Assistant Farm Manager: Cattle Operations (Internal Only)

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: Cattle Operations oversees all aspects of the cattle enterprise, including herd health, breeding, nutrition, and pasture management. This position collaborates with Assistant Farm Managers, the Director of Farm Enterprises, and the Department Chair of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and other members of campus community to support the farm's educational mission. The Assistant Farm Manager: Cattle Operations manages the cattle enterprise budget, coordinates cattle-related academic activities, and develops long-term herd management plans. The role also supervises and trains student labor 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 live cattle operations including but not limited to monitoring cattle healthcare, feeding and nutrition management, record keeping, and compliance.
• Work with Farm Director and the college Finance Office to monitor the cattle budget and procure equipment, feed, and other supplies in a timely manner.
• Direct market livestock to internal and external customers.
• Maintain records for applicable external certifications such as AWA and USDA Certified Organic.
• Provide access to livestock, inventory, and records to the Internal Auditor at the end of the fiscal year.
• Coordinate with faculty the use of the farm for academic courses and laboratory activities.
• Assist in the development of long-term goals for cattle production and ensure the completion of plans, including student engagement in the management plans.
• Work with professional organizations (livestock, Cooperative Extension, OAK) to promote community engagement with students.
• Ability to be on-call for farm emergencies throughout the week, on weekends, during holidays (in rotation with other staff)
• In collaboration with the Assistant Farm Managers, supervise, train, schedule, and mentor a chancing crew of up to 30 part-time students each semester, and another changing student crew throughout summer.
• Assist labor students in conducting the daily work and delegate assignments while ensuring safe practices in the care of livestock, crops, facilities, and equipment.
• Provide tours as needed for college personnel, visitors, and prospective students.
• 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.
  
  

Other roles/duties will be assigned as necessary to assist the College in the attainment of the goals set forth and the enhancement of a positive, respectful learning environment for all staff, faculty, and students.

What You'll Bring

Education required to ensure success in this position:

• Bachelor's in animal science or related discipline
  
  

Experience required to ensure success in this position:

• Minimum of 3-5 years of diversified farm management experience, including grassfed cattle, pasture-based swine, pasture-based poultry, and organic crop production
  
  

Special skills, knowledge and abilities:

• Thorough knowledge of beef cattle production (handling, breeding, nutrition, rotational pasture management, veterinary care, and record keeping)
• Knowledge to perform basic maintenance and minor repairs, coordinating with the Assistant Farm Manager of Crops and Maintenance for major repairs or mechanical issues. Knowledge of farm infrastructure maintenance, including fence systems, product storage and handling, and facilities.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to coordinate, organize, and motivate student workers.
• Applied problem solving and critical thinking abilities.
• Ability to use basic office equipment and software programs necessary to fulfill administrative requirements.
  
  

License, certification, or registration necessary:

• Valid driver's license
• Require background checks
  
  

Physical requirements:

• Ability to repeatedly lift 75 lbs. or more.
• Ability to work in hot or cold environments, both inside and outside.
• Ability to engage in extensive walking and rigorous activities.
• 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 pests, manure, adverse environmental conditions, and inclement-weather (heat, humidity, cold, rain, ice, snow)
• Limited activity within walk-in freezers and refrigerators
  
  

Ability to operate the following vehicles or equipment:

• Truck and trailer combinations, including bumper pull and gooseneck containing livestock, livestock products, equipment, or supplies.
• Tractors, planting, harvesting, mowing, feed grinding, and other equipment typically used on a farm.
  
  

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 www.berea.edu.

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 Child Development Laboratory for children of College Staff, ages 6 weeks to 6 years, Seabury Center 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 https://www.berea.edu/human-resources/employee-benefits.

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 Berea's Great Commitments.

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 Labor Program Office.