Role design and job descriptions for Horticulture farms: role cards for supervisors, pruning leads and shed leads
On many orchards the same person plans the crew, counts the fruit and settles quarrels, with no written role. Short role cards make the work visible and help the farm train, pay and replace people fairly.
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Share your requirementsWhy role design and job descriptions matters in horticulture farms
Orchard roles grow by habit. A senior picker becomes a lead and takes tally, quality checks and crew calls. A shed hand becomes the packing lead. No one writes down what they are meant to do, so the work depends on the person, and when the person leaves the farm has to relearn it.
A role card puts the work on one page: role name, purpose, main tasks, what to check, who reports to whom and the skills required. For the orchard it covers block supervisor, pruning lead, picking lead, spray lead and shed lead. It supports hiring, training, pay and clearer instructions on the farm.
How to set it up
1. Write what each lead does now
Ask each lead to describe a normal harvest day. Note tasks, decisions and records.
2. Group tasks into role cards
Create one card each for block supervisor, pruning lead, picking lead, spray operator and shed lead. Keep to a page.
3. Mark decisions and limits
Show what each role can decide alone, such as extra hands for a day, and what goes to the orchard manager.
4. Share and correct
Read each card aloud to the person, take their corrections and fix gaps. Keep wording simple.
5. Use the cards
Give a card to every new lead, base training on it and use it when setting grades and pay. See compensation benchmarking.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask a lead to list their tasks and compare with the card.
- Check for tasks no one owns, such as the final count.
- See if two leads give different answers about the same decision.
- Count roles with no named substitute.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach role design and job descriptions in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Usually five to eight: block supervisor, pruning lead, picking lead, spray operator, shed lead and a few supporting roles. Start with the ones that cause most confusion.
Not if they list core tasks and leave room for the changing needs of the farm. What they do stop is the argument about who was responsible for a missed count or a late spray.
The orchard manager with the leads, in the off-season. Cards written together with the people who will use them are accepted far more readily than ones handed down from the office.