Food Sovereignty Beekeeper Apiary

Job Identification:

Position Summary:

The Beekeeper Apiary is responsible for raising and caring for our honeybee colonies. The Beekeeper Apiary is responsible for building and maintaining beehives, inducting wild swarms, collecting honey, removing hive parasites, and maintaining the health of the hive. The Beekeeper Apiary may also be required to sterilize or destroy hives and cultivate queen bees for commercial purposes. To ensure success as a beekeeper, the Beekeeper Apiary should have a passion for beekeeping, the ability to stay calm under pressure, and a desire to work outdoors. Ultimately, a top-class beekeeper maintains healthy hives and produces high-quality honeybee products.

Essential Job Functions:

• Assembling beehives to desired specifications.
• Inserting honeycombs and inducting wild swarms into prepared hives.
• Forcing bees from a hive using a smoke pot to inspect the hive and retrieve honey.
• Collecting honey and royal jelly.
• Destroying excess queen bee cells to prevent the division of a colony.
• Scraping out hive parasites and removing vennin.
• Destroying diseased bee colonies.
• Arranging the sale of honey to local buyers.
• Splitting colonies.
• All other duties as assigned.

Non-essential Job Functions:

• Attend various meetings, seminars and training as required.
• May be required to provide training to volunteers, project partners, or new employees.

Job Specifications:

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Maintain a current driver's license in good standing and qualify under the Quapaw Nation's insurance policy.
• Detail-oriented with considerable attention to organization and an ongoing commitment to improving systems.
• Must have initiative and be a self-starter.
• Must be flexible and a team player with the ability to work well with members of the community.
• Ability to multitask relationships, projects, and responsibilities.
• Ability to operate rototillers and other small farm and garden implements.
• Ability to communicate with others.
• Knowledge of plant and animal biology.
• Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.
• Basic woodworking skills.
• Ability to lift heavy objects.
• Ability to work flexible hours.
• Ability to work unsupervised.
• Ability to work outdoors in all weather conditions.

Experience:

• Minimum high school diploma or equivalent.
• A degree in Zoology or Animal Science is preferred.
• One (1) to two (2) years of related experience as a beekeeper.

Physical Abilities:

The incumbent must be able to stand, walk, sit for long periods of time, and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50Ibs.

Working Conditions:

Willingness to work outdoors in all types of weather, under potentially strenuous conditions and with various pesticides and fertilizers.

Disclaimers:

This job description encompasses and describes most but not all tasks and responsibilities of the job. The management reserves the right to change the nature of the job and the job description with or without prior warning, as well as to give special consideration to circumstances related to the essential job functions on a case-by-case basis. The incumbent may be required by the management to perform other duties as assigned.