Farmer/ Operations Manager
Please read this job description before applying below.
Cross E Ranch is a working farm and cattle ranch that also hosts large public events to feed, engage, entertain and connect our community with Agriculture. Our large events will have over 40,000 guests and some events have upwards of 70,000 guests over a six week event. Throughout the year we host several smaller events but our two largest events are our Baby Animal Festival in the spring and our Fall Festival in September and October. Our Operations Manager is on our Executive team and is heavily involved in planning and deciding the course of the company. Our Operations Team is responsible for building, maintaining, and optimizing our structures, attractions, food venues, landscapes, and equipment. Essentially we ensure that everything is up and running for the other teams when they need them. Our animal care is taken care of by different teams and while you may occasionally assist them, the Operations team does not interact with animals on a regular basis. This job requires someone who likes physical work, the outdoors, farming, being around the public and can work long hours if needed during busy times. Like any business that is seasonal there will be times with long hours and times with shorter, more flexible hours. There is a lot of variety in this position.
In addition to the year round operations responsibilities we also are responsible for much of the festival's setup, daily operation, and take down. This includes things like set up and take down of attractions, signage, customer areas, and food venues. As well as assisting the Production team in stocking items for our six food venues, and daily pre-opening maintenance checklists. We are responsible in part for the maintenance of all of the farm systems. Depending on the season the operation team ranges from 2-6+ people. During our busy seasons as the manager you will be responsible for a team and certain projects or areas.
Additional responsibilities are outlined below. This list is not comprehensive. Because at the Ranch we all work together to get the job done, 5-10% of your job will be helping other areas around the Ranch. We think this is part of the fun and variety that is the ranching lifestyle!
Year Round Responsibilities:Executive Team Role
Additional Festival Responsibilities:Work with and manage Operations team members to:
Desired Management or Technical SkillsQualified Applicants should have:
Working at Cross E Ranch:Schedule
We Get it Done:
Compensation:
In addition to the year round operations responsibilities we also are responsible for much of the festival's setup, daily operation, and take down. This includes things like set up and take down of attractions, signage, customer areas, and food venues. As well as assisting the Production team in stocking items for our six food venues, and daily pre-opening maintenance checklists. We are responsible in part for the maintenance of all of the farm systems. Depending on the season the operation team ranges from 2-6+ people. During our busy seasons as the manager you will be responsible for a team and certain projects or areas.
Additional responsibilities are outlined below. This list is not comprehensive. Because at the Ranch we all work together to get the job done, 5-10% of your job will be helping other areas around the Ranch. We think this is part of the fun and variety that is the ranching lifestyle!
Year Round Responsibilities:Executive Team Role
- Be loyal to team #1 first, the executive team.
- Attend and be engaged in planning, tactical, department and offsite meetings.
- Help decide the direction of the ranch and business with the owners.
- Help create and implement solutions for opportunities and challenges at the ranch.
- Cascade information from owners and other team managers to your team.
- Train team and lead out on company values, purpose, and strategic anchors.
- Work together with owners to identify areas for improvement, growth, and repairs as you represent the Operations team.
- Convey concerns and counsel about challenges from other Operations team members with owners.
- Perform general labor outdoors and be able to move heavy loads.
- Maintain, build, update, or optimize all existing or new attractions, venues, and guest areas/ amenities and their signage, lighting, and other systems.
- Operate and maintain heavy equipment that may have to be serviced in the field on short notice.
- Understand and maintain irrigation and fertilizer systems.
- Maintain ranch/ farm equipment and buildings as needed in coordination with the Production Manager.
- Maintain Ranch yards and landscaped areas and improve them as possible.
- Maintain Ranch electrical and communications/ network systems.
- Interacting with suppliers and vendors to manage farm & event inventory and items for repairs.
- Tracking supplies and recording receipts from purchases.
Additional Festival Responsibilities:Work with and manage Operations team members to:
- Perform daily festival checklist for opening.
- Maintenance of festival specific equipment and attractions.
- Work with the Production Manager to manage the warehousing of festival supplies.
- Setup/ take down assigned areas for each festival. The Operations team has the primary role in this.
- Assist other departments as needed in their areas.
- Work with, educate, and help connect the public to your areas of the ranch.
Desired Management or Technical SkillsQualified Applicants should have:
- The ability to work hard and set the pace with reduced direct management.
- Good forecasting & organizing skills for the labor, materials, and equipment needed for projects.
