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Our client is a well-capitalised agribusiness that develops and manages large-scale horticulture across Australia. At Yenda, in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, they have turned a former vineyard into a young almond orchard of around 600ha, fully planted: the first blocks went in last year and the last this winter. It is one of several tree-crop developments the group is bringing on across the region.

The orchard carries self-pollinating varieties throughout, with the first harvest expected in 2028. Water comes directly off the channel, and the blocks run on pressurised drip under Goldtec control, with Goanna soil-moisture probes feeding the scheduling. The site tracks water and fertiliser use against a water budget and reports on it.

The Role

Reporting to the Orchard Manager, you will own the irrigation system from scheduling and fertigation through to water ordering and the maintenance behind it, with technical support close by when you want it.

This is a hands-on role, on the system every day: digging holes, checking soil, walking lines and fixing what you find. On watering days an irrigation hand, drawn from the crew of four farmhands, takes direction from you.

You will set the irrigation and fertigation programme the orchard's first cropping years run on. The role suits an Irrigation Supervisor or similar looking to step up, with time on an automated drip system on a permanent crop behind them. Scale can be smaller than Yenda; the automation and scheduling experience is the part that cannot be. The next three years are about bringing the young blocks through establishment evenly, with fertigation scaling as the trees do,



then ramping the programme for a cropping orchard ahead of harvest.

Key Responsibilities

- Schedule & Run the System. Schedule irrigation from soil-moisture data and the water budget, adjusting for tree age and soil variation as the orchard establishes. Monitor pressures, flow rates and water quality, and order water through the Murrumbidgee Irrigation portal ahead of demand.
- Execute Fertigation. Contribute to the fertigation plan alongside the Orchard Manager and an external consultant, then run it to schedule. Order fertiliser and keep product on hand ahead of each application.
- Maintain & Troubleshoot. Find and fix leaks, flush lines and service filters through the season, run off-season maintenance across pumps, filtration and field equipment, and keep critical spares stocked.
- Keep the Records. Log water and fertiliser use against the water budget so the programme can be checked at any point.
- Coordinate & Work Safely. Agree each day's watering with the Orchard Manager before it starts. Work to the site's safety systems and report incidents, hazards and near misses.

What You Bring

Our ideal candidate comes from an irrigation background on a permanent crop, tree crops ideally, with an automated drip system experience.

Individuals coming from an Irrigation Supervisor or similar position,



ready to step into their first management role, are encouraged to apply.

Essential:

- Experience running and maintaining pressurised drip irrigation on a permanent crop, at any scale, with hands-on exposure to automated control and soil-moisture scheduling.
- Comfortable in irrigation software and computer-based scheduling.
- Hands-on operator who is on the system daily.
- Able to live in or around Griffith.
- Current driver's licence.
- Chemical accreditation, or obtained after starting.

Advantageous:

- Almonds or other tree crops: nuts, citrus, wine or table grapes, stone fruit, olives.
- Fertigation execution and fertiliser stock control.
- Ordering water through an irrigation corporation.
- Basic pump and mechanical skills.
- Irrigation or horticulture qualification, or exposure to water budgeting and usage reporting.

What You'll Gain

- Package: $90k - $120k + Super + company vehicle + 10% STI (paid 6 monthly) + 5% L&D; budget.
- Support: The Orchard Manager carries the ordering and administration side, with additional technical support available if you want it.
- Growth: A structured development budget each year, and scope that widens as the orchard heads into harvest and the team around you fills out.

How to Step Forward

For more information or a confidential chat, please contact Nick Marchant, Director, on 0466 333 066 or Lemuel Cruz, Talent Specialist, on 0468 093 444.

Who Are March

March offers permanent recruitment and workforce planning services tailored exclusively to Australian agribusinesses. We're about connecting top talent with outstanding businesses - plain and simple.

📌 Irrigation Manager (Yenda)
🏢 March Talent Partners
📍 Yenda