We're Hiring: Lafayette College Food and Farm Manager Delicia Nahman <[email protected]>

Lafayette College’s Office of Sustainability (OoS) invites applications for a recently redesigned position of Food and Farm Manager, colloquially known as the College Farmer. We seek an environmentally motivated, creative, and well-rounded leader to manage Lafayette’s 3-acre working farm (LaFarm). The Manager leads year-round operations at LaFarm, which grows over 15,000 pounds of produce for the dining halls and community partners, recycles nutrients from composted food back to the soil, serves as a laboratory for collaborative student-faculty education and research, and embodies an ethos that centers food justice in food and farm programming. To help achieve those goals, the successful applicant will:

(1) Supervise student farm workers and volunteers;

(2) Manage budgets and infrastructure related to LaFarm operations;

(3) Assist faculty members to integrate curricular activities and research projects on the theme of sustainable food and agriculture into the campus community;

(4) Serve as co-advisor or contributor to student organizations such as the Lafayette Food and Farm Cooperative [LaFFCo];

(5) Contribute to relationship building with the direction of the Director of Sustainability and other staff in the OoS through events, projects, and communications between students, faculty, and staff at the College and community members across the Lehigh Valley (as with, e.g., Easton Urban Farm, Easton Garden Works, Veggies in the Community);

(6) Confer with community garden overseer(s)

The Food and Farm Manager will report to the Director of Sustainability with counsel by the LaFarm Advisory Board. While housed within the Office of Sustainability, the nature of the position is such that the Manager is expected to work largely independently, to build relationships and partner closely with campus dining services, facilities, and academic departments, working flexible hours such as evenings and weekends as needed during the growing season or to accommodate outreach activities or other responsibilities related to LaFarm. The Manager will support the Sustainability Office’s mission of creating a thriving campus community integrating environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic vitality into academics and operations, and giving students an opportunity to develop skills, explore solutions, and foster relationships that will prepare them to tackle complex environmental and social challenges on campus and beyond.

Education and Experience:

A successful applicant will preferably have a master’s or other advanced degree. Applicants will also have at least three years of farm management experience, preferably in a university or college farm setting, experience supervising staff and volunteers, and an ethos that centers food justice in Lafayette’s food and farm programming. To ensure that LaFarm staff and volunteers are knowledgeable about food safety and take efforts to reduce risks, applicants should likewise be familiar with Good Agricultural Practices and relevant food safety protocols (through GAP certification or by attending Produce Grower Certification Training within the first six months of service).

The Manager will have a passion for the sustainable agriculture movement, enthusiasm for educating and engaging students, faculty and staff, and knowledge of marketing and promotional techniques, including social media.

Skills and Abilities:

Required knowledge of sustainable business or agricultural business management and crop production planning, soil fertility management, safe operation of farm equipment, disease and insect management, harvest and post-harvest handling, Good Agricultural Practices, watering systems, composting systems, season extension, and marketing. Demonstrated ability to create and manage sales invoicing, farm budget, revenue generation, and to maintain detailed records. Strong communication skills including the ability to develop marketing materials, annual reports and to collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders from small groups of volunteers to a class of undergraduate students.

This is a year-round position with benefits, with a January 2022 start date. It is housed within the College’s Office of Sustainability. Candidates should submit a cover letter, resume and list of three references to Apply - Interfolio. Applications will be reviewed starting on November 22nd, 2021. However, review of applications will continue until the position is filled.

Lafayette College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, disability, religion, age, military or veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or familial status, pregnancy, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law in its educational programs and activities, admissions, or employment as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 (which requires that the College not discriminate on the basis of sex); the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (which requires that the College not discriminate on the basis of disability); Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which requires that the College not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin); and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which requires that the College not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin); and other applicable laws and College policies.

Lafayette College is committed to creating a diverse community, one that is inclusive and responsive and supportive of each and all of its faculty, students, and staff. All members of the College community share a responsibility for creating, maintaining and developing a learning environment where difference is valued, equity is sought, and inclusiveness is practiced.