Farm Director
East Fork Cultivars is a farm-focused cannabis and hemp company with headquarters in the picturesque Illinois River Valley in Takilma, Oregon, and a satellite office in Portland. Founded in 2015, East Fork strives to develop and preserve sustainable, sun-grown farming methods in order to produce high-quality, genetically diverse, CBD-rich cultivars while maintaining a resolute commitment to environmental responsibility, science-based education, and social justice. East Fork is seeking a talented, passionate and self-directed Farm Director to join our team.
This position is located in Takilma, Oregon and candidates must be able to work onsite.
Position Summary
The Farm Director is a key leader that helps keep East Fork’s farm operations running smoothly. The position covers responsibilities including staffing, daily management, team coordination, and long term planning. The Farm Director also plays a role in crafting East Fork’s general organizational strategy, and helms the Farm Leadership Team.
Outcomes (in order of priority):
Oversee daily operations of the East Fork Ranch.
Organize and lead the Farm Leadership Team with the goal of maximizing team potential.
Work closely with CEO, COO, and other leaders within the organization to help continually shape East Fork’s strategic direction and lead necessary changes.
Fosters the professional development of farm staff to empower leadership skills, decision making, and efficiency across all positions.
Provide high level support for Operations/Flower and Cultivation efforts, helping align the teams to better reach their goals.
Lead farm staffing including position and team refinement, permanent and temporary hires, and dismissals.
Help facilitate peer reviews, sit on the HR team, interface with HR consultants, and work to solve personnel issues as they arise.
Serve as a central hub to coordinate compliance with local jurisdictions, regulatory agencies, neighbors, and third-party certifiers.
Be "the voice of the farm" within the organization. Help teams communicate with each other and serve as a key bridge between Takilma and Portland teams.
Help teams improve performance using data, systems design, and coaching.
Facilitate farm visits, tours, and events while acting as an on-site ambassador of East Fork.
Lead the implementation of core lean systems tools such as Kaizen, Kanban, and SOP’s to reduce waste and maximize value added work throughout the farm.
Role Competencies (in order of priority):
Accountability: Can be relied upon to consistently perform duties and responsibilities, even when others aren’t around. Easily draws trust of the team.
Intelligence: Utilizes critical thinking to assess, plan, and act to successfully manage complex job responsibilities in a fast-paced environment. Uses practical abilities to strategic benefit.
Coaching: Empowers others to overcome challenges using advice, direction, encouragement, follow-up and other support techniques.
Stress-Management: Able to manage stress in a dynamic, fast-paced work environment.
Judgment / Decision Making: Able to balance the need for making a thoughtful and calculated decision with the realities of a fast-paced environment. Takes initiative and works well independently. Intuitive, decisive, and confident.
Organization / Planning: Exhibits strong personal organization, communication, attention to detail, and planning skills.
Assertiveness: Able to address challenges head-on. Doesn’t shy away from difficult situations.
Team Player: Encourages and facilitates cooperation and trust. Fosters team spirit, commitment, and group identity. Works with others to achieve shared goals.
Analysis Skills: Organizes and presents information in a manner that helps others make informed decisions.
Vision: Takes a long-term view and builds a shared vision with others; acts as a catalyst for organizational change. Influences others to translate vision into action.
Energy: Able to consistently put forth high-quality effort and perform core responsibilities without meaningful disruption.
Qualifications and Skills:
3+ years experience leading the daily operations of a commercial farm
Strong communication skills and a healthy sense of humor
Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
Ability to perform physical farm labor
Software we currently use a lot: Metrc, Zoho CRM, Google Workspace, Slack, Trello
Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary: $50,000 to $54,000
Health insurance: Partially subsidized plan
Paid time off: 4 weeks (flexible guideline, to be coordinated with team)
Retirement Savings: East Fork administers a retirement savings plan through OregonSaves
Housing: East Fork may be able to provide housing. If living on-site there will be a shared agreement clarifying additional care-taker responsibilities in the case of power outages, inclement weather, etc.
Work schedule, relationships, and culture
Schedule: The Farm Director should average at least 40 hours per week, often more. While hours may be flexible depending on season and need, the Farm Director is expected to be generally available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F.
Relationships: The Farm Director will work closely with the CEO, CCO, and Leadership Teams.
Travel: This position requires minimal travel.
Culture: All team members are expected to participate in East Fork’s culture of continual improvement and to be flexible to the constant changes of a dynamic business and industry.
To Apply –
Apply through the link below, with the following:
Your resume
A brief “cover letter” explaining in a few paragraphs why you think you’d be an excellent fit for the position — candidates who have been personally impacted by cannabis prohibition are encouraged to identify as such and include further information regarding your experiences
Three professional references
Your start date availability