Manager, Harvest & Post Harvest

FALL CREEK FARM & NURSERY; Portsmouth (VA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

FALL CREEK FARM & NURSERY in Virginia seeks a Manager, Harvest & Post Harvest to drive operational excellence across wet and dry harvest, drying and post-harvest handling, and to lead onsite Harvest and Post Harvest teams in close collaboration with cultivation leadership.

You will standardize SOPs, deliver training, monitor KPIs, evaluate equipment and processes, and partner with R&D to improve yield and product quality while ensuring safety, compliance, and production targets.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in cultivation, harvest, post-harvest operations or related environments.
• Cannabis industry experience strongly preferred.
• Experience leading teams and managing KPIs.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, production-driven environment.
• Solid project management and people management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and standardize wet and dry harvest processes to ensure consistency, quality, and efficiency.
• Develop, implement, and refine SOPs related to harvest procedures and post-harvest handling.
• Identify bottlenecks, perform root-cause analysis, and implement corrective actions.
• Oversee Harvest Data entry, sorting, grading, and recording.
• Partner with cultivation leadership to align schedules, labor, and throughput.
• Provide leadership and training modules for harvest teams and certifications.
• Collaborate with R&D and cultivation leadership on trials and improvements.
• Evaluate new equipment and methods to improve labor efficiency and product quality.

Skills

Harvest operations expertise

SOP development

Training and coaching

Leadership in matrix structures

Data-driven decision making

Job description

The Manager, Harvest & Post Harvest is responsible for driving operational excellence across wet harvest and dry harvest processes through training, process improvement, operational standardization, and direct oversight of the onsite teams. This role serves as the subject-matter expert for harvest workflows, post-harvest handling, drying and curing practices, and harvest-related equipment and systems, ensuring consistent execution and quality across the Harvest through Post-Harvest pipeline.

As the leader of Harvest and Post Harvest teams, this role entails direct oversight of the Harvest and Post Harvest teams, overseeing the day-to-day harvest and post-harvest operations, and partnering closely with cultivation leadership to optimize harvest throughput, protect product quality, and improve operational efficiency.

The primary focus of the role is training, process discipline, implementation, and continuous improvement, while supporting R&D initiatives related to harvest techniques, drying and curing methodologies, and quality preservation. This role also contributes to CPG and cultivation KPI monitoring, ensuring harvest operations align with broader company production and quality goals.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and standardize wet and dry harvest processes in the facility to ensure consistent execution, product quality, and operational efficiency.
• Develop, implement, and continuously refine SOPs related to harvest procedures, bucking and trimming workflows, drying and curing processes, post-harvest material handling, and harvest room sanitation and compliance.
• Identify harvest bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and product loss points, conducting root-cause analysis and implementing corrective actions.
• Ensure Harvest Data is completed on-time and that material is accurately sorted, graded, and recorded.
• Partner with cultivation site leadership to align harvest schedules, labor planning, and processing throughput.
• Serve as the primary owner of harvest and post-harvest operations for the facility.
  Implement standardized training modules and certification processes for wet harvest teams, bucking and trimming staff, dry room operations, and post-harvest handling and storage.
• Coordinate with national leadership to conduct on-site training and coaching for Harvest and Post Harvest Managers to ensure consistent process execution.
• Evaluate team competency and identify training gaps to improve efficiency, quality, and accountability.
• Reinforce operational discipline and standardized best practices across these departments.
• Collaborate with R&D and cultivation leadership on harvest-related trials and initiatives including drying methodology improvements, yield optimization techniques, quality preservation methods, and post-harvest handling innovations.
• Participate in harvest-related process trials and support documentation of findings.
• Evaluate new equipment, tools, and harvest methodologies that improve labor efficiency, yield, or product quality.
• Direct the implementation of validated R&D improvements.
• Work with site cultivation leadership to ensure harvest outputs support downstream production targets.
• Use operational data and facility audit findings to drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Provide regular reporting and insights to senior leadership on harvest performance trends and improvement opportunities.
• Provide guidance on proper use and training for harvest-related equipment including bucking machines, drying systems and environmental controls, trimming systems, and harvest workflow tools.
• Support installation, testing, and rollout of new harvest equipment or process changes.
• Partner with the facilities team to ensure harvest infrastructure supports consistent environmental conditions and process control.
• Provide direct leadership and operational guidance to Harvest and Post Harvest Managers and assistant managers.
• Provide guidance to Harvest and Post Harvest managers on hiring input, performance management feedback, operational coaching, and process accountability.
• Collaborate closely with cultivation leadership, production teams, quality and compliance, and R&D.
• Ensure harvest operations remain aligned with company quality standards, production needs, and regulatory expectations.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in cultivation, harvest, post-harvest operations, or related CPG/agriculture environments.
• Cannabis industry experience strongly preferred.
• Strong expertise in harvest workflows, drying and curing processes, process improvement, SOP development, and training.
• Experience leading teams in direct or matrix-style leadership structures.
• Strong analytical skills with experience tracking and interpreting operational KPIs.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, production-driven environment.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Organized and detail-oriented with the ability to execute process improvements and change management.
• Solid project management, conflict resolution, and people management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Physical and Mental Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to remain in a stationary position, move and/or position oneself, communicate, operate and/or prepare, place, position objects, tools, or controls. The employee must occasionally move packages weighing up to 10 lb. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close observation and the ability to adjust focus. The mental and physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an individual, with or without reasonable accommodation, to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.

Work is performed in a cultivation and production facility environment. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an individual encounters while performing the essential functions of this position.