Horticultural Supervisor

About Us

Darjeeling Management Limited is a business based in the Hawke’s Bay, one of New Zealand’s most prominent horticultural regions. We are dedicated to assisting in producing high-quality pip fruit including but not limited to apples, grapes & kiwifruit for both domestic and export markets. Our focus is on sustainable orchard management practices, innovation, and delivering consistent productivity while supporting our team of skilled workers. We offer great pay, maintain a dedicated team focus, and are known as an ethical employer and a locally owned established business.

Job Purpose

We are seeking resolute and experienced Horticultural Supervisors to join our expanding orchard management and maintenance team. This is a permanent role working on multiple orchards, primarily in the greater Hawke’s Bay region. The position is a leadership role, responsible for supervising a team and collaborating with growers to achieve consistently ambitious standards of workmanship efficiently and effectively. Adaptability to clients’ needs, a cheerful outlook, and motivation as a collaborator are essential, with a focus on seeking continual improvement in results.

Key Tasks

• General supervision of orchard work, ensuring proper maintenance of company tools and equipment, and overseeing the health and safety of all workers on site.
• Maintaining communication with the team, other supervisors, growers, and the leadership team and resolving issues to achieve positive outcomes.
• Delegation of tasks to orchard workers and coordinating workers through daily activities. Allocating daily work to team members as needed and training staff on orchard tasks and grower expectations.

Skills and Experience Required

• At least 2 years’ experience in the pip fruit industry with exceptional knowledge of pip fruit orchard maintenance and harvest procedures.
• Current driver’s license (Class 1 Full) is a must.
• Assisting in coordinating labor supply and orchard services including planning staffing requirements based on customer demand, mapping orchards when required, recording the number of trees, vines, bays, and maintenance needs in each orchard.

• Performing any other duties as assigned by management to ensure business continuity during seasonal fluctuations. Ability to work long hours and days as part of a seven-day-a-week operation, with rostered days off. Flexibility to meet work demands as required.

• Ability to work in outdoor conditions including exposure to varying weather working around chemicals. Monitoring daily procedures to maintain proper quality standards including managing onsite incidents and emergencies proactively including but not limited to monitoring the growth and health of crops and following all hygiene and PSA protocols.

Desirable Skills

• Current First Aid Certificate – Level 2 holder preferred.

• Administrative duties such as managing timesheets and ensuring that online documentation including induction forms and record keeping, including staff timesheets and data entry is completed within the required period, ensuring training documents and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are completed within the required period with competent computer skills and accurate record-keeping abilities.

• Effective communication and strong leadership skills for collaborating with a multicultural team, growers, and other supervisors or management. Ability to multitask and adapt to a constantly changing environment.

• Required to undergo drug testing on random occasions.
• Criminal checks / gang affiliation declaration required due to transient nature of employment to minimize any arising conflicts.