Jobs | Fat Fox Mushrooms

Mushroom Cultivation

Technician

Closed

Overview Of The Role

Fat Fox Mushrooms is a small business in North London that produces mushroom growing kits, medicinal mushroom tinctures, and runs educational workshops. We are a 3 person team dedicated to sharing our love of the fungi kingdom with others and helping people to connect with the natural world. From growing to harvest & packaging, we carry out every aspect of production in Tottenham, London, ensuring quality at every stage and bringing a handmade, creative and personal touch to each of our products. This is an exciting opportunity to join and help grow our young company and be part of our long term vision.

For this role we are seeking someone to be involved in the practical tasks associated with running a mushroom company: you will take a leading role in the production of mushroom growing kits, fruiting blocks, fruiting, harvesting and other practical tasks. This position requires good attention to detail, a strong work ethic, and the ability to spend long hours doing repetitive tasks. You should be highly motivated, self-directed with good physical stamina and a desire to have a highly physical role. You should also have good creative problem solving skills and a grasp of planning and logistics.

Preference will be given to those with a proven track record involving manual labour.

We are looking for someone who is:

Passionate about mushrooms and the natural world
Creative and innovative
Dedicated and hardworking
Eager to learn and grow with the company
Able to work independently and as part of a team

General Role Information (Pay, Hours, Location):

Interviews to be held on a rolling basis
4 days a week with the intention of moving to 5 days a week from September 2024.
28 hours per week (M-F). Days negotiable.
£21,840 per annum (pro rata £17,472)
Availability for occasional evening and weekend work desirable but not required
All work to be conducted on site
1 month paid training period
6 month trial period
Work Authorisation: United Kingdom (required - we cannot sponsor)
Work Location: Tottenham London

In this role your key responsibilities will include the following:

Hydration & preparation of substrates
Mixing and bagging substrates
Heavy lifting, including materials up and down stairs
Loading, monitoring & maintaining sterilisation equipment
Inoculating substrates in lab conditions
Stacking and distribution of 20kg crates (often overhead)
Maintaining a high level of cleanliness in every process
Monitoring and assessing incubation temperatures and mycelium blocks
Monitoring, cleaning & managing growing space
Harvesting and processing mushrooms
Bottling medicinal mushroom products
Record keeping, document production and assisting in long-range production planning
Cleaning lab and all work areas
Packaging products, stock taking & associated tasks

You will be trained to incorporate some or all of the following responsibilities in the future:

Maintaining a culture library
- Cloning
- Liquid cultures
- Agar
- Record keeping, planning, & logistics
Production of grain spawn
- Record keeping, planning, & logistics
Production of medicinal mushroom products
Maintaining equipment and troubleshooting technical issues

Required skills:

Interest in and knowledge about mushrooms.
Good physical stamina and ability to maintain pace and precision during repetitive tasks.
Ability to manage tasks in a clean and organised manner with good attention to detail.
Effective time-management (able to prioritise tasks).
Ability to work independently with strong problem solving skills and initiative.
Good communication skills & basic computer literacy.
Good grasp of basic maths.
Ability to lift 20kg.

Priority will be given to applicants that have one or more of the following desirable skills:

Background in biology
Experience working with fungi
Experience working in a lab
Background in building, engineering, forestry, tree surgery or horticulture
Videography & editing
Illustration
Social Media

Benefits:

Free lunch
Casual dress
Free attendance of mushroom cultivation and other workshops
Access to staff shower
Out of hours access to lab equipment for personal projects
Staff discount on products

To apply, please submit the following:

Cover letter
- Detailing how your previous work or other experience prepares you to be able to fulfil the key responsibilities of this role.
CV
- Detailing previous work history
Supporting documents (optional)