Vegetable Manager

Description

ABOUT OUR FARM

Lewis Farm is a diversified organic vegetable and pasture-based livestock farm that provides produce, flowers, meat, and eggs to our businesses and the local community. Our farm serves as a living classroom for our Junior Crew (local Appalachian Youth participating in our program), where they’re involved in all aspects of production, gaining hands-on, real-life experience.

Our farm sits on land originally inhabited by the Massawomeck and officially established as the Frye Farm in the early 1800s by one of Wardensville’s founding families. This 100-acre farm site is bordered by the Cacapon River. Much of this acreage is Certified Organic pasture land, upon which we raise our livestock. We currently raise poultry, pigs, cattle, and sheep, utilizing multispecies, rotational grazing systems.

OVERVIEW

We are looking for a skilled and mission-driven Vegetable Manager to help bring the Lewis Farm vision to life. Someone who sees farming as both craft and story, and who finds genuine satisfaction in growing food that is rooted in place, connected to community, and meaningful from seed to table.

This role is central to the daily operation of Lewis Farm. You will own the full production cycle, from planning and planting through harvest, post-harvest handling, and food flow to our market and restaurant, while managing the financial performance of your department and ensuring the farm is always operating at its best. You bring presence, accountability, and care to everything from the first planting of the season to the last harvest of the year.

Beyond production, this role carries a real mentorship dimension. Working on the farm helps youth discover what it means to grow food with intention, care, and pride. From soil preparation and crop planning to harvest and record keeping, you set the tone for that experience in the way you tend a row, train a crew member, and show up every day.

If you are a farmer who wants their work to mean something beyond the harvest, and who is energized by the idea of growing food for a community while developing the next generation of agricultural talent, this might be exactly the right farm for you.

This position reports to the Managing Director.

MUST-HAVES

• Continuous learning: There’s always more to know, and you actively seek it out. You stay curious, seek feedback, and ask the next question to apply what you learn to improve your team and your work.
• Coaching and modeling: ‘We grow more than vegetables’ You develop people. You lead by example and help others grow by providing the tools and encouragement they need to reach their highest potential. You hold high expectations and challenge, but always with support and appreciation. You give clear and useful feedback, and you model what it looks like to live our values in practice.
• High volume, high efficiency: You thrive in a busy, dynamic environment. You prioritize without sacrificing quality and keep things moving—even when juggling multiple projects at once. You embrace new projects and aren’t afraid to experiment.
• System-minded evolution: You don’t just keep systems running—you build, refine, and rework them. You incorporate feedback, frustrations, and your own observations to continuously improve how things work for the people using them.
• Adaptability & problem solving: You take today’s information, feedback, and challenges and turn them into tomorrow’s evolved systems and solutions.  You look for several paths to solve problems, but move thoughtfully and swiftly.  You build on what works, but you’re not afraid to erase the whiteboard and re-strategize when needed. 
• Quality / cleanliness: You set high standards for quality and cleanliness and hold yourself and your team accountable. You treat tools, materials, and spaces with respect and care for their long-term sustainability.

KEY QUALIFICATIONS 

• Must have a valid driver’s license
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs and ability to stand for long periods of time
• Willingness and ability to commute to Wardensville, WV if necessary.

EXPECTED WORK SCHEDULE

This is a full-time position expected to work at least 40 hours a week for five days a week, inclusive of mornings, evenings, weekends and some government holidays.

COMPENSATION

This position is classified as exempt with an annual salary starting at $43,000. In addition to competitive pay, we offer the following benefits for regular, full-time employees:

• generous paid time off structure
• bereavement leave
• employer-paid life insurance
• optional health, dental, vision, and short-term disability insurances
• discount on items in the market

ABOUT FARMS WORK WONDERS

Farms Work Wonders is a nonprofit social enterprise whose mission is to ignite the spark of curiosity in Appalachian youth so they see themselves and their future in new and exciting ways. Our businesses provide local Appalachian youth real-life learning experiences and generate proceeds that are 100% reinvested back into the local community. In 2016, Farms Work Wonders started with the Wardensville Garden Market project—an organic farm and farm stand.  Since opening, our enterprises have expanded to include a market, bakery, glass blowing studio, and restaurant that have created 80+ local, good-paying jobs with around half held by local high school students.

Farms Work Wonders provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.