Hiring: Part Time Assistant Farm Manager – Spencer Brook Farm

Community Involved In Sustaining Agriculture Inc; Westford (MA); On-site; USD 34,440 - 41,328; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Weekly offerings of farm produce/flowers

Job summary

A local agricultural organization is seeking an experienced Assistant Farm Manager for a part-time role at Spencer Brook Farm in Concord, MA. This position, requiring 20 hours per week, starts in January and offers a competitive hourly rate. Responsibilities include crop planning, overseeing farm operations, and managing production gardens. Ideal candidates should have previous farm experience and the ability to work independently and in teams. This hands-on role provides a unique opportunity to contribute to sustainable agriculture efforts while engaging with the community.

Qualifications

• At least two seasons working on a flower and/or vegetable production farm.
• Experience in crop planning and successfully meeting crop production goals.
• Farm budget management experience.

Responsibilities

• Assist in developing an annual crop plan for a family of 4.
• Manage weekly tasks for production gardens and small orchard.
• Oversee maintenance and operation of farm tools and infrastructure.

Skills

Crop planning

Physical labor

Organizational skills

Basic computer and spreadsheet knowledge

Job description

Assistant Farm Manager – Part-time (20 hours/week)

January-December

Spencer Brook Farm| Concord, MA

Spencer Brook Farm is a privately owned, 15 acre family farm with an additional adjacent 14 acres of conservation land. The original farm objective was to simply grow food for our own kitchen, but our goals are expanding to include farm stand offerings, workshops, and eventually some portion of food production to contribute toward regional food insecurity needs.

In order to achieve these goals, we are looking to hire and warmly welcome a dependable, organized, and experienced Assistant Farm Manager, beginning March 2026. This person will support all aspects of farm planning, production, and daily operations.

We currently grow a wide range of annual and perennial fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers in raised bed gardens and try to avoid tillage. We care for chickens and Icelandic sheep in rotational grazing systems. We follow organic growing practices and dabble in some biodynamics. We also work to minimize the use of plastics. While we do not use any synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides, we are not certified organic, but hope to eventually apply.

Working at Spencer Brook Farm will offer a truly diversified farm and garden experience, including crop planning, seed starting, food and flower growing, perennial and native gardening, and rotational grazing, as well as active participation in building and running a small farm business. This position is mostly hands-on, in the field work, but does include some hours of indoor work, mainly to assist with record keeping and produce processing.

The Assistant Farm Manager will work closely with the Farm Manger/Co-Owner, Alisha Boyajian, and can expect clear, respectful, communication and reliable routines. The work is physically demanding and we often must work in uncomfortable climate conditions. We are always open to new ideas and information and greatly value the skills, experience, and knowledge that every worker brings to the farm.

We are looking for an individual seeking a long-term work commitment. There may be opportunity to expand the scope of the role and total weekly hours as the farm business gains momentum and success.

Location:77 Westford Rd, Concord MA

Schedule:

• Monday through Friday and occasional weekend hours with advance notice
• 4 hours a day, with a15-minute paid break
• Shift hours are 9am-1pm OR 1pm-5pm (some schedule flexibility possible)

Type: Part-time, 20 hours a week total, January 5 through December 18.

• $25-30 hourly rate range based on experience level
• Weekly offerings of farm produce/flowers during growing season

Position Requirements:

• At least two seasons working on a flower and/or vegetable production farm
• At least two seasons of direct experience in crop planning and successfully meeting crop production goals
• At least two seasons of farm budget management experience
• Ability to manage a project independently
• Physical ability to harvest field crops and transplant for up to 4 hours at time, and bend, turn, carry, and frequently lift up to 50 pounds
• Comfortable working independently, in a group, and instructing others
• Strong organizational skills and basic computer and spreadsheet knowledge to facilitate crop planning and record keeping

Not Required, but highly valued in this position:

• Experience in hoophouse growing
• Small business experience, particularly in marketing
• Artistic design skills
• Basic carpentry skills

Responsibilities:

Assistant farm manager will collaborate with and assist Alisha on the following:

Developing an annual crop plan to ensure:

• Full year’s supply of a wide range of vegetables and fruits for a family of 4 (fresh eating and various preservation methods such as freezing and drying) plus predetermined quantity for donation.
• A variety of cut flowers, herbs, perennial native fruits, as well as seedlings and plants that are available for weekly farm stand sales, on our on-line store, and/or used for planned workshops.
• Identifying and executing weekly, monthly, and seasonal needs for the 5 main production gardens and small orchard, including seed starting, field/bed preparation, fertilizing, planting, irrigation, weeding, trellising, and most importantly, harvesting.
• Identifying and executing weekly, monthly, and seasonal processing of harvested crops, including refrigerating, curing, drying, freeze-drying, freezing, fermenting, and canning.
• Identifying needs and tasks to be delegated to maintenance crew and other specialized consultants when necessary
• Daily care and rotation of chickens (flock of 35) and sheep (flock of 7)
• Overseeing farm operation when Alisha must be off-farm
• Basic maintenance and repair of farm tools, infrastructure, and work spaces, particularly during the slower winter months
• Overseeing weekly farm stand set-up and operation April-October
• Preparation for all planned workshops and events as well as day-of support as needed

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