Orchard Cadet

Southern Cross Horticulture; Pukekohe; On-site; NZD 40,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Cross Horticulture in New Zealand is seeking Cadets to join our team and fast-track a career into Orchard Management. This is more than a temporary job, this is a career and a lifestyle.

You will learn everything about Horticulture and become a leader in the kiwifruit industry, working long days in the orchard. We value hard-working people with good communication and the ability to grow with the team.

Qualifications

• Background in Agricultural or Horticultural studies.
• Orchard experience via a seasonal or picking role.
• Hands-on farming or groundskeeping experience to understand crop management.
• Committed attitude with an aspiration to grow and be the best you can be.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Orchard Manager to lead orchard planning, canopy fill, and crop yield performance.
• Oversee health, safety, and GAP compliance on site.
• Build strong customer relationships and exceed expectations.
• Drive a culture of excellence, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Supervise seasonal and temporary staff, ensuring quality of work and positive orchard culture.
• Hands-on work learning how to prune, pick and manage the crop.

Skills

Outdoor work

Communication skills

Hard-working

Education

Agricultural or Horticultural studies

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 16th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

At Southern Cross Horticulture our goal is to develop and manage the world’s best Kiwifruit Orchards.

To deliver on this, we spend time to grow our people from the ground up, learning how best to pick, prune, thin, and train your vines to produce the best possible fruit. We are currently looking for Cadets to join our team, in a position where you will fast track a career into Orchard Management. This is more than a temporary job, this is a career, and a lifestyle.

In this role you will learn everything about Horticulture and you will become a leader in the Kiwifruit industry. We are looking for hard-working people with good communication and people skills. Our Orchard team work long days on the Orchard in the heat so we require physically fit individuals for this position.

Key responsibilities include:

• Assisting your Orchard Manager to lead orchard planning, canopy fill, and crop yield performance
• Oversee health, safety, and GAP compliance on site
• Building strong customer relationships and exceeding expectations
• Driving a culture of excellence, safety, and continuous improvement
• Supervise seasonal and temporary staff, ensuring quality of work and positive culture of our Orchards
• Hands on work, learning how to prune, pick and manage the crop

Who we're looking for:

• We are looking for people who love the outdoors and who want to forge a career in Horticulture. Your background will ideally have;
• A form of Agricultural or Horticultural studies
• Orchard experience, via a seasonal or picking role
• Hands on experience working the land, either farming or groundskeeping so you understand the requirements of managing crop
• A committed attitude with an aspiration to grow and be the best you can be

Southern Cross Horticulture (SCH) is a family-owned business and one of New Zealand’s most successful orchard developers. We’re known for creating and managing world-class kiwifruit orchards, and we take pride in the quality of our work, our people, and the strong values we live by every day.

To be successful in this position we require a valid working visa for New Zealand.