What are the responsibilities and job description for the Head Grower Manager position at BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group?

Why Willoway

Willoway Nurseries, Inc. is one of the largest wholesale growers of quality nursery stock in the Midwest and ranks within the top 40 nationwide. Willoway encompasses approximately 550 acres of field production and 450 acres of container stock which includes 32 acres of climate-controlled greenhouses. We carry over 2,000 different plant varieties including shade trees, ornamental trees and shrubs, evergreens, perennials, and flowering annuals. To learn more about our history, mission, involvements, and products, visit our website at

Position Summary :

Oversite of all container and field plant Growing Tasks. Strive to achieve the highest level of product quality is maintained. Monitor all crops for Plant health and communicate needs to the team.

Reports To : Chief of Growing Operations

Location : Avon, OH

Primary Responsibilities :

Build a cohesive group of leaders dedicated to the task of producing high quality plants with a high degree of productivity.
Find and implement effective ways to improve and maintain high quality.
Crop walks and reviews with direct reports spending no less than 5 hours per week with each
Review crop status and set priorities with Chief of growing operations each week
Train team members in areas focusing on crop quality and crop production timing
Work with inventory and sales to ensure crops are ready as needed by customers
Careful development and implementation of budgets (Fertilizer, Plastic, and other supplies)
Develop daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly grower schedules with the Chief of Growing operations
Operate and maintain all irrigation systems and equipment and communicate maintenance issues
Ensure proper nutrient levels are applied to maximize plant growth
Ensure team members receive all relevant training (16 minimum hours per year)
Careful tracking and recording of fertilizer usage
Present and share all innovative solutions and grower techniques with similarly positioned Managers within the entire Willoway company
Implement and maintain a culture of safety
Develop and maintain a good working relationship with all staff and peers
Instill accountability in team members
Assure scrap levels are kept within budget. Develop and implement ways to reduce scrap.
Attend training sessions in related fields - minimum of 24hr per year
Develop and train a successor for this position
Set Goals and meet with staff to review any variances to goals
Teach, implement, and maintain all elements of SANC
Developing sop's / KPI's for group
Develop and implement SOP for relevant tasks
Time Management - 70% of time spent leading crews and problem solving in nursery, 30% office administration duties.
Weekly crop reviews during growing season with Operations Manager and Chief of Growing Operations

Additional Responsibilities :

Safety – Lead department safety efforts through proactive training. Work with C level to improve safety policies and procedures. Work with direct reports to investigate near misses and all accidents with a high level of urgency, detail and attention.

GGOB – Continue to understand, implement, and teach GGOB principles every day in department huddles and with staff interaction. Support efforts to build a positive culture.

Brand Harmony – Embrace and support internal and external Brand Harmony creating the ultimate customer experience at every touchpoint

Accountability – Work with staff at all levels to create a positive culture of accountability in the department using the Winning with Accountability mind set (Clarity, Specificity, Ownership, Sharing). Hold all direct reports accountable for meeting expectations and timelines.

Participate in Weekly huddles

Daily team huddles

The work schedule will require an excess of 48 hours per week during peak growing season and requiring weekend and Holiday work.

All other tasks and duties assigned to this position

Skills :

Neat and organized

High degree of plant knowledge

Able to independently solve problems

Self-Motivated / Self Starter

Ability to lead a team to complete grower tasks

Ability to encourage and engage with team members

Strong computer skills

Plant Grower focused with abilities to continually improve

Ability to manage complex irrigation and fertigation systems

Communicate tasks effectively to direct reports

Able to be highly productive in an out of doors Nursery environment and Office environment

Ability to work with computer systems and organizational systems

Ability to tactfully focus on positive improvement and judge the work of others

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percentage.

Valid insurable driver’s license

Knowledge :

Minimum of 2-year degree with 2 years of practical experience, or 5 years related experience

High level of leadership ability to be gained by a combination of related experience and accredited training

Computer skills : Skills can be attained from online courses, continuing education courses, and in-house tutorials.

A minimum of 2 leadership rolls having been completed ex : Church group, Youth organizations, Coaching, Civic (council, or trustee)

Good working plant knowledge ID and growing (degree or related experience)

Some of the above listed experience can be attained by job shadowing or coaching

Strong Communication skills

Please apply for this position if you have requisite horticultural grower and leadership experience within the horticultural, agricultural and or nursery industries. Please forward your resume and career objectives to : tdowning@bhcagroup.com, bmolenda@bhcagroup.com, pfranks@bhcagroup.com or hdowning@bhcagroup.com

All inquiries are confidentially protected and appreciated.

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