Grower Assistant bei Family Tree Nursery

Grower Assistant

Location: Production Farm 

Reports to: Head Grower, and Assistant Head Grower, Growers

Works with: Grower Assistants

Leads: Team Members

The Grower Assistant is held within the Grower Department. This role assists the Head Grower, Assistant Head Grower, Grower, and IPM Supervisor to maintain Family Tree Nursery’s high product quality, mission, core values and expectations. This is a non-Management role, and it is expected to work shoulder to shoulder with the team to assist core processes and results. Instead of managing people, your main responsibility is to maintain the health of our crops. Although plant health is your focus, you are expected to communicate that standard of excellence to the team, even if they fall outside of your department. Employees within the Grower Department understand plant health more than anyone on our team, and they share that knowledge with the group. Any process involving the Team Member within this department should be supported or led by the Growing Team. There will be times when you are asked to lead 2 or 3 Team Members to get a task done. This is the perfect opportunity to develop your leadership voice. The success of the entire company, not just your department, should be your goal. 

The following job description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of the duties and responsibilities of the position, and the duties and responsibilities may change without prior notice.

Required Qualifications: 

• 1-2+ years of professional experience in: Horticulture, greenhouse production, green industry sales, garden center management, or other plant-based industry.  A degree in Horticultural studies would also qualify.  
• Demonstrate strong knowledge of annual, perennial, tropical plant material.
• Understand and direct irrigation and fertility techniques.
• Operate a pallet jack, forklift, skid steer, cart tug or other equipment and vehicles with a clean driving record.

Essential Functions: 

• Mix, load, and handle restricted use chemicals.
• Roll and unroll hoses from irrigation and application equipment. 

• Work in a variety of weather conditions including hot, cold, wet or dry, and direct sun exposure. Temperatures vary 10 to 20 degrees above or below ambient temperature.
• Be able to stand, squat, bend, lift arms above head, and lift around 50lbs. Anything over 50lbs needs to be team lifted.  
• Work on a variety of surfaces including gravel, concrete, mud, dirt, or others. 
• Be available to work weekends, evenings, early mornings and holidays. 
• Be available to work 6 (six) days per week March, April, May, through mid-June depending upon business, 5 days a week for the remaining months.
• Able to stand and walk on your feet for multiple hours at a time with breaks as required by law. 

• Operate effectively in a high paced setting involving various individuals and teams.

• Strong technology acumen, with Microsoft products and/or other digital products. 
• Be willing to work in other areas of the business such as operations, receiving and production.

Key Expectations:

• Teamwork: Willing to work with Grower Assistants, and IPM Supervisor to achieve a common goal of exceptional plant quality, aligning the vision, oversight of the department while supporting the company’s mission, vision, and core values.
• Oversite- Oversee processes and tasks involving growing procedures to support department performance.
• Execution- Take ownership of area, and perform tasks as directed by leadership.
• Plant Quality- Achieve the highest quality product in the region.

Additional Expectations:

• Act as a secondary crop irrigator that assists in irrigation decisions. This includes selecting, mixing and applying proper fertility.
• Keep injectors and chemical areas clean and organized.
• Make a minimum of 3 crop checks per day. 
• Assist in daily record keeping, which may include- primary irrigations, ppm and fertilizer used, chemical applications, water alkalinity, soil pH and/or E.C., crop pictures.
• Assist in greenhouse opening and closing procedures. 
• Maintain a clean greenhouse and growing space by removing trash, dust, debris and weeds.
• Assist in scouting for pests and diseases.
• Prioritize responsibilities with Head Grower to reach high efficiency while maintaining quality that meets regulatory guidelines.
• Be able to work independently with minimal supervision. 
• Maintain proper PPE when using cleaners and sterilant, while keeping workspaces clean and organized.
• Adapt to new technologies.