Temporary Market Assistant, Somerville Mobile Farmers Market

Somerville is a city that upholds progressive principles for both employees and residents. The City of Somerville embraces and encourages an innovative, empowering, and collaborative workplace culture in a fast-paced, challenging environment. Not only is Somerville a “Model City,” as termed by The Boston Globe, but it is also a model employer.

Statement of Duties

The City of Somerville seeks a Temporary Market Assistant/Green Team Leader for the Somerville Mobile Farmers’ Market. The market is led by Shape Up Somerville (SUS), an initiative of the City of Somerville’s Health and Human Services Department, and supports SUS’ mission to improve equitable access to healthy, affordable food.  This seasonal position would also partner closely with Groundwork Somerville, a community-based, action-oriented non-profit focusing on youth development, food and farms, building a sustainable environment, and working for racial justice and health equity. The Green Team (GT) is a youth employment program which hires local teens to complete urban farming, environmental justice, and civic engagement projects while building job and leadership skills.

Employment Period: June 15, 2020 – October 17, 2020

Market Schedule: July 10 – October 17, Fridays 9:00AM-5:30PM and Saturdays 8:45AM-4:30PM. Must be available to work some weekends during the market season.

Pay: $15.00/hour, with a July 1, 2020 increase to $15.29/hour; 16 - 40 hours a week. Not benefit eligible.

Safety Sensitive Position

Essential Functions

• Pre-season tasks
  
  • Help prepare for market season by working with market manager to adapt market model during COVID-19.
  • Assist SUS staff with community outreach and marketing for the market
  • Provide administrative help before the season begins
• Assist with mid-week produce aggregation
  
  • Meet farmers for produce pick-up at various sites throughout Somerville and store produce
  • Help market manager bag orders to prepare for alternative market model during COVID-19.
• If appropriate, lead volunteers in daily market set-up and break-down
• Serve as the second cashier at market sites
• Cover other market roles during shifts as necessary
• Provide excellent customer service and ensure a positive, dignified shopping experience for customers
• Help market manager with accounting and sales reconciliation when necessary
• Green Team Leader

Virtually lead Green Team Members--teenage youth employees from Somerville --in urban agriculture, environmental justice, and civic engagement projects such as growing food at South Street Farm and school gardens, park and waterfront 

• restoration projects, representing Groundwork at youth summits, and hosting volunteer events.
  
  • Lead Green Team Leaders in harvesting, recording, and packing produce for market and sharing this process virtually with youth members
  • Lead virtual team building activities
  • Provide online mentorship to the Green Team Members
  • Lead virtual tours of farm sites around Somerville
  • Facilitate and assist with workshops on issues related to food access, environmental justice, public speaking, and more
  • Work closely with the group of other GTLs and Groundwork staff to complete training and run this immersive virtual job experience for Green Team Members
  • After the Green Team summer season ends, continue to work at the mobile market (and continue to supervise summer and fall Green Team members there), and with additional time available complete additional projects to support Groundwork Somerville, SUS, the Green Team program, and food access initiatives

Recommended Minimum Qualifications

• Experience with customer service
• Comfortable and confident in a leadership role
• Ability and confidence to delegate tasks to volunteers and Green Team youth

Desired Knowledge, Abilities, and Skills

Knowledge: Retail or customer service; understanding of food systems, environmental racism and justice, and issues of equity and oppression; awareness of and sensitivity to cultural and linguistic diversity; food produce knowledge (cooking, farming, health, etc.); experience or interest in farming, gardening, agriculture, landscaping, and/or other outdoor work

Abilities: Flexibility; taking initiative to plan and prepare for a week’s worth of programming at a time; working with many types of people, particularly youth in a multicultural setting; group facilitation in classroom or workshop settings; teamwork; strength to lift up to 50lbs; comfort driving van preferred

Skills: Strong communication and interpersonal skills; technology and computer literacy to learn and utilize Square, Excel, and debit/credit/EBT card processing software; bilingual or multilingual skills preferred;  must have the ability to travel within multiple locations within the City.

Work Environment                                                                                                                                       

Work requires some agility and physical strength, such as standing or walking most of the work period. The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of working outdoors while exposed to dampness, fumes, odors, dust, dirt, rain, heat, cold, chemicals, and loud noises. The employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or wet and/or humid conditions. This work requires lifting heavy objects and carrying them.  There may be need to stretch and reach to retrieve materials.  Usually, the work will require extended physical effort over a significant portion of the work day.  Duties generally do not present occupational risk.  Injury could occur, however, through employee failure to properly follow safety precautions or procedures.  Examples of injury include bruises from falls, cuts or burns, or muscular strains from lifting, pushing or carrying heavy equipment or work materials.  May be exposed to wet/humid conditions, extreme temperatures, oils, moving mechanical parts, and/or potentially hazardous agents/chemicals. May be exposed to elevated noise levels.  Must comply with applicable state and local safety precautions, including wearing personal protective equipment and practicing appropriate social distancing.

Physical and Mental Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills

Work effort principally involves standing, reaching, bending and walking to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of sitting.  May be required to lift and carry up to 50 pounds, and push/pull up to 95 pounds.

Motor Skills

Must be able to frequently talk/listen, grasp, push, reach, stoop/kneel/crouch, and use repetitive wrist/hand/finger movement. Must be able to regularly move and operate mechanical equipment. Minimal motor skills are also required for activities such as operating a telephone, personal computer and/or office equipment.

Visual Skills

Visual demands include clarity of vision, three-dimensional vision, precise hand-eye coordination, and ability to identify and distinguish colors.  Employee will also require visual skills to constantly read documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.

Send your resume and cover letter by June 9, 2020 to:

City Hall Personnel Office
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville MA 02143
Fax: 617-666-4426
TTY: 1-866-808-4851
Email: employment_opportunities@somervillema.gov

City of Somerville residents are especially encouraged to apply.

The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request.

Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Nency Salamoun, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or NSalamoun@somervillema.gov.