CONTRACT POSITION: Are you an entrepreneur at heart but you’ve been bitten by the farm bug? Do friends come to you for business advice? Are you a spreadsheet whiz who understands enterprise budgets and five year financials? If you think in numbers, and dream in lettuce-patch green, Young Agrarians is looking for you!
We are seeking a dynamic individual who is capable of taking a leadership role to support farm viability for new and young farmers in B.C. The primary focus of this position will be to coordinate Young Agrarians Business Mentorship Network activities focused on pairing up new farms in start-up with farmer business mentors. As well, this role will also provide ongoing support to the B.C. Land Matching Program to assess the ‘enterprise readiness’ of farmers looking for land.
This position will be supervised by the Young Agrarians B.C. Program Director. Pending funding, the ideal candidate will be able to continue to work with Young Agrarians on a longer-term basis.
Application Deadline: 5pm, Monday, September 10th, 2018
About Young Agrarians:
Young Agrarians (YA), a partnership in British Columbia with FarmFolk CityFolk Society, is a farmer2farmer resource network for new and young entrants into agriculture. YA supports the next generation to take up the art and science of farming. YA runs four main programs: 1) online resource aggregation and opportunities sharing platform, 2) educational and networking events on and off farms, 3) land access programming, and 4) business mentorship.
Check out the Business page under Tools on the YA website for more info on the Business Mentorship Network program: https://youngagrarians.org/tools/business/
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Coordinate program development activities including: application intake, ongoing scheduling and administration
- Match up new farms with an appropriate farmer business mentor
- Recruit, screen and orient new farmer business mentors
- Support the mentorship process with tools and resources to advance the capacity of both the mentor and mentee(s) as they develop their mentorship objectives
- Review business plans for farmers in the B.C. Land Matching Program to assess ‘enterprise readiness’
- Outreach using existing channels to promote and advertise the program
- Engage and utilize the youngagrarians.org wordpress blog to share program content and business resources and opportunities
- Maintain the YA Business page resources and add resources to the YA UMAP
- Support project reporting through evaluation and impact assessment tools;
- Create wrap-up reporting focused on project deliverables providing recommendations of best practices and next steps.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience working with organizations (for profit or non-profit) to deliver and manage projects / programs;
- Joy and ease in communication, outreach and stakeholder engagement;
- Ability to identify and facilitate learning objectives between mentor and mentee(s);
- Farm Literate: minimum 3-5 years of experience in diversified sustainable / ecological / organic agriculture;
- Business Savvy: solid understanding of business and production planning processes for agriculture;
- High personal motivation, timeline and self-management, as well as attention paid to detail;
- Ability to take responsibility to meet deadlines and make progress without direct day-to-day supervision;
- Excellent administration, documentation, outreach, communications, relationship and community-building skills;
- Working proficiency with online platforms: Google Drive, WordPress, Mailchimp, and social media channels;
- Must have computer and home office.
Location: This is a remote position.
Contract Timeline: The bulk load of the work will take place October 1, 2018 – March 30, 2019 with program check-ins throughout the growing season, and program wrap out for the 2018/19 cohort in October/November 2019. October 2019 the next cohort intake will commence for the 2019/20 BMN season.
Contract Amount: Hourly rate to be negotiated based on skill set and experience of applicant. Estimated time commitment: approximately 30 hrs / week October 1, 2018 – March 30, 2019.*
* Special note: YA is looking for an entrepreneurial individual with organizational experience who enjoys overseeing communications. There is potential for the right candidate who also has communications experience to turn this contract into a full-time position (40hrs/week).
To apply: Please send a resume and cover letter c/o Sara Dent to: farm@youngagrarians.org. Please include “Business Mentorship Network Coordinator” and your full name in the email subject line. Email a single PDF document saved with your first and last name as the file name including a one page cover letter and resume. No phone inquiries please.