Assistant Grower

**Highline Vision and Values**:
Passionately nourish people, community and environment, through embracing our core values which include: We do the right thing, always. We lead the way. We are fanatical about quality. We are transparent inour relationships. We always consider the human element. We embrace diversity and inclusion.

**Qualifications & Experience**:
A combination of professional experiences or equivalent combined education, designation and work experience will be considered;
- University Degree in Business Administration, Agricultural Engineering, Science, Finance or Accounting, with a minimum of two (2) years of experience in a leadership role at a mushroom farm is required
- Five (5+) years of experience in compost and growing operations and farm management may be accepted in lieu of a University Degree
- Must have extensive experience and understanding of substrate preparation and mushroom growing
- Skilled in examining and re-engineering operations and procedures
- Experienced in developing and implementing new strategies and procedures
- Ability to develop financial plans and manage resources including analysis and interpreting financial data
- Requires professional written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to motivate teams and simultaneously manage several projects
- Work requires a willingness to work a flexible schedule and ability for independent travel; Willingness to travel

**Position Summary**:
Works closely with the Grower Manager and the growing team on all aspects related to the growing at our Essex Farm locations with a strong focus on head filling, farm operations and hygiene. Ensures the filling, growing and hygiene teams follow agreed-upon standards as set out in the in-house terminology which we refer to as “non-negotiables”, the cornerstone of which is the growing blueprint. Your role as a team member includes maintaining proper staffing levels and attaining productivity goals and farm profitability by working closely with the Grower Manager. You may also provide input and assist with the establishment of annual budgets, and ensuring department leaders meet targets through strategic planning, cost management, monitoring continuous improvement initiatives and efficiencies.

**Operational Farm Management**
- The Growing Blueprint is the key operational structure which provides the parameters within which to operate and within which all growing operations will be conducted. Any change or variance from the growing blueprint in your role must be clearly written on the crop chart immediately when that change is made by you or by your team member who physically makes that change. Creating a short “WhatsApp” message, photo or short video is the best form of communication to your fellow team members. The Growing Blueprint is the structure that allows us to learn and to improve as individual growers and as team members.

**Assistant Grower Responsibilities**:

- As the Grower you will be on site at you’re the farm(s) \every day from your standard and agreed upon start time until finished for at least five (5) days per calendar week with a clear schedule communicated on WhatsApp for your days off, allied to those of your fellow team members
- Responsible for overseeing supervising, and assigning work to the watering and disease associates.
- Responsible for ensuring you and your fellow growing team carries out the pre-filling room inspection checks, ensuring that the sheets are completed for every room
- Responsible for ensuring that there is a pre-planned routine ensuring that the Grower Manager, you as the Assistant Grower or the trainee grower, is always present during the filling of the rooms and that your fellow team member will always be in clear and frequent contact with the Material Application Specialist
- Responsible for ensuring a high standard of washing, hygiene and sanitation on each of the sites\Accountable for the filling quality and consistency as well as ensuring that the filling score paperwork is fully completed (compost density, caccing quantity and quality) and the casing soil before by either day 13 or before the blue square scores are done. Responsible along with the Grower Manager for signing off on each of the scores for each of the rooms filled in each week
- The yield and the quality of the mushrooms grown are the growing team’s responsibility and as the grower you are responsible for your fellow team members
- It is your responsibility to ensure that each member of your growing team leaves a detailed set of typed notes as a handover well ahead of his nominated days off
- As the Assistant Grower it is part of your responsibility to ensure that you and your fellow team members deliver the following crop chart items
- As the Assistant Grower it is part of your responsibility to ensure that you and your fellow team members follow and document disease procedures.
- As the Assistant Grower it is part of your responsibility to en