ʻAlae Postharvest Facility Assistant

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Position Title: ʻAlae Postharvest Assistant

Position Type: Part-Time Non-Exempt

Location: Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island  

Compensation: $22 to $26 per hour

Reports to: ʻAlae Postharvest Facility Manager

Start date: Immediately (December 2024)

To apply for this position, send your resume and cover letter to alae@eatbreadfruit.com

About the Position: The ʻAlae Postharvest Assistant will be responsible for carrying out regular operational tasks at the ʻAlae Postharvest Facility in Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island, including crop intake, retail order fulfillment, food manufacturing, hygiene and sanitation, and retail sales. The ideal candidate has excellent interpersonal and communication skills, is diplomatic with a problem-solving orientation, possesses basic mechanical skills, and is capable of executing tasks in a dynamic environment. The ʻAlae Postharvest Assistant will be expected to be agile and adaptable to shifting priorities, and to take initiative to keep the facility operating smoothly.

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 180 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 ʻAlae Postharvest Assistant

  • Primary person responsible for order fulfillment:
    • pulling orders for local customer pickups,
    • pulling, labeling, and shipping online orders,
    • handle retail sales and orders,
    • exhibiting good customer service instincts, and
    • recording relevant data in inventory management software. 
  • Primary person responsible for crop intake:
    • grading harvests, 
    • recording and consolidating lots, 
    • treating member farmers fairly and with respect, and
    • communicating about and/or escalating any farmer complaints or conflicts to the facility manager promptly for resolution.
  • Primary person responsible for in-person retail sales:
    • set-up and break-down of road signs daily,
    • assisting walk-in customers with inquiries and orders,
    • processing in-person payments including Da Bux and EBT/SNAP, and
    • recording lots and managing retail sales inventory.

Additional responsibilities that are required of this position include:

  • facility supplies and product inventory management, including reordering inventory items as needed,
  • food manufacturing and documentation including:
    • breadfruit flour production and packing,
    • breadfruit dehydration, and
    • adaptability to future products and production needs.
  • maintaining sanitary conditions throughout the facility as outlined in our Food Safety Plan, 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. 

Competencies

  1. Excellent personal and verbal communication skills. 
  2. Ability to stay organized and document processes. 
  3. Technical capacity with Microsoft Office and Google Drive.
  4. Performance and time management, especially in a dynamic work environment.
  5. Mechanical intuition and repair.
  6. Self-direction.
  7. Orientation to detail and continuous learning. 

Supervisory Responsibility

This is not a supervisory position.

Work Environment

This position shall work at the ʻAlae Postharvest Facility in Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island. 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 communicate effectively. 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 regular part-time. 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. Two to three days per week will be scheduled in advance with the Facility Manager depending on preference, including at least two days between Monday and Wednesday.

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

  1. High school diploma
  2. Technical proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Drive (docs, sheets, slides, forms). 
  3. Minimum one-year residency in Hawaiʻi (does not need to be contiguous with employment).
  4. Individuals with work and lived experiences that align and complement the organization’s mission and vision.

Preferred Education and Experience

  1. Commercial food manufacturing, agriculture, retail and/or food safety experience. 
  2. Basic welding experience.

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
Compensation will be hourly at $22-$26/hour. Employees also received 20% off all co-op products. Full medical benefits and PTO will be available for candidates choosing to regularly schedule more than 20 hours per week. 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. 

To apply for this position, send your resume and cover letter to alae@eatbreadfruit.com

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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.