Young Agrarians is hiring a Communications Coordinator!
Location: Western Canada
Application Extended! 5pm, Friday December 9th, 2022
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:
- National: aggregate resources and opportunities online;
- National: coordinate educational and networking events on and off farm year-round, as well as e-learning;
- Prairies: on-farm apprenticeship training program in regenerative agriculture;
- BC & Alberta: land access programming and supports; and,
- BC: business mentorships.
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 COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
Are you a born storyteller who can plant a seed with a sentence? Do you dream up creative ideas and live for sharing them with the world? Can you think “big picture” and then bring your vision to life through language and images? Are you always up on the latest trends in social media? Do you enjoy proofreading blogs and event registration pages with a fine-toothed comb? Can you multi-task multiple memes and campaigns to create meaningful engagement with audiences?
If you’re a communications whiz with farming in your heart, YA is looking for you! We are seeking a dynamic person capable of taking a leadership role to tell the story of new and young ecological farmers in Canada.
This position will be supervised by the Executive Director and Special Projects Coordinator. Pending funding, the ideal candidate will be able to continue to work with YA on a longer-term basis.
COMPENSATION & HOURS
- Current Employment Contract: December 4, 2022 – June 2, 2023 (6 months); with the potential for continued employment
- $27/hour, 32/hours/week, with the potential to go up to 35/hours/week
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Develop and implement strategic communications to support and advance YA programs and increase visibility of the organization.
- Coordinate communications activities including: social media campaigns, blogs, mailchimp campaigns, and other outreach.
- Manage YA social media community across channels, including coordinating scheduling, posting and evaluating engagement.
- Develop engaging messaging and effective storytelling approaches, maintaining organizational voice.
- Create compelling graphics to support outreach activities, and approve other organizational graphics according to branding guidelines.
- Respond to social media, email, and phone inquiries.
- Post farm jobs and internships on our online Job Board.
- Proofread all outgoing communications materials with a VERY keen eye for detail and accuracy.
- Create and manage events on Eventbrite.
- Manage subscribers/contacts and lists in Salesforce (CRM) and Mailchimp.
- Develop press releases for particular media outlets and audience segments.
- Identify key media outlets and journalists and maintain press contact lists.
- Grow our year-end fundraising campaign via Mailchimp and social media- design campaigns, gather farmer testimonials, track and evaluate campaigns year over year, and thank donors.
- Evaluate communications activities to analyze effectiveness, update strategy, and support project reporting to funders.
- Develop and implement new evaluation strategies as needed.
QUALIFICATIONS- OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE:
- Is up-to-date on best practices for social media and website engagement.
- Understands food systems and ecological farming.
- Values and enjoys administration, documentation, outreach, communications, relationship and community-building.
- Thinks strategically about communications, metric tracking, decision-making, and stakeholder and team engagement.
- Pays close attention to details and knows when to slow down.
- Is motivated and able to work on multiple projects and meet deadlines without direct daily supervision.
- Enjoys working in a fast-paced environment and is able to adapt to existing project management systems including spreadsheets and work plans.
- Has demonstrated workflow experience and computer know-how including: SEO, Photo, Video and Graphic Editing Software (e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva), Google Workplace, Google Hangouts, Zoom, MS Office, Excel/Spreadsheets, Mailchimp, WordPress, and CRM (Salesforce)
- The successful applicant is expected to be able to jump in and work within the existing technology ecosystem. While limitations to in-house training capacity exist, there are Standard Operating Procedures in place, and continuous peer-to-peer knowledge sharing.
- Brings cultural competency as well as recognition and appreciation for the diverse voices in farming communities.
- Contributes a positive vibe and solid communication skills to the workplace.
- Has non-profit and charity experience.
- Works remotely from a home office in Western Canada, and has a computer, solid internet connection, and either a landline or cellular phone reception/service.
TO APPLY
Please send a PDF cover letter and resume as one document to om@youngagrarians.org, with the following file name: FIRSTNAME LASTNAME – COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR.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 background, experiences, and abilities would you bring to this position?
- What do you think makes for good communications in today’s media landscape?
Please also include:
- A PDF or word document with samples of social media content that you have created. If you are including links to content where other creators are posting, please provide information on when you managed the channel/profile with exact date range or links to links to specific posts.
- In-Basket Testing: Please provide a demonstration of your ability to write copy for Young Agrarians.
- This sample writing should take the content of this link, and write content specific to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter posts to promote the blog interview:
- Embed the photo(s) you would use for each post, and include tags and links.
- Include a call to action for where people can read more.
- Do not carry over typos into social media copy. This is a program participant-submitted blog, and may have typos.
- Please stay within the character limits for each social media platform.
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: www.youngagrarians.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/YoungAgrarians
Instagram: @youngagrarians
