Temporary Market Assistant/Green Team Leader

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 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 Details

Dates of Hire: June 14^th – October 16^th

Market Schedule: July 9^th – October 16^th, Fridays 9:00AM-5:30PM and Saturdays 8:45AM-4:30PM. Must be available to work at least 13 out of 15 weekends of the market season.

Pay: $16.50/hour, 16 - 40 hours a week. Not benefit eligible.

Pre-Season (June 14^th – 18^th): 22 hours/week at Groundwork; 0 hours/week at SMFM

Pre-Season (June 21^st – July 2^nd): 22 hours/week at Groundwork; 8 hours/week at SMFM

In-Season (July 9^th – August 21^st): 22 hours/week at Groundwork; 16 hours/week at SMFM

In-Season (August 27^th – October 16^th): 10 hours/week at Groundwork; 16 hours/week at SMFM

This is a 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
• Somerville Mobile Farmers’ Market Role
  • 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 Role
  • Safely 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. Work with Green Team Members will likely take a hybrid model—some time in-person and some time spent virtually. The Market Assistant / Green Team Leader will do the following, in-person or virtually depending on safety and appropriateness:
    • Lead Green Team Members in harvesting, recording, and packing produce for market
    • Lead team building activities
    • Provide mentorship to the Green Team Members
    • Help lead tours of farm sites around Somerville
  • Facilitate and assist with workshops on issues related to food access, environmental justice, public speaking, and more
  • Lead and supervise up to two youth members during market shifts
  • 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, you will continue to work at the mobile market (and continue to supervise summer and fall Green Team members there), and with additional time available will 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; 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.

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 May 7, 2021 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 Nancy Bacci at 617-625-6600 x2250 or NBacci@somervillema.gov.