Agricultural Specialist

Summary

The agricultural specialist will support all aspects of agriculture, including greenhouse production, farm operations, composting, food distribution, TEK and native plant propagation and replanting plans. The position is predominately working outside through all areas of cultivation, development, maintenance, and project follow-through on the 5,000 acres of trust and fee land that the Tribe manages. The agricultural specialist role requires flexibility and agility, as well as the ability to specialize with great responsibility in select areas.

Job Description

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Production Areas/Fieldwork:

• Support crop production on the Tribal community garden project, including pest management, greenhouse propagation, transplanting, sowing, weeding, irrigating, fertilizing, and harvesting.
• Support compost operations on the Farm as needed, including gathering and tracking of compost throughout the property, operation of mid-scale aerated static pile compost system, and field sheet mulching.
• Support care and maintenance of chicken flocks as needed, including feeding, watering, cleaning, moving mobile coops, and processing of eggs/ meat for distribution.
• Support infrastructure development, irrigation, farm maintenance, cleanliness and organization, distribution efforts, occasional deliveries, and farm stand shifts.
• Support resource development and staffing for all departments as needed.
• Support farm stand and post-harvest pack shed as needed.
• Operate within and promote a culture of food safety practices through actions and recordkeeping.
• Participate and follow through on IPM practices in the many different applications in practice.
• Incorporate TEK agricultural practices into the development and management of the department.
• Support Department of Natural Resource programs, activities and directives as needed.
  General Administration:
• Participate in the supervision and coordination of interns and volunteers within the community garden.
• Provide technical supervision of staff in a project field lead type capacity, always leading by example.
• Support evolutions and developments of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be proficient and applicable within current operations.
• Support ongoing research and development.
• Collect data and ensure organized record keeping.
• Search for grants, programmatic funding to support agricultural actions.
• Participate in regular staff meetings.

Education and Events:

• Assist in implementation of farm education, cultural events, and Tribal events.
• Host guests and lead occasional tours, highlighting community garden, composting, etc. practices.

Supervisory Requirements

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• 4-6 years of farming experience, particularly within the fields of organic/regenerative farming.
• Willingness to work outside in all weather conditions while maintaining a positive attitude.
• Passion for interacting with, educating, and leading a diversity of community participants, volunteers and staff of varied ages and backgrounds.
• Knowledge and passion around community farming, food justice, food systems development, etc.
• Cooperative, service-oriented attitude and ability to work independently and take initiative, set priorities, and see projects through to completion.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and relationship development skills.
• Ability to be open and flexible to new ways of working with diverse communities.
• Creative skills and ability to experiment to attain new, better strategies, approaches, and solutions to challenges.
• Flexibility and willingness to take on a variety of tasks along with an ability to work effectively in a highly collaborative team environment.
• Strong work ethic and ability to perform strenuous physical labor in inclement weather.
• Detail oriented.
• A valid driver’s license.

Experience and Education

• AA/AS in Forestry, Agronomy, or related Plant Sciences with 2 years of agricultural production experience.
• Food safety training.
• Organic spray and IPM experience.
• Familiarity and experience with soil health and soil building concepts.
• Technical knowledge and familiarity with irrigation construction, troubleshooting, and repair.
• Knowledge of species and climate, specific to Southwest Coastal Washington.
• Excellent computer skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office programs.
• Farm equipment, truck, tractor, operation experience.
• Strong knowledge of agricultural equipment usage and safety.
• Experience as an agricultural or environmental educator.
• Familiarity with Indigenous agricultural or arboreal concepts, texts, and traditions.
• Project management experience.
• Training in active listening and constructive communication techniques such as Non-Violent Communication, meeting facilitation, etc.
• Understanding of working within a Tribal organization.

Equivalent experience will not be accepted in place of required education.

Skills

LANGUAGE SKILLS:  Ability to read and comprehend instructions, correspondence, and memos.  Ability to write reports at EPA standards and write field reports or HazMat tracking reports.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:  College level that relates to the scientific reports required of this position.

REASONING ABILITY:  Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed written or oral instructions.  Ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations.

Essential Competencies

• Analytical – Synthesizes complex or diverse information.  Collects and researches data.  Uses intuition and experience to complement data.  Designs work flows and procedures.
• Project Management – Develops project plans.  Coordinates projects.  Communicates changes and progress.  Completes projects on time and budget.  Manages project team activities.
• Problem Solving – Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner.  Gathers and analyzes information skillfully.  Develops alternative solutions.  Works well in group problem solving situations.  Uses reason even when dealing with emotional topics.
• Interpersonal Skills – Focuses on solving conflict, not blaming.  Maintain confidentiality.  Listens to others without interrupting.  Keeps emotions under control.  Remains open to others’ ideas and tries new things.
• Teamwork – Balances team and individual responsibilities.  Exhibits objectivity and openness to others’ views.  Gives and welcomes feedback.  Contributes to building a positive team spirit.  Puts success of team above own interests.  Able to build morale and group commitments to goals and objectives.  Supports everyone’s efforts to succeed.
• Leadership – Exhibits confidence in self and others.  Inspires and motivates others to perform well.  Effectively influences actions and opinions of others.  Accepts feedback from others.
• Judgment – Displays willingness to make decisions.  Exhibits sound and accurate judgment.  Supports and explains reasoning for decisions.  Includes appropriate people in decision-making process.  Makes timely decisions.
• Professionalism – Approaches others in a tactful manner.  Reacts well under pressure.  Treats others with respect and consideration regardless of their status or position.  Accepts responsibility for own actions.  Follows through on commitments.
• Adaptability – Adapts to changes in the work environment.  Manages competing demands.  Changes approach or method to best fit the situation.  Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.
• Dependability – Follows instructions, responds to management direction.  Takes responsibility for own actions.  Keep commitments.  Commits to long hours of work when necessary to reach goals.  Completes tasks on time or notifies appropriate person with an alternate plan.
• Organizational Support – Follows policies and procedures.  Completes administrative tasks correctly and on time.  Supports organizations goals and values.
• Attendance/Punctuality – Is consistently at work and on time.  Ensures work responsibilities are covered when absent.  Arrives at meetings and appointments on time.

Essential Competencies

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Perform field work from taking samples and packing them into coolers that can weigh up to 50 lbs, Traverse rugged terrain in the forest and on the beaches.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work Environment

The Agricultural Specialist will work outdoors conducting a variety of tasks, often times repetitive with technical support from supervisor and teammates. There will be exposure to Washington’s outside temperatures, chemicals used in the agricultural industry, and loud noises.

At-Will Employment

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee incumbent in this position.  Employee(s) will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments.

The employment relationship with Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe is voluntary; there is no specified length of employment.  Accordingly, either the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe or the employee may terminate the employment relationship at will, with or without cause, at any time, so long as there is no violation of applicable federal or state law.

This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise.

Benefits

Employee Benefit Summary:
After 60 days of employment
Medical
Vision
Dental
Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage
Short term disability
Long term disability
Disability resources
After 90 days of employment
Annual Leave accrual
Sick Leave accrual
Bereavement Leave
Military Leave
Jury Duty Leave
Paid Holidays
After 1 year of employment
401K employer contribution