Job opportunity – grower

Grower, to start at Common Soil spring/summer 2024 (or immediate start)
£23,795 – £26,000 per annum pro-rata
Number of hours negotiable, to be agreed depending on availability. 
As a guide, offering approx 28 hrs per week March – October, 16 hours per week November – Feb 
(with potential to increase in coming years)

Are you someone who is passionate about agro-ecological food growing and wants to make a real difference to an organisation, the earth and the local community? We have an opportunity for you to work on the food growing for a community-owned veg box scheme.

Common Soil is a fledgling community supported agriculture (CSA) project in Stroud, Gloucestershire. We’ve done the hard work of getting established and currently serve 50 members with weekly shares of naturally grown vegetables (without use of pesticides or artificial fertilisers) from three acres of a beautiful, ecologically rich site within walking distance of the town. We also have a community market garden onsite for specialist produce, wholesale and educational opportunities. We have a newly thriving community around the farm of volunteers and seasonal celebrations such as camp-outs, shared meals and workshops.

We are now seeking a grower to hold co-responsibility with another experienced grower for the next stage of the diverse food growing for the veg box scheme, as we expand to 65 weekly veg shares this year. You will work directly with another part-time grower, a co-ordinator and a range of volunteers to run the veg box scheme. Where appropriate, you will also work in partnership with two other part-time growers in our community market garden area on our shared aims of supporting biodiversity at the site, providing unique food for our members and connecting local people to the land and each other.

This is a brilliant opportunity for someone who wants to have a real influence on a community project and can bring experience of commercial veg growing and enthusiasm for getting stuck into all that is involved in making a CSA work. Our co-ordinator handles the finances, sales, membership and events, so you can focus on veg growing. We have exciting plans for new infrastructure and partnerships and there is a chance for you to develop the role and project over the coming years.

Find out more about Common Soil.
Find out more about the community supported agriculture model.

Essential skills/qualities/experience

• Passion for food growing, protection of the land, biodiversity, soil health and connecting people to the land.
• Commercial, all-year-round organic veg growing experience, ideally a minimum of 2 years. Willingness to learn more.
• Hard working, strong, able to carry out physically demanding work and reliable in all weather.
• Good communication, team-working and leadership skills, as well as ability to work independently and alone.
• Ability to work efficiently, prioritise, make decisions, while maintaining a keen eye for detail and good quality.

Desirable skills/qualities/experience

• Maintenance and infrastructure skills.
• Understanding of biodynamic farming methods and/or permaculture principles.
• Experience of crop and harvest planning.
• Experience of leading and teaching volunteers or workshop attendees.
• First aid training and safeguarding experience.
• Experience of using farm machinery.
• Full UK driving licence.

What you need to know

• We are paying £23,795 – £26,000 per annum pro-rata (depending on experience)
• We are open to negotiation around the number of hours covered by the role. As a guide, we’re looking for approximately 28 hrs per week March – October, 16 hours per week November – February, but this can be discussed and amended to suit for the right candidate.
• The role is responsible for ensuring weekend work is covered – this may mean carrying out approx 2 hours a day on one weekend day a month. Some flexibility on working hours around weather is needed (e.g. starting earlier on hot days).
• We are not able to offer accommodation.
• The position is available immediately, start date is negotiable.
• We are open to job-share or reduced hours proposals.

How to apply

To apply for this position please get in touch with us by emailing your CV and a short cover email explaining your interest in the role to Georgina Anstey on hello@commonsoil.co.uk.

This is an open-ended application process, so please submit your application as soon as you can and we will invite those who we feel may be a good fit to come and meet with us at the farm.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact Georgie on hello@commonsoil.co.uk