Harvest Team Leader - Fixed Term Contract

Job Description
A leading, innovative, producer of high-quality crops in the Southeast of England and Spain, we currently employ 60 full time and up to 80 seasonal staff during peak season, based at our headquarters near Deal in Kent. We are seeking to appoint a committed, enthusiastic individual to the position of:
Harvest Team Leader
A field-based role, working in all weathers, reporting into the Harvesting Operations Manager.
Duties and Responsibilities include, but are not restricted to:
• Leading and motivating a Harvest Team of up to 11 operatives. This team will alternate between harvesting lettuces by hand and using Babyleaf salad harvesting machines.
• Overseeing harvesting, weeding, hoeing and crop covering procedures.
• Instructing, training and developing team members.
• Adhering to food safety and health and safety procedures.
• Achieving productivity targets.
• Ensuring food quality standards are achieved.
• Crop walking and analysis.
• Administration, including the completion of the team’s weekly timesheets.
Expected Rate of pay: £12.89 per hour basic rate, overtime rate is £16.11 per hour.
Temporary Recurring Seasonal role.
This job could suit someone on a 6-month Seasonal Workers visa (https://www.gov.uk/seasonal-worker-visa). The harvesting season runs from late April to early November. During the harvesting season the successful candidate would work six days per week with Saturdays off, working up to 60 hours per week. Accommodation is available.
Projected gross pay over the 6-month contract is £19,000.00
Person Specification
Essential Skills
• Experience of working in the UK.
• Experience of leading harvesting teams.
• Accuracy and attention to detail.
• The ability to communicate with, motivate and influence a diverse team.
• The confidence to challenge non-conformance.
• Effective planning, operation and prioritisation of daily and weekly tasks.
• The ability to work under your own initiative and as part of a team.
• Role modelling a strong work ethic and a can-do attitude.
• Flexibility – both in supervising different activities and a willingness to take a hands-on approach when needed.
Desirable
• Quality Control experience.
• Multi-lingual: The team is likely to be made up of a number of nationalities from Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with mixed English abilities. Knowledge of Russian would be beneficial.
• Full clean driving licence.
• Tractor driving experience.
• Salad crop experience.
• First Aid training.