Garden Site Lead Farmer

**Urban Farm Site Lead Farmer, PACT Urban Peace Program**

**Hiring**:Urban Farm Site (TCI) Lead Farmer

**Location: Thistletown** Collegiate Institute (TCI) Farm/Garden Site, North York

**Availability**:April 7th, 2025 - Oct 31st, 2025 40 hrs / week, 30 weeks

**Position Type**:Full-time (seasonal)

**Compensation**: $23.50/hr, 13 vacation days, company benefits plan

**About Us**:
The PACT Urban Peace Program is looking for a Lead Farmer at its Thistletown Collegiate Institute (TCCI) location, one of our 3 “Grow-to-Learn” urban farm sites. PACT Grow-to-Learn (GTL) teaches schools and communities about food and gardening. GTL feeds families and seniors in under-resourced neighbourhoods, it creates safe, green spaces for pollinators, and it transforms communities in the Greater Toronto Area.

Our organic school gardens/urban farms provide safe, experiential, and positive learning environments and help to raise awareness of important issues related to healthy eating, nutrition, environmental sustainability, and food security in our schools and local communities.

**The Urban Farm Site Lead Farmer will work closely with all other GTL staff and volunteers at PACT, and reports up to the GTL Acting Director of Operations and Fundraising.**

**Required Qualifications**:

- Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent
- Minimum 1-2 seasons of farming/gardening experience, ideally smaller-scale organic vegetable production
- Comfortable using Google Drive/Google Office Suite (or the desire and ability to learn)
- High level of organization and time management skills
- A positive attitude, and the ability to foster a respectful, inclusive work environment for all staff and community members
- Physically fit with strong stamina, able to regularly lift 50lbs and work in a variety of weather conditions
- The ability to work with high school aged students, leading and supervising them in simple gardening tasks, as well as facilitating garden-based educational workshops when the Community Engagement Coordinator requires assistance
- The ability to teach and supervise a variety of Community Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds during our twice weekly Community Volunteer Sessions.
- Completion of a Vulnerable Sector Screening
- Availability to work from approximately 9am-5pm, Monday - Friday (40 hours per week), or modified hours to accommodate earlier start and end times during the hottest parts of the summer. Occasional weekend irrigation may be required, with appropriate time off to keep work hours to 40 hours per week.

**Preferred Qualifications**:

- An understanding and appreciation of issues contributing to food insecurity, and a passion for increasing access to fresh, healthy food to those experiencing food insecurity.
- Experience managing others, ideally in a farm or gardening setting
- Bachelor’s Degree

**Planning, Operations and Reporting Activities**:

- Manage all direct growing operations including: crop plans and rotation, planting, watering, sowing, harvesting, weeding, mulching, cover cropping, plant care, tree care, compost maintenance, garden infrastructure, and producing a record of all harvested produce. Monitor, coordinate and oversee all required landscaping tasks and maintenance of garden sheds, fences, trellises, pathways, signage and all other related farm infrastructure.
- Working closely with the other staff to ensure all full-time and part-time staff are properly trained in all garden tasks, including appropriate field safety techniques.
- Maintain a clean, inviting, safe and organized space at all times, including maintenance of all tools/materials, storage sheds and all other garden assets and infrastructure.
- Track and record daily and weekly in-garden (non education/workshop related) production stats in an online spreadsheet including: harvest logs, compost rotation and compost collection logs.
- Provide monthly reports of all garden, production and distribution related stats and data to the Acting Director of Operations and Fundraising.
- Management of the assigned garden operating budget, carrying out all required purchases to support all growing and maintenance activities and updating online tracking spreadsheets of all weekly purchases and receipts.
- Work together with all GTL Staff to ensure the smooth operation of the weekly Fresh Food Box Program, which serves approximately 300 families each week.
- Assisting site staff with maintenance of two other urban farm sites for periodic group work days

**School, Community and Stakeholder Outreach and Relations**
- Raise awareness about PACT and the GTL program within the local community to recruit volunteers and build/foster positive long-term relationships/partnerships with local food banks/feeding programs, community members and other related partner agencies and stakeholders.
- Support the staff to ensure that all volunteers, student and work placements are being fully vetted, registered, supported, trained, supervised a