TRAINEE FOOD GROWER JOB OPPORTUNITY Role commencing end of February 2024 at Wolves Lane Horticultural Centre, N22 5JD 

Are you part of the next generation of food growers? Looking to develop your skills and hands on experience in a sustainable and diverse environment? Be part of an operational food growing and horticultural centre in the heart of North London? 

We are delighted to be able to recruit three trainee growers 18-25y/o at the Wolves Lane Centre to begin working end of February 2024, to work with the various growers and groups on site to get work-based training in small-scale commercial growing, as a first step in their career in food growing. 

We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, neurodivergent, people from POC and LGBTQIA+ communities, and intersections therein, as they are under-represented in the horticulture/farming sector. 

ABOUT WOLVES LANE

Wolves Lane Centre in Haringey is a former council-run plant nursery and garden centre run by a consortium of community organisations and volunteers since 2017. We grow and distribute sustainably produced food and plants, and offer a hub for education, enterprise and events, making good food accessible to all. Thanks to funding from the National Lottery and the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund, we’re redeveloping the site to establish Wolves Lane as a thriving and sustainable community green space in the coming years.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Organic produce is grown at Wolves Lane and our satellite site Pasteur Gardens, both outside and under glass. The site is operated by a mix of groups, with produce distributed to Wolves Lane cooking project, markets, restaurants, and local sale.  

For this Trainee post, we are looking for people interested in pursuing a livelihood as a food grower or landworker, and seeking to gain the skills and experience to further this aim. You will be supported by our on-site Community Educator, and will have the opportunity to work as a team with the Wolves Lane Lead Growers, and Growers from Black Rootz, a black-led antiracist enterprise, specialising in growing diaspora crops.

Salary: London Living Wage £13.15 per hour 
Hours: 3 days per week, 7 hour days, usually Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. 
Employment period: 15 weeks with scope to extend (late February 2024 – July 2024)
Responsible to: Wolves Lane Consortium board.  
Application deadline: Midnight Monday 27th November 2023
Interviews: W/C 4th December 2023

HOW TO APPLY

Please read the role description and person specification below and let us know how you think your skills and experience makes this traineeship right for you. Attach a CV or statement of your work/volunteer history, as well as either a cover letter or a video. We welcome applications even if you feel you don’t fulfil every element of the person specification. 

Please send any questions and your application and equalities monitoring form to jobs@wolveslane.org, with ‘Trainee Grower and (your name)’ in the email title. 

MAIN TRAINEESHIP OBJECTIVES

  • To learn about and assist with all aspects of planting, growing and maintaining produce sustainably in an urban setting
  • To learn about and assist with all aspects of harvesting, preparing, and selling produce 
  • To learn how to provide support for volunteers  
  • To participate fully in the Traineeship Programme and commit to share learnings with the next round of Trainees.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Trainees will learn all aspects of running our urban growing project and horticulture centre by:

  • Assisting the growers on site 3 days a week practising agroecological methods, split between our Wolves Lane Growers and the Growers at Black Rootz.
  • Work closely with the Growers to learn all aspects of running the glasshouses, outdoor beds and composting systems. This might include seed sowing, potting on, planting out, weeding, watering, harvesting, pest and disease management, making compost, record keeping, supporting distribution of veg, and any other associated tasks on site.
  • Harvesting produce to the agreed methods, ensuring quality control and preparing and packing produce according.  
  • Supporting and supervising volunteers. 

PERSON SPECIFICATION 
Skills, Knowledge, Ability, Commitments  

Desirable

  • A demonstrable interest and passion for sustainable and socially diverse food growing and production, horticulture and landwork. 
  • One season’s experience volunteering/working on a food growing site/ garden
  • Happy and able to work mainly outdoors throughout the year 
  • Demonstrable experience of performing physical work with pressure to deliver  
  • Experience of volunteering or working in a diverse community setting  
  • Knowledge or direct experience of the local Wolves Lane community  
  • Ability to carry out shared tasks and work effectively within a team  
  • Ability to supervise and explain tasks to volunteers clearly and with compassion
  • Experience of paid employment in horticulture or a horticulture placement
  • Level 1 or 2 horticultural qualification or equivalent  
  • Can demonstrate clearly why this traineeship is right for you

________________________________________________________________

DIVERSITY MONITORING AND DATA PROTECTION

Wolves Lane Consortium is committed to eliminating discrimination encouraging diversity amongst our workforce. We will not discriminate with reference to age, gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion, marital status, and disability.  To help ensure our recruitment process is fair and equitable, we collect diversity data from applicants to our roles, using the separate equalities monitoring form.  

Any personal data you provide (e.g., address, telephone number, employment history) will be used for recruitment purposes only, and only shared with individuals involved in the recruitment process.

Wolves Lane is Recruiting for three new posts……

A Shop and Retail Manager //

A Grants and Communication Officer //

An Events Coordinator//

About Wolves Lane Centre: Wolves Lane Centre is a thriving community hub in Wood Green, dedicated to sustainable growing, education, social enterprise, and community engagement. The centre aims to develop and distribute wholesome food, foster the local food economy through education and enterprise, and promote a healthier, more sustainable food culture in the area. Thanks to funding from the National Lottery and the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund, we are undertaking a major site redevelopment, and work to ensure Wolves Lane’s long-term sustainability as a vibrant community space. 

