Job Description
Hours: 32 hours per week - 2nd March 2027- 31st October 2027, 16 hours per week - 1st November 2027 - 28th February 2028. Flexible (with weather and seasons), but with a request to be available for a weekly whole farm team meeting every Wednesday 1.30pm-3pm, Thursdays and for CSA veg box packing between 7am and 10am every Friday.
Contract: 12 months - starting 2nd March 2027 (with some handover days in December 2026 and February 2027), with option to extend. Probationary period reviewed after 3 months.
Salary: £18,165.33 (£13.21 per hour) - We currently operate a flat-pay structure. 28 days annual leave. Workplace pension scheme with employer contributions.
Location: Lords Parc farm, Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, SA33 5LT
Additional benefits: Landworkers Alliance, Farming Connect, and CSA Network UK membership, training and exchange, networks, FREE veg, a part in a vibrant community of practice and opportunities for development.
Please note: We are unable to offer on-farm accommodation with this role at this time. We can though, offer guidance to find suitable accommodation nearby if required.
Deadline for applications: Midnight on Sunday 22nd November 2026
Shortlisted candidates notified by: Friday 27th November 2026
Interviews held on: Monday 30th November 2026
Glasbren is a non-profit, Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) project based at Parc yr Arglwydd | Lords Park farm in Llansteffan, southwest Carmarthenshire, Wales. Established as a Community-Interest Company in 2019, we have been producing agroecological vegetables for our CSA membership, welcoming volunteers and running courses, workshops and seasonal events for five years. Through the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, we explored solidarity models to make our food accessible to low-income, food insecure households. We built an engaged community of practice, a supportive following and a committed veg box membership. We’ve run food heritage feasts, events, courses and workshops for several years, too.
We believe that growing food together is a powerful way for us to breathe new life into our relationship with the living world. Food binds us to our soil, seed and our local land. It could be a vehicle for an authentic place-based culture and resilient, supportive communities. It also empowers us to heal ourselves and our planet in the face of climate chaos and biodiversity collapse.
In 2023, we were selected as the new tenants of the 134-acre National Trust farm, Parc yr Arglwydd | Lords Park farm, with a mandate to work for nature, people, planet, a robust business plan and a vision for how we could grow the work we’ve been doing since 2019 - feeding more people, stewarding more land for nature and unlocking the potential of farms like this for community-scale climate action, building community and reconnecting to food, land and culture.
We are 3 years into that journey, and are looking for a Head Grower to join our team for the next chapter.
THE ROLE
We are looking for a Head Grower, to work closely with our Assistant Grower and wider staff team, Project Lead and directors, to coordinate the production of vegetables, herbs, fruits and salads, using agroecological principles, for our 75 CSA weekly member shares, wholesale customers, our farm shop and for our events. You will take the reins on delivering a crop plan and horticulture strategy and responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the horticultural wing of the project. It’s an opportunity to experiment, innovate and shape this role into the future. We are looking for someone passionate about local food systems, community-scale agriculture and dedicated to growing high-quality, nutrient dense vegetables all-year round, and who resonates with the spirit, values and mission of Glasbren.
You’d be stepping into an established horticulture enterprise and infrastructure and strong CSA membership, building on the great work of our departing head growers, in our third full season on this new site.
Responsibilities include but not limited to:
Coordinating the production of a diverse harvest of agroecological vegetables for 75 weekly CSA shares, a local restaurant, our farm shop and other markets such as Welsh Veg into Schools, year round.
Crop planning and site planning for maximised human-scale, field-scale and protected cropping.
Coordinating seasonal workers, local volunteers, WWOOF volunteers and other staff members to deliver on the growing plan each week.
Developing and innovating veg producing systems to be more productive, more regenerative and more resilient.
Tractor cultivation (power harrow) and weeding and general tractor and machinery use
Sowing, propagation and plant care
Compost systems, biofertilisers, soil amendments.
Water systems and irrigation
Seed orders, seed saving
Coordinating the weekly harvest for CSA veg shares, wholesale customers and our farm shop
Weekly veg box design and wholesale buy-in as necessary with our wholesale suppliers.
Managing wholesale orders and issuing invoices to wholesale clients
Record keeping - harvest yields, weather, soil testing, sowing and harvesting dates etc. - quality control
Working to and upholding guidelines set out in the Glasbren Staff Handbook and to the Glasbren Code of Conduct
Attending a weekly meeting with the whole farm team, to ensure information sharing, effective weekly planning and to encourage a culture of care and open communication on the farm
Communicating with volunteers, visitors, stakeholders and CSA members about the practices, approaches and techniques we use to grow food at Glasbren.