- Solid time management skills and a strong work ethic.
- Good personnel management skills including training others and delegation.
- Detail-oriented planning ability.
- Effective leadership skills, including working and training full time and seasonal staff. This will include counseling about hiring and layoffs.
- Mechanical and technical aptitude for operating, servicing, and the basic repairing of farm equipment, trucks, trailers, and simple farm related festival attractions. Ideally: a basic ability to weld, a general knowledge of electrical systems, and a basic knowledge of vehicle mechanics.
- Business management skills.
- The physical ability to perform demanding farm work with reasonable accommodations.
Working at Cross E Ranch:Schedule
- We generally work an average of 40 hours per week. We say average because in our slow season we work less and in our busy season we work more.
- We generally work from 8:00am-5:00pm with a 1 hour lunch. But this schedule is fairly flexible if the team agrees. For example in the summer when it is hot we may work from 6:00am -2:30pm with a short break for lunch so we aren’t working in the heat of the day. Or during the festivals we may start earlier to get things set up or repaired before opening for the day. There may also be rare short seasonal times when the Production team needs assistance with irrigation in the evening.
- During our festivals an operations team member is generally on call for infrequent emergency repairs. This assignment can rotate among operations team members and is flexible.
- On a ranch, things can change quickly with the weather - prepare to be flexible.
We Get it Done:
- We are in it Together: We all work as a team, if an area or team needs help on the ranch we jump in if we can. We don’t believe any job is beneath us or in department silos. No one should ever say or feel “it’s not in my job description” or “That’s not my department.” We each have responsibilities but our first loyalty is to the ranch and to our customers' experience here.
- Be observant: We all have a shared responsibility for our customer’s experience. Noticing and alerting each other to safety risks, animal needs, crop concerns and other general maintenance issues. If you see something we expect you to resolve it or refer it to the right person.
- Support team members and management: Everyone at the Ranch has a voice in our decision making process and we want your ideas. Once the team has decided on a course of action we “commit and deliver” on that decision 100%, even if the team's decision is different from your initial stance. We don’t gossip or undermine our fellow team members - if you have a problem be honest.
- Be On Time: Because each day you will begin with a Daily Team Check-In that lasts no more than 5-10 minutes we ask that you arrive on time so you can be updated with everyone else and update others. Outside of meeting together we are pretty flexible. This also shows you value and respect your team's time.
- Mutual Respect & Trust: We are hiring you because we trust that you will assist us in getting the job done. We trust that you will work diligently and if you need more help you will ask for it.
- Training & Coaching Others: People on your team in their specific areas and responsibilities as well as others on ranch assets. This will include training other managers on the proper and safe operation of equipment. Another part of the Ranch is helping to teach our younger team members how to work and how to foster a respectful work environment. Managers play a key role in showing team members how to behave, work, and what is appropriate at work.
- Choose a positive attitude: we know sometimes the work or weather can be rough on a farm but it is better to get through it and laugh because we can’t change the weather or difficult jobs. We sometimes say "There is no challenge so bad you can't make it worse by complaining."
- Be Kind: Even in frustrating situations or with grumpy coworkers or customers we are kind and try to find solutions rather than get angry. We want our customers to feel like it is their family's farm.
- You Represent the Company: When you are working and especially when you are wearing Cross E Ranch apparel you represent the company and we expect you to be kind, courteous, and helpful to others.
- Do your best work: We want to look back and be proud of what we have built, not just slapping something together.
- Seek to Learn: If you are unsure about how something works or how to do something we ask for help or seek to learn from another source before making assumptions that could cause issues. We are always happy to teach.
Compensation:
- Base Salary: $55-65k based on experience.
- Bonuses: Seasonal Bonus based on festival attendance - in 2022 bonuses ranged from $5-8k.
- We succeed, you succeed.
- Room to grow in leadership and compensation.
- PTO: We have a generally open ended time off structure. We expect each team to get their work done and we ask that during our peak seasons you try to keep time off to a minimum but in our off seasons we are happy to have our team recharge. In general we ask staff to keep their total annual time off to under 4 weeks excluding company holidays. Note: during festivals and busy crop seasons time off is harder while winter is easy.
- Holidays we all take off: 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Years Day. Our schedule around Christmas and New Years is generally light and flexible.
- Sick Leave: We understand people get sick. If you are sick, you don’t need to come to work. When you are better, come back. We ask that you make arrangements with other team members to cover your responsibilities and we trust that you will return as quickly as possible.