Wolves Lane Consortium is a partnership of community organisations led by The Ubele Initiative and OrganicLea. With thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund for supporting our work.

To organise a site visit or ask any further questions please contact Denise – jobs@wolveslane.org full Job descriptions and how to apply in the links below.

Diversity-Monitoring-Form

Hiring Two Growing Apprenticeships 18-25y/o

Are you part of the next generation of food growers? Looking to develop your skills and hands on experience in a sustainable and diverse environment? Be part of an operational food growing and horticultural centre in the heart of North London?

We are delighted to be able to recruit two paid apprentice growers 18-25y/o at the Wolves Lane Centre, to work with the various growers and groups on site to get work-based training in small-scale commercial growing, as a first step in their career in food growing. We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, neurodivergent, people from BPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities, and intersections therein, as they are under-represented in the horticulture/farming sector.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Organic produce is grown at Wolves Lane and our satellite site Pasteur Gardens, both outside and under glass. Different parts of the site are operated by different groups with the produce distributed to the Wolves Lane cooking project, to a local produce stall, to restaurants, and for local sale.  

For this apprentice post, we are looking for someone interested in pursuing a livelihood as a food grower or landworker, and seeking to gain the skills and experience to further this aim. You will be supported by our on-site Community Educator but will have the opportunity to work across the various growing projects at Wolves Lane and tailor your work experience according to your particular interests. Apprentices will work together, as well as being primarily hosted by our Wolves Lane Lead Grower, and growers from Black Rootz, a black-led antiracist enterprise, specialising in growing diaspora crops.

Salary: London Living Wage £11.95 per hour

Hours: 3 days per week, 7 hour days, ideally Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Employment period: 30 weeks (until end of November 2023).

Responsible to: Wolves Lane Consortium board.  

Closing date for applications: Midnight 16th April 2023

Interviews to be held on: 26th April 2023, for 1 hour. Interviews will be held in person at Wolves Lane Centre, N22 5JD. Finalists will then be invited for a paid trial day.

MAIN APPRENTICESHIP OBJECTIVES

  • To learn about and assist with all aspects of planting, growing and maintaining produce sustainably in an urban setting
  • To learn about and assist with all aspects of harvesting, preparing, and selling produce
  • To learn how to provide support for volunteers  
  • To participate fully in the Apprenticeship Programme and commit to share learnings with the next round of Apprentices.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Trainees will learn all aspects of running our urban growing project and horticulture centre by:

  • Assisting the grower on site 3 days a week, split between our Wolves Lane Lead Grower and the growers at Black Rootz.
  • Work closely with the Wolves Lane Growers to learn all aspects of running the glasshouses, outdoor beds and composting systems. This might include seed sowing, potting on, planting out, weeding, watering, harvesting, making compost, record keeping, supporting distribution of veg, and any other associated tasks on site.
  • Harvesting produce to the agreed methods, ensuring quality control and preparing and packing produce according.  
  • Supporting and supervising volunteers.
  • Gaining experience supervising the workday and harvest when the grower is absent.

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

Skills, Knowledge, Ability, Commitments  

Desirable

  • A demonstrable interest and passion for sustainable and socially diverse food growing and production, horticulture and landwork
  • One season’s experience of volunteering or working on a food growing site or garden
  • Happy and able to work mainly outdoors throughout the year 
  • Excellent listening and time management skills
  • Demonstrable experience of performing physical work with pressure to deliver 
  • Experience of volunteering or working in a diverse community setting 
  • Knowledge or direct experience of the local community near Wolves Lane
  • Ability to carry out shared tasks and work effectively within a team  
  • Ability to supervise and explain tasks to other clearly and with compassion
  • Experience of paid employment in horticulture or a structured placement in horticulture 
  • Level 1 or 2 horticultural qualification or equivalent 
  • Can demonstrate clearly why this apprenticeship is right for you

HOW TO APPLY

Please read the role description and person specification below.

To apply, please send the following to jobs@wolveslane.org, with ‘Apprentice Grower and _YOUR NAME_’ in the email title:

  •  Your CV (or statement of your work/volunteer history) 
  • A cover letter or a video, letting us know how you think your skills, interest and experience makes this apprenticeship right for you. 
  • Completed equalities monitoring form

We welcome applications from you even if you feel you don’t fulfil every element of the person specification.

For any questions or further information, please email education@wolveslane.org 

____________________________________________________________

DIVERSITY MONITORING

Wolves Lane Consortium is committed to eliminating discrimination encouraging diversity amongst our workforce. We will not discriminate with reference to age, gender, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion, marital status, and disability.  To help ensure our recruitment process is fair and equitable, we collect diversity data from applicants to our roles, using the separate equalities monitoring form. 

Data Protection Note

Any personal data you provide (e.g., address, telephone number, employment history) will be used for recruitment purposes only, and only shared with individuals involved in the recruitment process.

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