Description
Black Earth-Lexington Compost Facility Foreman
Black Earth Compost (BEC) is the leading food scrap compost company in New England collecting from over 40,000 households in MA, RI, and CT. The Town of Lexington was an earlier adopter of curbside residential food scrap collection and we are proud to be building and operating a compost facility on their land.
You will be the site foreman/woman of a one acre compost operation on the south corner of the town’s existing compost facility on Hartwell Ave. BEC will develop the site into a modern, outdoor Aerated Static Pile (ASP) composting facility using lessons learned from our other 4 facilities in Massachusetts. Your main tool will be a wheel loader similar to a Caterpillar 930M. Your ingredients are food scraps collected from local towns and yard debris. You will birth and manage the compost windrows as they progress from a covered mixing structure into ASP piles for a month, and then into Curing windrows for 3-4 months.
The Regional Manager, Syed Dong, will be your support and trainer for how to operate the site. His role is to provide training directly to you and provide assistance for you to succeed. Your fellow 5 other foremen/women will act as mentors and examples of what to do, or not to do. We have weekly group meetings to plan for the following week, help each other prepare for the coming seasons and solve problems.
This position is unique because the site is a unique model where our facility is working with, and alongside the Town of Lexington’s facility. You will be a one man/woman show that will keep the site tidy, material flowing, and operations running. This job is about half in the wheel loader, and half out doing hand work or computer work. If you are the type that won’t get out of the machine’s seat, do not apply. For the first 2-3 years your staff will just be a part time laborer for periodic trash picking. For site development or other projects that require 2 or more people, staff can be coordinated from other sites. Also on site (their site) is the existing Town of Lexington’s compost facility staff whom you will see each day using their wheel loaders to manage their site, as you manage your 1 acre.
Anyone can excel in this position if they have the right attitude and a long term view. Tractor/Wheel loader/Skid steer experience preferred but not required. We will pay to get your hoisting license and MA DOT card.
The following are examples of what tasks will be your responsibility. Your role is open ended but as its essence is to ensure our operations can produce high quality finished compost while staying in line with what the landowner, Town of Lexington, and the MassDEP permit require.
Location: On-site in Lexington at the Black Earth Compost corner of Heatwell Ave
Hours: Generally Monday–Friday, 9am – 5pm (~40 hours/week). Hours fluctuate and increase during the peak Spring season (Mar, Apr, May). We aim as part of company culture to not email after ~5pm so email work doesn’t come home with you.
On-Call: Flexible self-scheduling is expected to minimize conflict, but the position requires occasional weekend or emergency on-call availability (e.g., for critical repairs or snow removal)
Core Responsibilities
Foreman - Schedule the work flow to ensure best practices are met when composting food scrap as an ingredient. Anticipate needs and secure resources for effective operations. Send out a schedule on Friday for the next week. Ensure that the 3 food scrap collection trucks stationed at your site can get in and out each day (Note you are not a ‘manager’ of the collection’s drivers because they have their own team supporting them. Your responsibility regarding them is just to make sure their very reasonable, basic needs are met). Manage and account for expenses and revenue each month. Provide operational numbers for reporting.
Operator - Operate equipment to blend incoming food scraps at the end of each day and manage/monitor material in process. Equipment includes a wheel loader approximately a Caterpillar 930M size; a trommel screener such as a Doppstadt 514 or Doppstadt 720 size; and others from time to time; Wheel loader operation includes managing the material that food scraps brought by the drivers, ‘turning’ these piles onto the ASP system, ‘turning’ these piles out into the curing area, screening the cured compost, and managing the products. Maintain equipment for daily and weekly tasks (grease, etc.).
Laborer/picker - Prepare the piping and blowers for building a windrow on top of. Maintain a clean site in regards to plastic contamination by regularly removing trash from the site perimeters and the piles. Utilizing tarps or blankets to keep finished product protected. Manage the small tools, shipping containers as you see fit to be organized and function for yourself and the 3 collection’s driver.
Other Responsibilities
Regulatory Compliance: Maintain the facility in strict compliance with all state and local environmental and safety regulations. We will train on what is required.
Site Upkeep: Keep the premises clean and presentable. Manage stormwater drainage to prevent ponding, which controls both odor and site appearance
Equipment Care: Track heavy machinery hours and ensure manufacturer-recommended maintenance is performed. Determine whether machinery repairs should be handled in-house or outsourced to road mechanics. Perform daily/weekly maintenance
Workplace Safety: Enforce safe operational practices at all times.
Compost Quality Assurance: Design the initial compost recipe and monitor active composting piles for technical performance markers, specifically checking temperature, oxygen levels, bulk density, moisture, porosity, and Process to Further Reduce Pathogens (PFRP) conditions
Tarp and cover piles to control moisture. Routinely clear trash from the site and strictly prevent the cross-contamination of finished products with incoming feedstocks
Manage on-site supply lines and schedule the delivery of carbon sources if needed
Nuisance Management: Manage daily workflows to avoid neighbor impacts. Be available on the odor hotline during business hours and be able to respond to texts from neighbours after hours. Respond to neighbours and adjust operations to avoid future nuisances
Feedstock Supplies: accept incoming food scraps from company trucks, and prioritize supporting collection drivers' needs.
Logistics & Billing: Count and document tip fees. Inform ‘Compost Sales’ of all product sales to ensure accurate invoicing, and verify that large transport trailers are loaded with the correct material
Accounting: Classify and account for all expenses on site. You will have a site credit card that is your responsibility to account for charges.
Requirements
Qualifications
Interested applicants ideally have experience in operating heavy equipment but applicants showing an ability to become proficient will be considered.
A valid drivers license is required with the ability to commute yourself to work. The ability to obtain and hold a Mass DOT medical card, clean driving record, the ability to pass a background check, drug test and motor vehicle record (MVR) test is also required.
This role is outdoor and work is expected to be performed through all season weather conditions including snow, rain, and heat. Applicants must have the ability to lift 50 lbs.
Must be at least 18 years old to apply.
Pay & Benefits
$31 per hour baseline + Bonus. Performance Bonus based on achieving specified operational or production efficiency milestones
$200 Stipend for clothing each year
401k Matching after 1 year (we match 3.5% if you do 6% contribution)
Up to 40 hours of paid sick leave accrued (available after 90 days of employment)
Health and Dental Insurance on the first of the month following 60 days of employment. There are 5 plan levels of Tufts Health Direct insurance available with Black Earth covering 50% of the HSA plan or equivalent for the other plans.
Up to 40 hours of paid vacation leave accrued (available after 90 days of employment). Ideally you don’t use it during busy seasons March, April, May.
Mileage reimbursement for non-commuting work trips at federal mileage rate which is currently .725 cents per mile
Communication & Reporting Lines
Regional Manager (Syed Dong)
Participate in Tuesday weekly calls, Friday meetings, bi- monthly sitewalks
Discuss equipment failures, questionable feedstocks, product quality adjustments, and any purchases exceeding $1,000 as they come up
Deliver monthly reports detailing revenue, operational expenses, and the total number of trucks received
HR
Discuss employee needs including hiring, compensation and other related issues
Andrew Brousseau
Coordinate annual meetings and participate in periodic site walks a few times per year
Dispatcher Pool
Coordinate loading of products onto delivery trucks, one-off material pickups, request blending ingredients (soil, mulch), order delivery supplies (lumber, pallets, raised beds), and request temporary support staff
