Assistant Farm Manager: Horticulture

Location : Berea
Job Type: Full-Time
Division: Provost
Department: College Farm
Opening Date: 03/16/2026
FLSA: Non-Exempt
Salary Grade: 7
Labor Supervisor?: Yes

Please note that references provided at the time of application for staff positions will not be contacted until the applicant has been offered the position.
Description:

The Assistant Farm Manager: Horticulture oversees all aspects of the horticulture enterprise, including production planning, propagation, cultivation, irrigation, harvest, post-harvest processing, marketing and record keeping. This position collaborates with the Assistant Farm Managers, the College Farm, Agriculture and Natural Resources faculty, and campus community members to support the farm's educational mission. The Assistant Farm Manager: Horticulture manages the operational budget, coordinates academic activities, and develops long-term management plans in collaboration with the College Farm. This role also supervises and trains the student labor team with a strong emphasis on safety, education and stewardship of college land, facilities and equipment.
Your Key Responsibilities:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Regular and predictable attendance is essential. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Plan and supervise all operations of the horticulture enterprise of the College Farm.
• Direct market horticultural crops to internal and external customers.
• Maintain productions, sales, and other required records, including USA National Organic Program records and other external certifications.
• Provide oversight of equipment, tools, and farm facilities.
• Ability to be on-call for farm emergencies throughout the week, weekends, and during holidays (in rotation with other staff)
• Coordinate with faculty the use of the farm for academic courses and laboratory activities.
• Fill in as necessary on other farm-related tasks including but not limited to livestock care, crop production and supply chain management.
• Assist students in conducting the daily work of the horticulture enterprise while ensuring safe practices.
• Conduct tours of the College Farm facilities for College personnel, students, visitors, and prospective students.
• Coordinate and train students as necessary to ensure worker safety, sustainable crop production, and proper maintenance and operation of equipment and facilities for horticulture.
• Provide advice to student management team on horticultural crop production.
• In support of Berea College's great commitments this position requires student supervision. The fourth great commitment is to promote learning and serving in community through the student labor program, honoring the dignity and utility of all work, mental and manual, and taking pride in work well done. The Supervision would include scheduling, assigning and approving work performed. Developing students about common workplace acumen and giving them tangible work experience is an expected outcome. To learn more about the student labor program and requirements on this position see: Labor Program Goals

What You'll Bring:

Education required to ensure success in this position:

• Bachelor's Degree in agriculture, horticulture or a related field.

Experience required to ensure success in this position:

• 3-5 years' experience in field crop and/or horticultural crop production, particularly using organic and/or low-input production methods.

Special Skills, knowledge and abilities:

• The knowledge of commercial-scale organic and/or low-input crop production practices, equipment and facility maintenance and repair.
• Knowledge to perform basic maintenance and minor repairs, coordinating with the College Farm for major repairs or mechanical issues.
• Knowledge of farm infrastructure maintenance, including greenhouse and high tunnel systems, product storage and handling systems, and facilities.
• Ability to organize, coordinate and motivate student workers.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Applied problem solving and critical thinking abilities.

License, certification, or registration necessary:

• Valid driver's license
• Required background checks

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to navigate campus/public buildings and grounds
• Ability to travel independently by car and/or plane
• Ability to repeatedly lift 75 lbs. or more
• Ability to work in hot or cold environments, both inside and outside
• Ability to engage in rigorous activity and extensive walking
• Ability to see small objects such as seeds and pests
• Ability to kneel, grasp, reach, and stand for extended periods of time
• Ability to engage in a full range of visual observation, physical mobility and motor skills needed to accomplish tasks.

Environmental conditions

• Farm conditions with exposure to odor, dust, pollen, mold, animals, invertebrate pets, manure, adverse environmental conditions, and inclement weather (heat, humidity, cold, rain, ice, snow).
• Limited activity within walk-in freezers and refrigerator

Ability to operate the following vehicles or equipment:

• Tractors, planting, harvesting, mowing, cultivating, spraying and other equipment typically used on a farm.
• Truck and trailer combinations, including bumper pull and gooseneck trailers
• Food safe processing equipment for post-harvest handling
• Basic office equipment

Founded in 1855, Berea College is nationally recognized as the first coeducational and interracial college in the South. Berea has a longstanding commitment to interracial education and is one of the most racially diverse private liberal arts colleges in the United States. With an emphasis on service to Appalachia and beyond, Berea enrolls more than 1,500 students from 46 states and U.S. territories and more than 70 countries. Berea College admits students who are unable to afford tuition and provides all of them with a no-tuition promise. Berea's students excel in the College's supportive yet demanding academic environment, and most are the first in their families to attend college. As one of only ten federally recognized Work Colleges, all Berea students are expected to work 10-12 hours weekly in various positions across campus. Berea College is also the only institution in Kentucky to receive the 5-Star Rating from Money Magazine, 2025. Washington Monthly has named Berea College the #1 Best College in the nation in its 2025 College Guide. Berea College appears in their rankings as #1 College (overall): Best College for your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars, #1 Best-in Class College, #1 Liberal Arts College and #1 Best Bang for the Buck Southern College.

Located where the Bluegrass Region meets the Cumberland Mountains, the town of Berea (pop. 16,000) lies forty miles south of Lexington and is approximately two hours from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Knoxville. More information about Berea College is available at

Berea College, in light of its mission in the tradition of impartial love and social equality, welcomes all people of the earth to learn and work here.
Berea College is always looking for talented, self-motivated individuals to join our team. If you think you are ready to be a part of an exciting team, then we encourage you to continue with this applicant friendly, online job application!
Berea College is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.
Our Benefits:
Berea College offers a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees and their families including health care, dental, vision, retirement, health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability and an Employee Assistance Program. The benefit package also includes access to the for children of College Staff, ages 6 weeks to 6 years, Membership, Staff Development Funds and Tuition Reimbursement.

Eligible staff employees also receive paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave.

Part-time employees who work an average of 24 hours per week over the course of a year, receive benefits on a pro-rated basis.

To learn more details, visit our benefits page at

Our Unique Culture:
Berea College strives to be a place where people with various Christian interpretations, different religious traditions, and no religious traditions work together in support of

Over the past century, various leaders of the College have applied the College's inclusive scriptural foundation and spirit to their expanding world and welcomed those whose beliefs were consistent with the Christian gospel of impartial love. Therefore, Berea College today affirms its inclusive Christian tradition even as it respects the traditions of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, as well as other faiths, and those holding no religious beliefs. We strive not to ignore our differences, but rather seek to understand each other honestly and respectfully, and together create a climate where anyone can openly discuss what they believe without fear of sanction. To that end, all persons who are willing to share in the spirit and the work of the Great Commitments as shaped by its preamble are welcome to study, to teach, and to work at Berea

Labor Supervision:
In support of Berea College's great commitments, staff and faculty serve as labor supervisors. Our fourth great commitment, The Dignity of Labor, promotes learning and serving in community through the student Labor Program, honoring the dignity and utility of all work, mental and manual, and taking pride in work well done. Student Labor Supervision includes scheduling, assigning, and approving student work, developing students' workplace acumen, and providing tangible work experience. To learn more about the labor program office please see the following link