Now Hiring - Farm Hand Maternity Cover

Do you love animals and keeping them clean, healthy and happy?  Do you take pride in your work and love working outdoors

Do you love working outside in all weathers?

Do you enjoy shovelling shit while surrounded by cuddly animals?

Are you observant and able to spot changes in animal behaviour and identify possible issues with animals?

Do you enjoy working alone and are able to identify what needs to be done and get on and do it without little need for input and guidance from others?

Are you able to lift heavy objects safely and do physical work in sometime's uncomfortable conditions?

Do you love dirt and muck and don't mind getting messy?

Are you good at handling animals in a gentle and firm manner and keeping them calm and safe at all times?

Do you want to work part-time and can commit to Mondays and Thursdays every week without fail, rain or shine, in sickness (but not if you are too sick) and in health?

Are you happy spending most of your day cleaning up after animals?
*This is really important as animals make a lot of shit that needs scooping and moving and is really the main part of the job.

If you said a big "hell yes" to ALL of the above then we've got the perfect job ready and waiting for a friendly and self-motivated person that's ready to start ASAP.

The position will be largely self-directed covering a set of key tasks on a regular basis to manage our menagerie of animals on the smallholding (including alpacas, chickens, rabbits, rhea, peafowl, cats). 

About JADE Alpaca Ranch

Jacquie Edwards and Anthony D’Souza (swap our initials around a bit and you’ll see where the JADE comes from) had a dream to create JADE Alpaca Ranch because of their passion for sustainability and fuzzy animals.  

We are located on 27 acres just outside Stanford in the Vale on the outskirts of Baulking Village and focus on caring for our animals in a sustainable and as natural an environment as possible in order to breed top quality white alpacas and provide eggs, fleece and other farming products through our website and farm shop.

Our Core Values 

Fun family atmosphere - treating everyone like family and having fun

Unbeatable quality - always striving for excellence and quality in everything we do

Zen - creating a harmonious, natural environment with healthy animals ad relaxed humans

Zero emissions - we focus on caring for the environment and giving back more than we take

About Your Role

As a farm hand you will carry out regular animal husbandry and other practical work across the small-holding including maintenance and upkeep of the farm equipment and buildings.

This part-time position will include:

• Weekly cleaning / mucking out
  • Rabbit Pens
  • Chicken Coops
  • Barn
  • Cat Litter
  • Alpaca Fields

• Assistance with feeding & watering the animals
• Weekly cleaning out of all waterers and feeders
• Assistance with rotating the stock
• Assistance with grooming, shearing and nail trimming of all animals
• Mainly the angora rabbits and alpacas
• Other miscellaneous jobs - there is always something to do!

Your Skills and Experience

• Livestock Experience
• Passion for animals
• Positive attitude and willingness to learn
• Self-motivated, team player
• Willingness and commitment to hard, physical work in all weather conditions
• Excellent communication skills
• Dedication, reliability and a great work ethic
• Attention to detail in all aspects of your work
• Ability to make suggestions for improvements
• Valid Driver's License
• Able to handle animals with confidence and patience
• Problem-solving skills
• Work safely at all times, particularly around farm equipment and animals
• The ability to use one’s own initiative
• Flexibility, physical strength and stamina
• Dedication to furthering the successful development of the farming environment

Timing & Pay

Full days (9:30am to 4:30pm) on Mondays and Thursdays.  There is flexibility around the school run.

We classify this role as a Grade 2 Agricultural Worker.  

This is currently a temporary position filling in for maternity leave until the end of 2023.

Our ideal situation would be with a farm hand that is self-employed and will invoice us as a contractor.  For a self employed contractor the pay would be £10.50 per hour.

If you would prefer to be PAYE and we find you to be the right fit then the pay will be in line with national minimum wage to start at £9.50 per hour.

How to apply

Please fill in the form below and let us know how your passions and values align with ours.