Orchard Programmes Assistant

**Kō wai mātou? Who are we?**:
Zespri is the world’s largest marketer of kiwifruit with over 850 people in New Zealand and throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas.

We help people, communities and the environment thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit. We sit at the heart of an interconnected industry working with 2,800 growers in New Zealand and 1,500 growers in Italy, France, Greece, South Korea and Japan. We supply the world’s healthiest little superfruits to people in more than 50 countries. We are fruit on a mission.

Our values are at the heart of everything we do. We commit to guardianship; putting people, the community, and the environment first. We are results-driven, challenging ourselves to grow and deliver better value. We cultivate personal connections, listening and acting with empathy and humility - and treating each other better for it.

We are growing quickly, driven by our success in engaging more and more consumers and by offering the world’s best kiwifruit 12 months of the year. We have bold ambitions and aim to grow sales from approximately $3 billion in 2018 to $4.5 billion by 2025.

To achieve our goals, we’re empowering our people to achieve their goals, designing our work for wellbeing, through flexible work practices and self-leadership.

We have bold ambitions for the future and we want all of our people to live and perform at their best.

**He aha te mahi? What's the role?**:
This position fits in the Zespri Orchard Productivity team, whose core role is to work with growers and technicians to lead orchard productivity and resilience. Key to lifting growers’ results is understanding the technical, regulatory and financial context of the production region, and integrating this into the design of extension programmes.

Please note this a 12 month contract role beginning in January 2024.

Reporting to the Orchard Programme Manager, and based in Bologna, this role assists with the 2024 delivery of the orchard extension programmes for Gold3 growers in northern Italian regions, supporting implementation and execution of activities linked to 2024 seasonal orchard communication, grower trials, and orchard visits.

Key Accountabilities
- Assist manager and colleagues in the implementation of trials and demonstrations on local orchards
- Perform data collection on orchards with counting, measurements and fruit collection as required
- Perform analysis of the results and provision of reports
- Support Orchard Productivity team members in gathering and understanding local and Italian knowledge and practices about Bounty rootstock, irrigation, cropload and fruit coloring.
- Assist Orchard Productivity team members in delivering technical knowledge and events in various format to Gold3 northern Italy growers and technicians
- Contribute to local programmes improvement by providing proposals

**Ko wai koe? Who are you?**:
We are looking for a graduate in horticultural and agricultural science, with technical knowledge and skills in fruit production (preferably kiwifruit production). No experience is needed however you will need:

- A passion for our brand and will to learn
- Written and verbal fluency in Italian and English at a conversational, business and technical level
- Strong relationship skills with ability to work collaboratively

**He aha e tika ai a Zespri? Why Zespri?**:
Our people are what makes our culture so irresistible and uniquely Zespri. We are a passionate and mighty team of 850+ employees in 23 different locations globally. Working at Zespri is an opportunity to join a fast-paced, culture-driven environment unlike any other. We want people who share our values of being personally connected, results-driven, and committed to guardianship. Join us in shaping our future and be part of a truly unique organisation.
- Competitive overall remuneration package
- FlexWELL flexible work ethos; WFH & the office.
- Additional paid annual leave day per year (Zespri Day).
- Additional paid volunteer day to volunteer within your community (Volunteer Time).