9405 Farm Operations Manager

POSITION IDENTIFICATION

TITLE Farm Operations Manager

CLASSIFICATION NUMBER 9405

GRADE 26

CLASSIFICATION Nonexempt

IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Dean, College of Agriculture

GENERAL FUNCTION

The Farm Operations Manager manages the daily operations of the Darr Agricultural Center, Baker’s Acres, and the Kindrick Family Farm teaching and research farms.

MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education: A Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture is required; a Master’s degree in Agriculture is preferred.

Experience: Three years of experience managing livestock or farm and ranch operations is required. Experience with low stress livestock handling techniques, management intensive grazing (MIG), farm machinery operation, and crop management and harvest is required. Experience working with a livestock operation and performing duties such as fence building, maintenance, and livestock vaccination, etc., are required.

Skills: Effective verbal and written communication skills are required. Organizational skills are required. Proficiency with Microsoft Office Applications, such as Word and Excel, is required. The ability to develop knowledge of, respect for, and skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds is required.

License: Must have a valid motor vehicle operator's license.

Effort: Requires the ability to lift and carry livestock and farm supplies and equipment weighing fifty pounds or more on a regular basis, prolonged walking or standing, and frequent bending, stooping, kneeling, and reaching on a daily basis. Requires a full range of physical motion in order to operate manual, electrically-powered and/or gasoline-powered equipment and machines and to load cattle. Requires the ability to access facilities and areas which may only be accessible by climbing stairs or by climbing ladders to a height of 15 feet. Must be able to move throughout assigned areas, as the work is often performed out-of-doors, year round.

Other: The scope of the position requires exposure to and use of chemical compounds for application on trees, crops, and grasses which may be hazardous and cause injury if specific instructions regarding their mixture, application, use and disposal/storage are not properly followed.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Oversees the maintenance and repair of equipment, vehicles, and facilities and performs livestock and crop production activities, which may include coordinating the feeding, fitting, and exhibition of cattle as appropriate for meeting departmental objectives, at the Darr Center, Baker’s Acres, and the Kindrick Family Farm as directed by the Dean, College of Agriculture.

2. Participate in the planning, preparation, and execution of Journagan Ranch activities as directed by the Dean, College of Agriculture.

3. Works in coordination with the Dean, College of Agriculture to prepare the Pinegar Arena and Learning Center building for rentals and other activities.

4. Assists with research and educational activities by following verbal and written protocols and communicating effectively with Missouri State University agricultural researchers and educators and the general public.

5. Participates in training and supervising student employees working with livestock and performing other farm duties.

6. Contributes to a work environment that encourages knowledge of, respect for, and development of skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds.

7. Remains competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development courses, and attending training and/or courses as required.

8. Supports the overall success of the Darr College of Agriculture by performing all other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISION

The Farm Operations Manager is supervised by the Dean, College of Agriculture and Darr Agricultural Center project leaders and supervises student workers.

OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES

REVISED APRIL 2020

JOB FAMILY 2

Factor 1: Educational Requirements of the Job

Level 6.0 - 375 Points: The job requires a four-year college degree in a non-technical area or non-specific area.

Factor 2: Skill Requirements - Craft and Trade Skills

Level 4.0 - 750 Points: Knowledge of an extensive set of operations and procedures, specific skills and demonstrated ability, that requires considerable creativity or mechanical aptitude. Skills at this level normally require more than two and as much as five years of experience and previous training.

Factor 3: Managerial Responsibility

Level 4.0 - 300 Points: Supervision of a work group including hiring, training, planning, and directing the work of permanent employees. At this level the job often requires close supervision, generally of a rather small number of employees, and it is frequently necessary to train and instruct others, and plan and direct work. Supervisory responsibilities consume moderate amounts of work time and may include input into the development of budgets, some financial and inventory control responsibility, and general work planning tasks. Most first-line supervisors or office managers are typically at this level.

Factor 4: Guidelines

Level 3.0 - 90 Points: Procedures and standards exist, but considerable latitude in applying procedures and selecting a sequence of activities must be exercised. The employee uses judgment in interpreting and adapting guidelines such as agency policies, regulations, precedents, and work directions for application to specific cases or problems. The employee analyzes results and recommends changes.

Factor 5: Contacts

Level 4.0 - 175 Points: The purpose is to coordinate activities involving employees, students, and/or the general public. At this level, contacts involve considerable interpersonal skill involving cooperation and coordination and may involve the organization of activities of programs requiring working relationships among several parties. While contacts may require some level of persuasion, potential for conflicts and disputes are relatively minor.

Factor 6: Work Environment

Level 3.0 - 70 Points: The work area involves moderate discomfort and/or risk such as operating heavy machinery or dangerous equipment, or frequent exposure to hazardous materials. Alternatively, the work area may be subject to environmental discomfort such as poor ventilation. Loud noises, and/or extremes of heat or cold. The work often requires wearing protective gear that may be uncomfortable. The nature of the work environment may produce moderate levels of stress.

Factor 7: Physical Demands

Level 4.0 - 150 Points: Work requires considerable and strenuous physical exertion such as climbing ladders, frequent lifting of objects over 50 pounds, crawling or crouching in restricted areas. Occasional lifting of heavy objects weighing 75 pounds or more is required.

Factor 8: Responsibility for Facilities and Resources

Level 3.0 - 70 Points: At this level would be jobs in which the incumbent has considerable ongoing responsibility for building security and public safety.

Factor 9: Complexity

Level 3.0 - 450 Points: The work includes various duties involving different and unrelated processes and methods. Decisions regarding what needs to be done depend upon knowledge of the duties, priorities, commitments, policies, and program goals of the supervisor and the department and involve the analysis of the subject, phase, or issues involved in each project or assignment, and the course of action may have to be selected from many alternatives. The work involves elements that must be identified and analyzed to discern interrelationships.