Farm Program Coordinator Job
Job: Apple Seeds Farm Program Coordinator - AmeriCorps Vista position - 40 hours/week
Apple Seeds, a Fayetteville-based non-profit providing garden-based education, seeks an entrepreneurial and enthusiastic full-time Farm Program Coordinator on the Apple Seeds Teaching Farm. The Teaching Farm will host school garden workshops, field trips, and summer camps to educate and excite students about eating fresh healthy food. The Farm Program Coordinator will work with the Program Director and Farm Manager to facilitate project activities and help build sustainable organizational capacity for Apple Seeds. This position offers the right person ample opportunities to be involved in a leadership role as the program grows.
This is an opportunity to be a part of a new endeavor and provide a unique service in a supportive community. This person must be a self-starter who is excited to help grow this social-entrepreneurial non-profit.
Key Responsibilities:
Recruit and build volunteer network
Train volunteers to work in gardens
Recruit and train interns to lead Plant-to-Plate field trips
Coordinate and organize infrastructure for Plant-to-Plate field trips
Conduct Outreach by speaking in schools and leading garden tours
Create infrastructure to expand school garden markets to new schools
Develop and maintain Database
Develop network for sourcing materials for farm
Qualifications:
Knowledge of organic farming or school garden projects highly desirable.
Works well with many personality types
Self-motivated, hard worker, able to work and meet goals independently
Experience in school garden education is highly desirable
Teaching experience or experience working with primary and middle school aged children
Excellent time-management skills
Strong oral communication skills
Enjoys being around children and has a friendly demeanor
Able to organize, lead, and instruct all types of people with varying levels of gardening experience
Hours: Full time – 40 hours/week
Start Date: July 21, 2014
Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)
This is a “Volunteers in Service to America” (VISTA) position, funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service for up to three years. In return for each year of full-time service, the person filling this position will receive a modest living allowance (approx. $878 per month), health-care benefits, child-care assistance, and a $5,550 Education Award or $1,200 post-service stipend.
To qualify for a VISTA position, candidates must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. National, or lawful permanent resident, and at least 18 years of age. Candidates must be available to serve full-time for at least one year, and cannot hold another job or take educational courses while serving. The VISTA application process also requires a criminal history background check to ensure community members with whom we work are protected.
For more information about the VISTA program, visit www.americorps.gov
Interested farm program coordinators should email a letter of interest, resume, and references to mary@appleseedsnwa.org. Please no calls.
Supervision and Work Space:
Since Apple Seeds has no office space to date, the Farm Program Coordinator will be expected to provide their own basic office equipment of phone and a computer with email capabilities. The Farm Program Coordinator will be supervised by the Program Director and Farm Manager. We expect the program coordinator to be self-motivated and able to work unsupervised on a daily basis.
About Apple Seeds
Apple Seeds is a non-profit that has been serving Northwest Arkansas for nearly ten years. Apple Seeds provides a variety of programs, including gardening clubs, healthy cooking classes, field trips to farms and farmers markets, and school
garden farmers markets. Apple Seeds’ mission is to inspire healthy living through garden-based education. Thanks in large part to its Farm to School partnership with the Fayetteville Public Schools Apple Seeds will have reached nearly 6,000 students by the end of 2014. For more information visit www.appleseedsnwa.org
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