Description

Title: Groundskeeper & Maintenance Specialist
Dept: Maintenance
Hours: 42.5 hr week, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with some flexibility and seasonal changes
Report to: Operations Manager, Daniel Athearn
Wage: $17.00 an hour or more depending on experience

This position fulfills the widely varied tasks of keeping our farms landscaping grounds and infrastructurerunning efficiently. The successful candidate will beresponsible forin-house repair and maintenance work. Depending on ones skill sets, the work can include light carpentry, touch-up painting, small tool repair, as well as groundskeeping, and many more unique tasks that occur on a diverse farm. This position demands a basic mechanical knowledge and/or the confidence in handing tools and the workmanship to finish the task.

From light bulbs to routine maintenance, the Groundskeeper & Maintenance Specialist is presented with a variety of unique tasks daily. A person with an enjoyment of landscape design, light maintenanceand repair will find this job very satisfying.

In our daily work, we:

• Undertake the list of tasks and repairs given by the supervisor. Knowing when to ask for help when needed and know when to call a professional.
• Performing tasks that retain the well-maintained look of the landscaped grounds, amenities and the overall appeal of the property.
• Maintains property trees, shrubs, and flower beds by planting, mulching, weeding, watering, and pruning.
• Completes work efficiently and accurately, while minimizing costs.
• Ensure work areas, tools and machine shop are kept clean, tidy, stocked and well cared for.
• Are able to move quickly and safely with sometimes large and potentially dangerous tools and equipment.
• Support other farm tasks when the positions requirements allow such asirrigation and field hand tasks.

Position Requirements

Our ideal candidate::

• 18 years or older
• Knowledgeable of tools, methods, and materials used in grounds and landscape area maintenance work
• Has knowledge of and the ability to use different hand tools such as shovels, rakes, pruners, weed-trimmers, hedge-trimmers, and push-mowers
• Repair experience a plus, though not mandatory
• Comfortable multi-tasking, self-sufficient at problem-solving, and capable of managing a diverse set of responsibilities.
• Must work as a team player, is flexible and a self-starter.
• Must have a U.S. driver's license
• This job requires patience and heavy lifting.

Full-Time/Part-Time
Full-Time

Wage
This position is paid hourly, commensurate with experience, starting at $17.00 an hour.

Position
Groundskeeper & Maintenance Specialist (2021 Season)

Exempt/Non-Exempt
Non-Exempt

About the Organization
Morning Glory Farm, started in 1975 by James and Deborah Athearn, grows about 65 acres of vegetables and small fruits on the island of Martha's Vineyard.

Small successive plantings of a wide variety of crops supply the Farmstand from May through December.

Crops include sweet corn, lettuce, carrots, beets, tomatoes, melons, potatoes, beans, squash, pumpkins, and more. Our herb garden supplies a full assortment of culinary herbs. We also raise four acres of cut flowers, and small plantings of strawberries, grapes, peaches, and beach plums.

We keep beef cows on pasture in Chilmark for which we harvest 45 acres of hay and we also produce eggs, pork and fresh, pasture-raised chickens to sell in the Farmstand. Twenty-three acres of our vegetable fields are farmed using natural practices and only OMRI certified fertilizers and pesticides. We manage the rest of our land with a minimum of pesticides and with attention to the long-term health of the soil.

The farm name grew from the vision of the sun rising over lush, green fields, cows with udders full of milk ambling past bountiful gardens and hedgerows lively with honeybees: true wealth of nature's glory.

Each year we meet a new crew of farmers, bakers, cooks, and Farmstand staff who become part of the farm family. The farm has benefited from a variety of wonderful people who have endowed Morning Glory with their own special contributions.