AmeriCorps Positions
Openings: Year-long (September 15-August 31, 2026)
Site Overview: The Shepherd University Agricultural Innovation Center at Tabler Farm is developing a community-engaged regional center for training, innovation, and research in sustainable agricultural practices that integrate working farms into natural landscapes. Our program currently hosts a vegetable production site, food forest, bee apiary, and aquaponics. We collaborate with local organizations and our university to provide fresh produce and food/farm education. Our mission is to build a local, vibrant, sustainable food system in the Eastern Panhandle.
AmeriCorps Service Overview: The Americorps member is responsible for community and university outreach and engagement. This includes networking and organizing talks about our program, scheduling and hosting tours and field trips to our farm, and general promotion of our program. The member also serves as a leader for any direct engagement at the farm, leading volunteers and students in their service at the farm production sites. The member would be expected to assist in vegetable production and other projects as needed.
Please email msutter@shepherd.edu if you are interested in this position. Apply today!
Student Federal Work Study
These positions are only available to Shepherd University students who receive financial aid and qualify for FWS
Openings: Vegetable Production Assistant, Aquaponics Lab Assistant, Admin Assistant, Incubator Program Assistant, Social Media and Communications Assistant
Part-time: The number of hours students may work in a week is dependent on the FWS award they receive. Students work 6-15 hours /week on average.
Pay rate: $10 /hr
Position overview: Vegetable Production Assistant
The Vegetable Production Assistant is expected to commit to minimum two-days a week at the farm. This is a work-study position; students will work with their supervisor to create a work schedule that best fits their class schedule. The Production Assistant is expected to assist in all necessary vegetable production tasks such as but not limited to: Field preparations, seeding, transplanting, harvesting, washing/packing, weeding. Applicants can expect to perform physical labor outdoors for multiple hours at a time, and work in a variety of weather conditions such as: cold, heat, rain, wind, high humidity, etc.
Apply Here
Position Overview: Aquaponics Lab Assistant
The Tabler Farm Aquaponics Lab Assistant will work in our indoor Aquaponics Lab assisting in the production of vegetables. This includes seeding, growing, and harvesting of crop, plus system maintenance such as cleaning, repair work, and nutrients management.
Position Overview: Incubator Farm Assistant
The Small Agricultural Business Incubator Program at Shepherd helps new and beginning farmers access the land, tools, and mentorship to start their farm business. The Incubator Farm Assistant will assist the Incubator Farm Coordinator with many aspects of this program, including organizing educational workshops, advertising programs via social media and print media, speaking with small-scale farmers to better understand their needs, and/or hands-on farm work. Students in this position should expect to gain hands-on, varied experience with running an educational program.
Position Overview: Communications and Social Media Director at Tabler Student Farm
The Communications and Social Media Director will promote the activities at farm by creating engaging social media content, designing flyers and other promotional materials, updating our website, writing for our newsletter, and more.
Position Overview: Agricultural Innovation Center Administrative Assistant
Support Shepherd University’s Agricultural Innovation Center as an Administrative Assistant. The Administrative Assistant will work primarily by computer utilizing the farms online OneDrive filing system, along with some inventory management. Tasks to be expected include but are not limited to: record keeping, invoice tracking, conducting inventory, business planning, file organization, website updates, social media, and other administrative projects as needed.
Administrative Assistants are encouraged to help the farm create better, more efficient administrative systems to improve its operations. To better understand the farm and its operations, the Administrative Assistant may be asked to participate in regular farm duties for a select number of days at the start of their employment. The Administrative Assistant will primarily work alongside the Farm Coordinator and the Incubator Farm Coordinator but may also collaborate with other core members of the Farm team for specific projects.