Position Filled! B.C. Program Manager

Posted by Taina Uitto on December 22, 2023

Location: Remote office in British Columbia. Please indicate where in BC you live on your application.

Deadline for Applications: January 31, 2023. This position will start when we find the right candidate.

Are you excited about growing the next generation of farmers in British Columbia? Are you a person that loves working with farmers, growing networks and supporting staff teams to reach their goals? If you have this magic mix of skills then we would love to hear from you!

JOB DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

We are seeking a dynamic individual to lead the coordination and development of Young Agrarians Grow-a-Farmer Strategy for British Columbia. This will include: supporting program and project growth alongside staff and contractors, stakeholder education and engagement, managing and securing funding, and overseeing communications and network building. The goal of this role is to ensure that British Columbia programs grow and sustain themselves with strategic oversight and management. 

ABOUT

Young Agrarians (YA) is an educational resource network for new and young ecological farmers in Canada. YA recognizes the Indigenous lands and territories that we work on and grows relationships towards Truth & Reconciliation. YA is committed to providing programs and services that are inclusive and available to farmers and friends of diverse backgrounds. Since 2012, the YA network is volunteer-driven with farmers across the country organizing on-farm events and building community to create spaces for knowledge sharing and growth. 

YA began as a seed of an idea in B.C. and has since has grown into a dynamic educational network and set of programs and projects that target the educational needs of new and young farmers. YA’s Grow-a-Farmer Strategy works to deliver the following programs:

  1. National: aggregate resources and opportunities online;
  2. National: coordinate educational and networking events on and off farm year-round, as well as e-learning;
  3. Western Canada: on-farm apprenticeship training program (YAAP) in regenerative agriculture;
  4. BC: land access programming and supports (BCLMP); and
  5. Western Canada: business mentorships (BMN).

YA works to grow the sector by supporting new entrants through farmer-to-farmer learning. The theory of change is to engage new and young farmers and the farm-curious online, bring them together to network and learn together on and off farms, support access to training opportunities and resources, and when ready to start farms, provide educational supports for on-farm training, land access, business readiness, and peer mentorship. The long-term goal is to grow connections to each other and the land in order to grow a resilient and climate-adapted food system for a healthy future.

WORKPLACE CULTURE

We strive to create a workplace that reflects the diverse communities we collaborate with and serve. The organizational culture is focused on bringing your whole self and working together to support farmers to overcome barriers and challenges through educational supports and resources, and emotional intelligence. 

COMPENSATION & HOURS

  • This is a full-time, year-round position
  • 35 hours per week, Monday – Friday with some weekends as needed
  • $35/hr
  • Mileage is reimbursed at provincially-approved rates
  • Vacation starts at 4% plus an additional bonus week off last week of the year
  • Contract is renewed annually 

B.C. PROGRAM MANAGER ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Support  B.C. Program Staff & Deliverables: 

  • The B.C. Manager role will work alongside the following staff to support B.C. program delivery: 
    • BCLMP Manager
    • B.C. BMN Manager
    • B.C. YAAP Coordinator
  • Take a lead on supporting networking events in B.C. that increase knowledge-transfer and sector growth. 
  • Over time, transition into a leadership role for the full B.C. staff team.
  • Maintain positive working relationships with staff and contractors. 
  • Ongoing coordination and documentation of meetings.
  • Support with hiring processes, on-boarding, role review, performance documentation, and on-going work delivery as needed. 
  • Support staff to problem solve and troubleshoot on project deliverables. 
  • Ensure that staff objectives and work are communicated as needed to other staff across the Canada team, such as to communications staff.
  • Where workplace challenges arise, work with the management team, strategize next steps. 
  • Oversee work plans and good workplace documentation of activities to ensure handover and succession of roles is positive and well-managed.

Strategy & Funding:

  • Transition into a stewardship role for B.C.’s YA Grow-a-Farmer Strategy that outlines B.C. context, current activities, potential areas for development to address new farmer needs, as well as strategic partnerships and funding opportunities to sustain activities. 
  • Develop grant applications, funding proposals, sponsorships, donations, etc. for B.C. program activities. 
  • Oversee project expenses and budgets. Ensure that funding is spent appropriately to legal contractual obligations with the funder.
  • Work with the Operations Manager on financial reports. 
  • Support project reporting through annual and longitudinal evaluation and impact assessment tools.
  • Create wrap-up reporting focused on project deliverables, providing recommendations of best practices and next steps.
  • Support strategic partnership development and continue to liaise and maintain relationships with funders.
  • Support with other YA organizational duties and administration as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Experience working in a management role in the non-profit / charitable sector, managing projects and programs.
  • Strong connection to and familiarity with the food and farming community in B.C., with a minimum of five years of experience in diversified sustainable / ecological / organic agriculture.
  • Love for building community, events and networking activities and a strategic mindset for capacity building on the ground. 
  • Ability, creativity, and vision to identify needs and address them in a strategic manner.
  • Driven to achieve goals and meet deliverables.
  • Demonstrated capacities for identifying funding opportunities, and building and cultivating strategic partnerships.
  • Experience developing grant applications, funding proposals, sponsorships, donations, and working with funders.
  • Experience with general finance and budgeting as well as project reporting through annual and longitudinal evaluation and impact assessment tools.
  • Excellent administrative skills and organizational capabilities with a joy for process-oriented workflow and workplace documentation.
  • Passion for leading teams, working collaboratively with others and providing human resources support.
  • A high level of self-motivation as part of a remote team. 
  • Ability to communicate both in writing and verbally to create engagement, motivation and action. 
  • Technical proficiency and fluency working with Google Drive, Salesforce, WordPress, Zoom, and Mailchimp.
  • Home office, computer, reliable Internet connection, and cellphone.

TO APPLY  

Please submit applications by email to Taina Uitto at om@youngagrarians.org with the following:

Subject line: Firstname Lastname BC Manager

Please attach a PDF cover letter and resume as ONE document with the following file name: Firstname Lastname –  BC Manager.pdf. 

In your application, please:

  • Indicate where in B.C. you are located
  • Answer the following 3 questions in your cover letter:
    • What is your experience and understanding of working with farmers?
    • Why are you excited about helping to grow the next generation of farmers in B.C.?
    • What are your greatest strengths in team leadership and project management?
  • Provide a short summary of how many years of experience you bring in reference to the qualifications listed.
  • Clearly list on your resume what computer programs or platforms you are familiar working with (e.g. Google Drive, Salesforce, WordPress, Zoom, Mailchimp, design programs, various social media, etc.)
  • Optional: submit a video (up to 1 minute) to support your application and help us get to know you better. Feel free to have fun and be creative! Videos should be submitted in one of the following ways: 1. As an attachment to the same email containing your PDF, or 2. As a link in your PDF to a video hosting platform where we can view the video. Your video can be filmed as an Instagram Reel or Tiktok and the link submitted.

Deadline for Applications: January 31st. This position will start when we find the right candidate. 

Due to the volume of applications we receive, we will not be available for phone calls or lengthy email inquiries. If you have 1-2 questions, please ask by email. Thank you for your time and interest!

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUNG AGRARIANS

Website: youngagrarians.org
Facebook: facebook.com/YoungAgrarians
Instagram: @youngagrarians