Team Lead

Job Details
Level: Management
Job Location: Oishii Farm Corporation 101 - Jersey City, NJ
Position Type: Full Time
Salary Range: Undisclosed
Travel Percentage: None
Job Shift: Day
Job Category: Production Operations
Description
We grow the world's BEST Strawberries & our Team Leaders are a major reason why!
As part of our Production team, a Team Leader will lead and take ownership of specific farms and will be responsible for everything that happens - or fails to happen - within those farm units. The Team Leader drives team development, health & safety, food safety & quality, plant health, product yield, packaging and quality assurance. Team Leaders are front line supervisors who should be comfortable communicating cross functionally and troubleshooting both equipment and people challenges to overcome obstacles.
The role is hands-on with about 80% of time spent in the farm tending to our plants and farm teams. At times functions are completed independently and at other times as part of a larger team.
What you'll be responsible for:

• Operate and troubleshoot new farming technologies.
• Manage all stages of the strawberry plant life cycle - propagation, cultivation, pruning, and harvesting including conducting farm hygiene management essential to keep the plants healthy and happy.
• Be accountable for your farm's daily harvest and pruning KPIs and facilitate any tasks assigned to your farm in a timely manner.
• Communicate cross functionally between farms and with various other teams such as packaging to ensure seamless daily success of strawberry production.
• Ensure safety guidelines, IPM risk management, and cleaning tasks are adhered to at all times. The health of your team and farms depend on this.
• Serve as a people manager providing feedback, evaluating work, assigning tasks, goal setting, coaching team members, resolving issues, and ensuring staffing levels for assigned farms.
• Escalate gaps and continuously improve operations, increase efficiencies, improve yield and decrease cost of production.
• Expected to understand, implement, and enforce food safety policies, including worker hygiene, sanitation, and maintaining proper documentation.
• Engage in data collection so that we can continually improve our strawberries.

Qualifications
Physical Requirements:

• Ability to lift up to 30 lbs
• Ability to climb a ladder
• Ability to crouch or kneel
• Ability to reach and stretch
• Hand dexterity
• Comfortable in an active non sedentary role for lengths of up to 5 to 6 hours at a time
• MUST NOT be allergic to bees

Who will love this job: Individuals who identify with our Core Values and exhibit skills within those values will thrive at Oishii.

• One Team, One Fight!
  
  • Ability to quickly shift priorities to meet deadlines and effectively communicate, both verbally and in writing, clearly, concisely and with purpose.
  • Ability to work cross functionally and collaborate to ensure a quality product for our customers.
• Focus
  
  • Meticulous attention to detail with the ability to teach, coach others to stay focused and on task.
  • Ability to remove obstacles in order to prioritize which could include problem solving, working through ambiguity and using fact based or sound judgment.
  • Ability to synthesize information quickly to aid in the troubleshooting process.
• GSD (Get Sh** Done!)
  
  • A bias for action! Ability to hold yourself accountable and take ownership of driving results that impact company outcomes.
  • Ability to take direction and run with it!

What we look for in a Team Leader:

• High School Diploma or GED.
• 2 years of experience working in a farming, production, warehouse or similar environment.
• Working with automation, robotics or other large scale equipment is a plus.
• Solid computer literacy and familiarity with technology such as ConnectTeams, Google suite, Slack, etc.
• Prior experience leading teams or people is a plus but not required!
• You're physically capable of frequent ladder use lifting up to 30 pounds, and enjoy being active at work.
• You're comfortable standing; walking; using hands; reaching with hands and arms; climbing or balancing; stooping, kneeling, or crouching.

Shift & Schedule:

• Either Saturday or Sunday availability is required; this is a 5 day/week onsite role. Schedules/shifts vary.
• There may be times where you may have to respond to emergencies or issues off hours that impact your farm and team.

Perks at Oishii:

• Competitive salary starting at $50,000 & bonus packages
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Paid Parental leave
• Office social events including happy hours, parties, and community service projects
• Employee activity groups for basketball players, Yoga Enthusiasts, runners...

About Oishii:
At Oishii, we grow the best fruit in the world by deploying ground-breaking vertical farming technology that pushes the boundaries of agriculture. We're the first in the WORLD to grow fruit in an indoor vertical farm at commercial scale. We started with strawberries, which we debuted at Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, the three star Michelin restaurant considered by critics to be among the best in the world. Since then, we have supplied our strawberries to food-loving consumers, world-class restaurants, and specialty retailers across NYC. Our proprietary technology enables us to grow the very best produce year-round, at the same high level of quality, all without using any pesticides.
Oishii has been profiled in Eater, NPR, Time Magazine, and Fortune. Oishi was also one of the Fast Companies Most Innovative Companies of 2022.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90753797/oishii-the-tesla-of-strawberries-is-slashing-its-prices-by-more-than-half
At Oishii, everything we do works toward accomplishing our mission of transforming agriculture sustainably while bringing produce that truly delights people everywhere. This requires farmers, engineers, scientists, product managers, and members of many other backgrounds to work together day-in and day-out to innovate, while operating increasingly large farms. We have an amazing mission-driven team of highly motivated and engaged members.
Learn More https://oishii.com/