Sr. Grower

Senior Grower

JOB DESCRIPTION

Reporting: This position reports directly to the Head of Growing (HG).

LMA

• Produce quality crops to ready date.

• Crop science deployment.

• Manage and develop staff.

• Automated growing equipment.

• NAV crop plan management.

Responsibilities and Duties

1. Produce quality crops according to forecasted ready dates. Identify issues and develop effective solutions to crop problems. Track data for department KPIs. Capture cultural notes and implement improvements. Monitor product quality of incoming, on-bench, and outgoing products, alerting the HG of any concerns of product, greenhouse or broker, that does not meet Clesen quality standards.
2. Crop Science. Daily irrigation of plants according to individual crop needs. Follow established grow plans and best practices for crop sciences. Recommend crop-specific best practices and escalate issues to HG. Oversee spacing, pinching, and moving plants, as necessary.
3. Integrated Pest Management. Senior Growers will be required to maintain an active Illinois commercial not-for-hire applicator pesticide license in Plant Management or Ornamental Pest Control. SGs will scout crops and perform and oversee chemical applications to crops that include fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, and disinfectants. SGs will maintain IPM records in accordance with state and federal laws and verify that all Growers do the same.
4. Automated Growing Equipment. Program all environmental controls, and ensure compliance with best practices. Utilize and increase usage of automated irrigation. Identify, escalate, and resolve all equipment malfunctions and performance concerns including heating, cooling, and irrigation systems. Respond to alarms, as needed.
5. Manage and develop staff. Mentor and provide one-on-one training to Growers and Assistant Growers. Ensure staff are trained on all SOPs and use them to guide their work. Solicit ideas to improve processes. Monitor progress, and provide timely and appropriate feedback. Identify opportunities for skill development, conduct meaningful performance reviews, and establish developmental goals. Foster an environment where employees self-identify tasks, issues, and opportunities, with a focus on continuous improvement.
6. Crop planning. Create and update BOMs and Routings. Identify crop placement within the facility based on plant needs. Adjust micro space plan based on crop quality and growth in season.
7. Availability management. Complete weekly crop status assessment walks to manage availability and monitor crop quality and resolve or escalate any concerns. Identify any crops that will be ready before or after their scheduled ready date and update NAV accordingly. Complete the Daily Availability file to resolve any negative availability.
8. Purchase Chemicals, Biologicals, and grower supplies. Maintain accurate chemical inventory, and submit chemical early orders for approval from HG. Purchase chemicals and biological controls for all facilities, driving improvements to increase effectiveness, manage costs, and comply with the department budget.
9. Brokered product vendor communication. Facilitate front-end feedback during crop growth stages, identifying and escalating any issues or concerns. Attend video crop walks and on-site vendor visits, as requested. Respond to ad hoc vendor product questions, when received.
10. Waste reduction by following growing best practices and identifying and implementing effective strategies. Ensure proper spacing, watering, and care is being done to maintain quality and extend shelf life. Identify waste and escalate it appropriately to the Operations Manager.
11. Facility Cleanliness, Organization, and Maintenance. Keep all greenhouses, storage, and mixing areas clean and neat. Verify that unused materials and equipment are returned to designated areas and properly stored. Ensure all growing equipment is in working order. Ensure all automatic irrigation is in working order. Oversee repairs to growing equipment, as needed.

Qualifications

• Illinois not-for-hire pesticide applicators license required, Plant Management or Ornamental Pest Control.

• 5 years working with ornamental plants and greenhouse crop production is required.

• 3 years’ experience working in manufacturing, preferred.

• Proven ability to understand goals, strategies and direction and translate these into action for staff in individual assignments and directives.

• Experience in selecting and onboarding staff. Can identify and recruit strong talent. Has experience setting up a strong onboarding process to provide a consistent experience across positions and locations.

• Strong competency in using various software and technology tools via ERP and other company systems. Adept at using ERP systems to drive work and priorities. Uses metrics in work to establish and monitor goals.

• Strong verbal skills to communicate with clients, management, sales, and other staff. English language proficiency is required. Spanish language proficiency strongly encouraged. Can communicate effectively in writing via email and by creating procedures and policies for others to follow.

Physical Requirements: Able to repetitively bend, stretch, reach, lift, stand, and walk with unrestricted motion. Able to remain on feet for majority of the day. Can lift 50 pounds or more and push and pull carts weighing up to 500 pounds.

Supervisory Responsibility: Growers, Assistant Growers, and Irrigators may report to the Senior Grower.

Position Type/Position Location/Expected Hours of Work: Exempt, Salary

Greenhouse location or distribution center full-time, weekends required.

Must be flexible to work across Clesen’s various worksites

Other Duties: as assigned

Please note that this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. Authorities related to specific job-related tasks can be found in associated BPW and SOPs.