POSITIONS FILLED – BUSINESS MENTORSHIP NETWORK PROGRAM COORDINATORS in SASKATCHEWAN & ALBERTA

Posted by Taina Uitto on October 19, 2022 3 Comments

Young Agrarians is hiring Business Mentorship Network Program Coordinators!

Locations: Saskatchewan and Alberta 

Application Deadline: January 30, 2023

ABOUT YOUNG AGRARIANS

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 alongside. 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 and has since grown into a dynamic network and set of programs that target the educational needs of new and young farmers.

YA’s Grow-a-Farmer Strategy works to deliver the following programs:

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 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. 

YA BUSINESS MENTORSHIP NETWORK (BMN) COORDINATORS

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 greens or flowing pastures, Young Agrarians is looking for you!

We are seeking dynamic individuals who are capable of taking a leadership role to support farm viability for new and young farmers in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan; these roles will be an expansion and adaptation of the B.C. BMN to the Prairies Provinces. The primary focus of these positions will be to coordinate Business Mentorships. These Mentorships are focused on pairing up new farms in start-up with farmer business mentors. This role will include program administration, mentor and mentee recruitment, matchmaking, and on-going support. For more information on Young Agrarians Business tools and B.C. BMN, please visit:

https://youngagrarians.org/tools/business/

https://youngagrarians.org/b-c-business-mentorship-network/

These positions will be supervised by the Young Agrarians Prairies and B.C. Management Teams.

COMPENSATION & HOURS

  • Employment Contract Dates: December 2022 – May 2023 with a handful of hours in the summer months, renewed annually likely on an earlier timeline, e.g. October 2023 – March 2024 
  • $35 / hour, 32 hours / week

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

  • On-board into the YA workflow ecosystem: adapt an existing program work plan template to your provincial work
  • Coordinate program development activities including: application intake, ongoing scheduling, outreach and administration
  • Work with partnering organizations for program outreach and activities
  • Outreach using existing channels, and develop new ones to promote and advertise the program
  • Recruit, screen and orient new farmer business mentors and mentees
  • Match up new farms in the program with an appropriate farmer business mentor and support with ongoing communications support 
  • 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
  • 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
  • Review business plans for farmers to assess ‘enterprise readiness’ as capacity allows

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Experience working with organizations (for profit or non-profit) to deliver and manage projects / programs
  • Facilitation and coaching skills are an asset
  • Joy and ease in communication, outreach and stakeholder engagement
  • Ability to meet people where they are at developmentally, and support their unique learning journeys
  • Provide ongoing facilitation support to enable mentors and mentees to meet  learning objectives 
  • 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 and ability to adapt to and learn how to use online platforms: Google Drive, Hangout, Calendar, Gmail, WordPress, Mailchimp, Zoom, Salesforce, and social media channels
  • Must have a home office including a computer, high-speed Internet, stable phone connection, and live in the province you are applying to be a coordinator in.

TO APPLY

Please send a PDF cover letter and resume as one document to om@youngagrarians.org, with the following file name: FIRSTNAME LASTNAME – BMN COORDINATOR PROVINCE.pdf

Please answer the following questions either within a cover letter, or in a short 3-5 minute video. If by video, please include a hyperlink in the body of your job application email. 

  • What is motivating you to apply? 
  • What skills can you bring to this position? 
  • What do you think makes for good mentorship to support new farmers to weather today’s challenges starting new farms?

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

Websitewww.youngagrarians.org
Facebookwww.facebook.com/YoungAgrarians
Instagram@youngagrarians

View more Farm Jobs and Apprenticeships on our Job Board

3 thoughts on “POSITIONS FILLED – BUSINESS MENTORSHIP NETWORK PROGRAM COORDINATORS in SASKATCHEWAN & ALBERTA

  1. In order for Young Agrarian to be truly inclusive it must implement its own startup funding program to include impoverished people of all races and ethnicities. New farmers should include destitute entrepreneurs who do not have their own startup money, but are dedicated hard workers. In BC I can ceaselessly raise money for a Young Agrarian Startup Funding Program.

    Now that Canada is a true multicultural nation, She is overdue for multicultural nutrition. By accommodating new immigrants, wealthy and poor, Young Agrarian can become an essential facet of Canada’s food security, and a niche for young entrepreneurs’ prosperity.

    1. Hello O’Neil, thanks for your thoughtful comments, these are great ideas. I have forwarded this message on to our staff team!

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