential impact on ecological and human health, farm viability, and other elements of thriving food systems. In service of this vision, we will reimagine how we use our Lower Hudson Valley campus to serve as the R&D lab for the ecological food culture we seek. Stone Barns Center is committed to equity and inclusion. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply for employment.

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9. For more information on E-Verify, or if you believe that your employer has violated its E-Verify responsibilities, please contact DHS. 888-897-7781