Employment opportunity – Head Shepherd

The mission of TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation (TKREF) is to provide healthy food on working lands in a way that regenerates the planet and inspires others to action. Our goal is to transform five million acres to regenerative land management and inspire five million eaters to choose regeneratively grown food. 

POSITION PURPOSE

  • Join our team to help scale up a small ruminant program and incubate a transhumance-oriented community grazing services business, currently ~250 Spanish cashmere goats.
  • Develop and build your technical and management skills in regenerative ranching.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

  • Creative, charismatic, articulate communicator
  • Good sense of humor, cool under pressure
  • Community-oriented
  • Self-motivated
  • Patient
  • Great attention to detail
  • Ability to work independently and on a team
  • Ability to problem solve, willingness to ask for help
  • Appreciate hard work in tough outdoor environments

Overview:

TomKat’s Small Ruminant Team practices adaptive management using goats as an ecological tool in conjunction with cattle grazing and prescribed fire. We aim to enhance biodiversity, promote wildlife habitat, and increase wildfire resiliency while supporting rural economies, participating in scientific trials, collaborating with land managers, and cultivating a culture of transhumance. 

The Head Shepherd role comprises both communication and field components. Communication-related duties: serve as an effective spokesperson and advocate with partners and clients; engage with the public via written and in-person presentations; run meetings and note-taking; manage databases and record-keeping; maintain calendars and scheduling. Field-related duties: 10+ hour days (as needed) in all outdoor conditions; significant physical effort to herd and fence daily in and around poison oak, hike on steep terrain, stoop, crouch, climb, and lift; exposure to dust, noise, heat, cold, brush, ticks; ability to recognize and work safely around hazards associated with ranching; ability to travel to different sites and locations.

Duties described below are examples and not meant to be an exhaustive or all-inclusive list: 

  • Build relationships with public and private land management partners and clients
  • Public speaking, including workshop and conference presentations
  • Create educational and promotional program materials and graphics
  • Assist in research, development, and management of goat meat enterprise
  • Help train and lead ranch hands and interns
  • Holistic planned grazing
  • Data collection and management in collaboration with science partners
  • Provide vet care for small ruminants and working dogs
  • Open range herding and corral work
  • Frequent fencing
  • Range kidding

Opportunity to participate in the following, depending on skills and workload:

  • Assist the cattle team, including: fencing, herding, haying, hauling, corral work, calving, and vet care
  • Attend conferences, classes, and/or visits to other ranches to expand knowledge of related subjects in regenerative ranching

Basic Skills:

  • 3+ years of experience with small ruminants
  • Excellent spoken and written communication
  • Experience in public relations and presentations, particularly food or ag-based
  • Proficiency in Google suite and Asana, PastureMap, Planimeter, Solocator or similar
  • Knowledge of regenerative agriculture principles and holistic management practices
  • Experience in grazing planning, executing, monitoring, and adapting
  • Commitment to proper stockmanship, including low-stress livestock handling
  • Competency in electric fence, solar energizers, water systems, and paddock design
  • Experience with vet care and kidding/lambing season
  • Experience working with Livestock Guardian Dogs
  • Ability to safely load and haul livestock with gooseneck trailers
  • Able and willing to operate ranch tools, equipment, and vehicles
  • Intermediate ATV rider familiar with steep terrain or willing to learn

Preferred Skills:

  • Conversational Spanish or better
  • Experience grant writing
  • Experience contract grazing with public and/or private land management partners and clients
  • Familiarity with California ecology, especially coastal Mediterranean environments
  • Slaughter, evisceration, and basic butchery skills
  • Necropsy, sampling, and basic microscopy skills
  • Experience with nonviolent herding dogs
  • Crooking and/or ground roping

Essential Attributes:

  • Maintain high standards of efficient, ethical, and professional operation for the well being of the Ranch’s staff, facilities, land, animals, and resources
  • Establish and maintain positive, cooperative, effective relationships with high energy team
  • Communicate effectively both orally and in writing to colleagues and visitors
  • Possess a Class C California Driver’s License in good standing

DETAILS OF EMPLOYMENT

Report to Small Ruminant Coordinator or their delegate.

Work 5 days/week, approximately 50 hours/week, may include Saturday/Sunday.

Two full days off per week. Occasionally will be asked to work early/late or a sixth day per week.

Compensation and Benefits:

  • Hourly wage commensurate with experience and education
  • Pay scale is $25-$30 per hour; expected pay is $28 per hour
  • Paid overtime after 8 hours/day and after 40 hours/week
  • On-site housing, partner welcome
  • Insurance – health, dental, vision, life
  • Up to 4 weeks paid vacation depending on hours worked
  • Paid holidays
  • Paid sick days – 1 hour/30 hours worked
  • 401K with 3% match from employer 
  • Cell phone reimbursement 
  • $100/month self care stipend
  • Discounted meat for employees
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Once vetted, personal herding dog(s) welcome with a compensation package

If interested, please send Cover Letter and Resume to stephanie@tomkatranch.org.

Applications will be reviewed beginning 9/1/2025. Position open until filled.