Parttime Interpreter – Agriculture – Farm Generalist

Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts 

 Updated 7/10/2025 

Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) is seeking a part-time farmer to join our agricultural team. As a living history site dedicated to 19th century rural New England, farms and their animals, crops, fields and more provide an invaluable tool to engage and educate our guests. Under the supervision of Agriculture Coordinator, this position will assist the agriculture team in seasonal and daily farm tasks and programming during the farmer’s year. The typical schedule is two to four days per week throughout the year (varying based on seasonal demands). 

  Education and/or Experience:   

• High school diploma or equivalent 

• One year of farm or related experience 

• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of audiences 

  Essential Duties and Responsibilities  

  Deliver interpretive & educational programs for OSV’s audiences: Daily Visitor, Field Trips, Charter School, Discovery Adventures and other Special Programs   

• Conduct work across the museum in the different farm spaces, including the Freeman Farm & Center Village Farm. Duties include a wide variety of farming tasks such as feeding, watering, cleaning, planting, harvesting, fence work and more. Daily tasks change throughout the season and are dependent on the area of most need as determined by agriculture staff. 

• Daily wellness checks of the animals, recording and reporting any variance  

• Understand, identify and appropriately respond to the multiple learning styles of a diverse audience that includes students, families, and other life-long learners. Actively engage these audiences using a range of interpretation techniques including, discussion, hands-on, demonstration, role-play, lecture and others. Working towards mastery the information and skills necessary to teach specific aspects of the museum to visitors. 

• Available to work evening programs such as, Christmas by Candlelight, Phantoms by Firelight, Illuminations or other evening shifts as needed 

• Preserve the artifacts, reproductions, and buildings in the Village by caring for them properly; ensure the safety, security and cleanliness of area of work 

• Participate in various projects or tasks assigned by program directors, managers, coordinators. 

• Safeguard visitors and staff by being alert to foreseeable health and safety hazards 

• Understand and observe all Village policies 

  Skills & Abilities  

• Excellent face-to-face communication skills, with the ability to communicate ideas and information clearly both verbally and in written format 

• While performing the duties of this job the employee can be outside for long periods of time, OSV is a large outdoor history museums and will require walking on unpaved roads up & down hills. This position frequently requires the employee to reach with hands and arms, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl, and occasionally climb or balance.  

• Must be a team player and flexible to assist in other divisions when the need arises. 

• Regularly lift loads of 50lbs and occasionally move 100lbs or more  

• Must be a team player and flexible to assist in other divisions when the need arises 

• Must be able to work varied shifts and hours including weekends, nights, early mornings and holidays 

Old Sturbridge Village, the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast, depicts a rural New England town of the 1830s. Step inside more than 40 original buildings, and explore homes, meetinghouses, a district school, country store, bank, working farm, three water-powered mills, and trade shops – all situated on more than 200 scenic acres. Talk with authentically costumed historians and see heritage breed farm animals. Discover the endless ways to immerse yourself in the Village. Old Sturbridge Village, a museum and learning resource of New England life, invites each visitor to find meaning, pleasure, relevance, and inspiration through the exploration of history. 

Old Sturbridge Village is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. We are passionate about developing and maintaining an inclusive, equitable and accessible working and learning environment for all visitors, staff and OSV community members. We believe every member on our team enriches our diversity by exposing us to different ways of understanding and engaging the world around us. 

Individuals in this position are subject to a Criminal Conviction Record check upon hire and every other year thereafter. 

Old Sturbridge is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is the policy of Old Sturbridge Village to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or membership in the uniformed services.   

Salary: $15/hour.  

  Interested candidates should send their cover letter and resume to jobs@osv.org.