Nursery Person/Orchard Assistant

We are seeking to employ a person to work as an orchard assistant on our property to assist in the management, propagation and grafting of citrus trees. To be successful in this position you must have experience working in citrus, preferably in a large orchard. 

The position tasks are as follows:

• Assisting with the propagation and grafting of new trees, maintaining and cultivating existing and newly planted and grafted trees. 
• Chemical application for the control of pests and disease, managing electronic spray diaries and export certification protocols. 
• Monitoring pest and disease for export market protocols.
• Irrigation scheduling using automatic systems, assessing tree requirements, liaising internally and with external companies and maintenance of irrigation systems.
• Monitoring of fruit size, varietal & yield using data capturing equipment.
• Proficient in managing and monitoring accurate data input of seasonal workers hours and productivity, harvest packouts and payments. Assessing, analysing data using MS office programs Word, Excel, Google Sheets & Drive.
• Supervision and maintaining best practice harvest of crews up to 50 seasonal workers. Managing detailed employee records on Excel, Google Sheets, Drive.
• Organising staffing requirements, liaising with external companies such as logistic operators, labour contractors and processors.
• Supervision and assistance with tree maintenance crews including pruning, thinning, desuckering and general orchard duties. 
• Maintain good hygiene standards throughout orchard and facilities.
• Basic motor and engine equipment maintenance and service experience.
• Work closely with management daily. This job is highly varied and responsive to market signals, must be able to work independently as well as in a team.
• Other general tasks.

Qualifications and experience required:

• Cert IV or Diploma level qualification in horticulture or similar
• 4 years' experience working on a horticultural farm
• Experience with Food Safety and Management system Freshcare 4.0 online
• Experience using MS Office suite including Excel and Google Drive
• Highly experienced in forklift driving both standard forklifts and tractor forklifts.
• Experienced in using farm implements and attachments ie Bin runners, slashers, spray equipment, hedging equipment.
• Current Motor Vehicle and forklift licence.
• Proficient in English.

Applications for the position should be emailed to: *******@sumarproduce.com 

Applications Close on: 24 March 2024