Hawai'i Ulu Cooperative Alae Facility Manager
Alae Postharvest Facility Manager – Position Description
Start Date: Immediately (March 2024)
Position Title: Alae Postharvest Facility Manager
Location: Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island
About the Position: The Alae Postharvest Facility Manager will be responsible for overseeing and implementing operations at the Alae Postharvest Facility in Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island, where farmers deliver their produce, the co-op manufactures ʻulu flour products, several other agricultural organizations rent commercial kitchen and wash/pack space, and local customers pick up orders throughout the week. The ideal candidate has excellent interpersonal and communication skills, is diplomatic with a problem-solving orientation, possesses basic mechanical skills, and is capable of independent critical thinking and organization/execution of multiple tasks in a dynamic environment. The Alae Postharvest Facility Manager will be expected to build and maintain positive relationships with other co-op employees, farmers, customers, community members, and the general public.
Reports to: HUC Operations Director (OD)
About the Organization: Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Co-op (HUC) is a farmer-owned business working to revitalize ‘ulu or breadfruit as a viable crop and dietary staple by empowering farmers as change-makers in Hawaiʻi’s food system. Formed in 2016 with 9 small, diversified growers on Hawaiʻi Island, HUC has grown to over 150 member-farms across Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, and is now the foremost breadfruit farmer organization in the islands. By working together, HUC farmers are able to offer consistent, high-quality ‘ulu products that are nutritious, versatile, local, accessible, and sustainable. The co-op is committed to the revival of ʻulu to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s food security and to the value of mālama ʻāina – care or protection of the earth – by using environmentally responsible production methods. Our vision is a thriving cooperative that sustains and uplifts producers, consumers, and society as a whole.
Essential Functions for the Alae Postharvest Facility Manager
Be the primary contact and on-the-ground staffer at the Alae Postharvest Facility where week-to-week activities include:
- intaking farmer harvests,
- recording lots and transfers,
- coordinating logistics,
- scheduling and supervising ʻulu flour production,
- managing inventory including keeping supplies stocked,
- coordinating pickups and deliveries,
- overseeing other facility users,
- fulfilling customer orders including SNAP-EBT transactions,
- maintaining food safety compliance requirements of a commercial aggregation and kitchen environment,
- following and updating SOPs and policies pertaining to the Alae Postharvest Facility, and
- maintaining excellent cross-facility communication in order to support efficient co-op operations.
Additional responsibilities that are required of this position include:
- implementing basic facility administrative functions such as issuing monthly SNAP reports,
- using basic mechanical skills to troubleshoot equipment and appliance issues, making simple repairs directly, and/or
contracting with technicians on more complex facility repairs,
- overseeing capital improvements in collaboration with co-op leadership to scale facility capacity and helping to
conduct R&D on equipment and infrastructure upgrades,
- occasional customer visits in East Hawaiʻi to check on or deliver products and to maintain customer relationships,
- staffing support at community and educational events in East Hawaiʻi as time permits, and
other co-op support functions that may arise and align with team member’s skills and interests such as copywriting
and/or copyediting to support membership and marketing departments, monitoring and responding to general email
inquiries, and similar tasks as may be updated or assigned from time to time.
Moreover, this position is expected to continuously help the co-op grow by identifying improvements to current policies and procedures that can maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of Alae Postharvest Facility operations.
Competencies
- Excellent personal and communication skills, both verbally and in writing.
- Stellar organizational capacity with both digital and physical tasks, files and folders.
- Diplomatic and able to work through conflicts.
- Technical capacity with Microsoft Office and Google Drive, as well as basic facility repair and maintenance.
- Basic mechanical skills to troubleshoot and repair common equipment issues, and work with specialized technicians as
needed to address more complex ones.
- Ability to use standard power tools to troubleshoot, update, and implement basic projects/repairs.
- Performance and time management, especially in a dynamic work environment.
- Self-direction.
- Orientation to detail and continuous learning.
Supervisory Responsibility
This position serves as the primary production supervisor during Alae facility processing days, and oversees the work of ʻulu processors during production shifts.
Work Environment
This position shall work at the Alae Postharvest Facility in Hilo. In addition, this person may be asked to deliver products to customers or pickup supplies located in Hilo using a personal vehicle.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by the staff member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the staff member is regularly required to talk and hear. The staff member will also be required to sit, stand, walk and talk for extended periods of time. The staff member must be able to lift up to 50 pounds, and may occasionally need to squat or climb.
Position Type/Expected Hours of Work
Work demands of this position are full time and year round. While fruit intake responsibilities are concentrated during peak breadfruit season which is typically in the fall, this timeframe varies somewhat from year to year and other work tasks can be done during off-season months to maintain a full time workload. Daily hours of work can be designed with the OD; typically, five 8-hour days per week (e.g. 8:30 am to 4:30 pm M-F) are preferred.
Travel
This position will be asked to visit customers and pick up supplies in East Hawaiʻi from time to time using a personal vehicle. In such events, travel costs will be reimbursed at the current GSA rate for use of a POV.
Required Education and Experience
- High school diploma
- 3 years’ experience in Hawaiʻi agriculture and/or food sectors.
- Minimum one-year residency in Hawaiʻi (does not need to be contiguous with employment).
- Technical proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Drive (docs, sheets, slides, forms).
Preferred Education and Experience
- Undergraduate degree
- Previous success in Hawaiʻi agriculture and/or food sectors.
- Commercial food manufacturing and/or food safety experience.
- Individuals with work and lived experiences that align and complement the organization’s mission and vision.
Additional Eligibility Qualifications - None required for this position.
Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary is competitive for facility managers within the Hawaiʻi agriculture sector at $56,000 to $72,000 per year, based on skills, qualifications and experience, and includes full medical benefits as well as 20% off all co-op products. There are also opportunities for bonus pay in cases of exceptional performance linked to strategic milestones. In addition, through HUC’s partnership with ProService, employees qualify for additional perks including access to great offers from local businesses such as discounted movie tickets or health and fitness deals; a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) that allows for the use of pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible out-of-pocket expenses and lower IRS reported income, which saves you money; and Voluntary Insurance options that are portable and can be taken with you should your employment status change.
Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Co-op strives to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture focused on continuous learning and welcomes individuals with work and lived experiences that align with and complement the organization’s mission and vision. The co-op does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, size, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law and is an employment-at-will company. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.