JOB: Young Agrarians Land Matching Pilot Project

CONTRACT POSITION – BC Young Agrarians – Land Matching Pilot Project

Young Agrarians, a partnership with FarmFolk CityFolk Society, is focused on connecting young farmers who pursue agro-ecological agriculture, and supporting the next generation to take up food production and farming. To these ends, YA is developing a land matchmaking pilot project in the Lower Mainland, based on Quebec’s organizational model Banques de Terres (Land Bank) to provide land access ‘extension services’ to new and retiring farmers, as well as to support access to under-farmed lands.

This pilot will work with the City of Surrey with the long term goal of providing on-going matchmaker services to regional and municipal districts in BC, and successfully create land matches that lead to hundreds more acres of sustainably farmed land. The project will help to keep farmland farmed by providing pre-qualified land opportunities for new and young farmers, supporting retiring farmers to transition their land and businesses to the next generation, and landowners to have their land farmed.

Young Agrarians is seeking a talented communicator and project manager who understands the agricultural landscape to facilitate land access agreements between land seekers and land owners.

Location

Position will be based in the Lower Mainland. Travel between potential landowners’ properties is necessary.

Responsibilities

• Identify available farmland by working closely with landowners and the City of Surrey, and other farmers and partners / service providers in the region to assess land suitability and determine land access options;
• Coordinate 1-2 land linking events to develop relationships with landowners, land seekers, and community leaders;
• Promote the Land Matching Service to landowners, land seekers and regional and municipal government throughout the Lower Mainland;
• Pre-screen new farmers, landowners and potential land opportunities, providing relevant resources where appropriate for both parties;
• Maintain information on new farmer profiles, available land and landowners;
• Identify needs of new farmers to assess enterprise readiness and provide support and resources where appropriate to ensure their success during and after the farmland matching process;
• Where a successful relationship ensues between two parties, support the development of the terms of the arrangement with the support of a lawyer;
• Create a final report on the project providing recommendations of best practices and next steps, and support final report writing for funding agencies.

Qualifications:

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree with focus in agriculture and/or experience in farming and delivering technical assistance to farmers in areas such as farmland assessment and business planning.
• High personal motivation, self-management, and detail-orientation; ability to take responsibility to meet deadlines and make progress without direct supervision.
• Fluency with MS Office, social media platforms, WordPress and Google Drive.
• Valid BC driver’s license and vehicle.
• Honed outreach, facilitation and communication skills (writing, speaking, presenting, listening, empathy).
• Strong proven leadership and decision making abilities with a willingness to “do what it takes” to get the job done.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; you possess a joy for working with people and facilitating structured conversations.
• Flexibility with scheduling; some evenings and weekends may need to be available.

Assets

• Inter-disciplinary approach to community engagement;
• Experience in agronomy, soil science, real estate, and/or business planning;
• Familiarity with local and regional food systems and an existing network of relationships within the agricultural community is preferred;
• Experience / familiarity working at the regional/municipal and provincial government level.

Compensation: $25/hour to start, rate negotiable after a trial period of three months. Total hours 120/month to start (30 hrs a week). Contractor must have their own computer, phone and vehicle. Work km’s will be reimbursed.

Dates: May 16 – December 31, 2016

To apply: Please send a resume and cover letter, c/o Sara Dent to: farm@youngagrarians.org by 5 pm April 29, 2016.