Groundskeeper

Job Title: Groundskeeper

Location: Stone Barns Center For Food And Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York

Supervisor: Ecosystems Director

Employment Classification: Full-time/Salaried, Non-exempt

Frequency of Pay: Bi-weekly

Salary: $46,000 per year

Benefits: Comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, a 401k plan, generous paid time off, paid holidays, sick time, and discounted farm products

Schedule: 5 days, includes some weekends and the occasional evening 

The Groundskeeper is a member of the Stone Barns Center Ecosystems Team, and reports directly to the Ecosystems Director. The work of this team encompasses Stone Barns Center's landscaping, gardening, compost and fertility cycles, beekeeping/pollination work, ecological monitoring, and forestry program. In coordination with the Ecosystems Director, the Groundskeeper will play an essential role in caring for the diverse, ecologically managed grounds and landscape.  Additionally, this role will support the livestock, compost and crops operations as needed. A desire to steward land for beauty, ecological health, and resilience is essential.  With the focus on R&D at Stone Barns Center, there are many opportunities for collaborative and exploratory projects.

Responsibilities:

• Assist with all lawn care and formal landscape in coordination with the grounds team: mowing, trimming, mulching, pruning, weeding, seeding, storm clean up, etc.
• Care of site infrastructure such as trailways, paths, fence lines, drainage, and barnyard
• Support forestry and tree work with Ecosystems Director:
• Support various compost related tasks such as screening, hauling, spreading.
• Coordinate invasive species removal with Livestock/Ecology Teams 
• Assist with snow removal as needed
• Maintenance of associated tools and machinery in coordination with the Facilities Team

This is a highly physical role. While performing these job duties, the employee is regularly required to see and reach. The employee is regularly required to sit, walk, and stand for long periods of time (e.g., up to 8 hours or longer) and to don appropriate personal protective equipment in response to COVID-19, including face coverings. The employee is required to use dominant hand coordination for simple grasping, pushing/pulling, and fine manipulation. The employee is also required to lift and carry up to 50 pounds, bend, squat, kneel, and reach above shoulder level. The employee may be exposed to extreme temperatures, dust, dampness, moving machinery, food allergens, and cleaning agents. Due to the nature of the farming industry, the employee may be required to work longer hours and varying schedules to reflect the business needs, which may include overtime, weekends, and holidays. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job, so long as they do not cause undue hardship.

Preferred Skills/Knowledge:

• Interested in the Stone Barns mission
• Committed to the values of health, ecology and sustainability
• An interest in ecological landscaping
• Organized and able to prioritize and manage a full and diverse workload, take initiative and be proactive
• Skilled operation of commercial mowers and string trimmers; proficiency with other associated machinery is a plus
• Solutions-oriented approach
• Professionally mature with strong interpersonal skills
• Willing to keep an open mind to ideas and inputs while actively contributing 
• Willing to work in a variety of weather conditions and able to lift 50 pounds when needed
• Able to work independently and enjoy working in teams
• Good communication skills
• Able to cope with the physical needs of the job and enjoy outdoor work, despite adverse weather conditions

To Apply

• All applications must be accompanied by a résumé, and up to three work references. 

About Stone Barns Center:

For 18 years, Stone Barns Center and Blue Hill have demonstrated the power of farmer-chef collaborations to inspire change in the food system. We are now poised to deepen our impact and address some of the greatest environmental, health, and economic challenges of our time. We have a bold vision to catalyze an ecological food culture that supports a thriving regenerative food and farm economy.

We will build on our longstanding work at the intersection of farmers and chefs to activate critical areas with the potential for exponential impact on ecological and human health, farm viability, and other elements of thriving food systems. In service of this vision, we will reimagine how we use our Lower Hudson Valley campus to serve as the R&D lab for the ecological food culture we seek.

Stone Barns Center is committed to equity and inclusion. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply for employment.