Vineyard Manager
(Wine Jobs:
Vineyards & Cellars )
Full Time
kroW Recruitment
Sussex,
England
A new and rapidly expanding group of wine estates based in Sussex, is seeking a full-time vineyard manager to work closely with the management team, in-house and sub-contracted vineyard teams to oversee all elements of viticulture and ultimately achieve healthy vines, well-performing vineyards and a high-quality crop.
The right candidate must possess the experience and ambition to continually elevate and develop the fruit quality of our estate vineyards. A practical and thorough understanding of cool-climate viticultural practices is a must, as is a proven track record of achieving crops of uncompromised quality.
They will need to be able to adapt to the challenging growing conditions of English viticulture. Allied to this, a strong history of management and high degree of organisation will be needed.
The role also demands that the successful candidate will need to adopt flexibility in working hours throughout busy periods during the growing season. A can-do attitude and proactive mindset are also crucial. From time to time there will be customers, trade visitors, press and journalists visiting, so the successful candidate needs to be comfortable with being ‘customer’ facing on occasion.
In the vineyard, duties would include:
Full operational oversight of current and prospective vineyards – to include all aspects of viticulture
Full oversight of in-house and contracted labour to ensure high levels of efficiency
Liaison with all viticultural supplier and agronomists
Full financial oversight of all vineyards
Data collection and analysis – weather data, grape & yield analysis, vine monitoring, labour efficiency analysis etc
Oversight of all viticultural Health & Safety practice
Tractor operations where necessary
Preferred qualifications and skills include:
At least 3 years tractor driving with PA1 and ideally both PA2 and PA3 spray tickets.
Experience in managing both in house and contracted workers
A valid UK driving licence
Full eligibility to work in the UK
Forklift user qualification (preferred but not essential)
Towing license (preferred but not essential)
Experience using MS Word and Excel
Competitive salary based on experience