Maintenance and care of key horticulture infrastructure (polytunnels, water systems, machinery, tools etc) & ensuring the site is safe, tidy and presentable to visitors.
Demonstrating and communicating biodiverse and productive agroecological veg production systems.
Maintaining relationships with our wholesale customers.
Training assistant growers and seasonal workers.
Working with our project lead on occasional funding, Sustainable Farming Scheme and Organic certification-related actions, and administration related to projects such as Welsh Veg into Schools
Acting as an ambassador for Glasbren’s values and vision for Lord’s Park farm and for small-scale, agroecological community agriculture
Being available to support colleagues and the wider farm and projects where necessary, and adjusting to the needs of the farm and the seasons.
EXPERIENCE
Essential
Hands-on horticulture and market gardening experience, growing field-scale and protected cropping fruit and vegetables, using agroecological and low-till methods, for commercial sale
Practical experience of organic crop management, including rotations, fertility building and plant raising.
Crop plan design and implementation, successional cropping, catch-cropping and companion planting.
Knowledge of plant health, disease & ecological pest control.
A working knowledge of agroecology principles and practices
Experience with tractor work and machinery related to low-till horticulture
Ability to communicate to the public and demonstrate the why’s of what we do.
Clean driver's license
Accurate record keeping, quality control and attention to detail
A willingness to work within a team, in a positive spirit of collaboration and towards shared goals
Desirable
Experience working in the CSA model or other community farming models
Experience working with volunteers, and a passion for sharing knowledge and expertise in the field
Knowledge of the use of green manures and diverse ground cover crops to build fertility, water resilience and biodiversity
Knowledge and experience of seed saving techniques
Welsh speaking or interested in learning to speak some Welsh
Experience of relevant basic mechanics and tractor and implement maintenance, carpentry, plumbing, building and/or repairs
Biofertilisers, JADAM, native microbes.
Experience with Soil Association organic standards and the associated administration
Experience working with grant funding and grant-funded projects
Awareness of the Welsh agroecological food movement
THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT & CULTURE
You’d be working daily on the spectacular Lords Park farm, a 134-acre National Trust farm on the cliffs above the Three Rivers Estuary in Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire. There are spectacular views of the sea, meandering rivers, a 12th century castle and rolling Welsh hills from most parts of the farm, and there is a beach for swimming just a 10 minute walk down the Wales Coastal Path, which runs right through the farm. Our veg growing operation is nested in a mixed farm, which includes livestock farming for nature, ecotourism, our Little Stewards first school for children, community orchards, wilding areas and a diverse programme of seasonal events and workshops.
We want to cultivate a culture of care, respect and solidarity here at the farm. Through weekly check-in’s and team meetings, we’d aim to support fellow team members, share struggles and challenges and understand how to best work together. This role is an opportunity to support the mission of Glasbren, but also for personal and professional development and the chance to be part of a passionate, driven, caring team, a thriving local food network and a movement for agroecology and food sovereignty. Read more about our values here.
Though some of the work will be solitary, you’ll be working in day-to-day relationship with our Assistant Grower, and our overall Project Lead and farm manager, and often with our Volunteer Coordinator, Veg driver and team of directors, WWOOF exchange volunteers, our weekly local volunteers and seasonal workers. The farm is often abuzz with activity and is very public-facing (the Wales Coast path even runs right past the veg box packing shed!).
Weekly volunteer days bring life and vibrancy to the farm, as do our monthly Community Farm Days. Whilst events and community farm days are not part of the formal role, they are an essential part of the spirit of the project, and a great opportunity to experience the benefits of community-scale food production for wellbeing, resilience and a sense of togetherness. We’d strongly encourage whoever takes on this role to participate in these days, and in the Glasbren community, and enjoy the multiple benefits of our community for themselves. Our CSA is about far more than just a veg box scheme, and our hope is that whoever takes on this role, can embrace and support the bigger picture of why we’re doing this for food systems change, biodiversity and community-building.
There is also the opportunity to participate in our Working groups (e.g. Nature and Biodiversity) - including volunteers, enthusiasts, researchers and partner organisations - which support on the delivery of our key strategic areas.
