Filled! Manitoba and Apprenticeship Program Manager

Posted by Taina Uitto on November 15, 2023

Location:  Remote office within Manitoba.  Please indicate where in Manitoba you live on your application.

Deadline for Applications:  December 15th, 2023. This position will start when we find the right candidate.

Are you excited about growing the next generation of farmers in Manitoba? Are you a person that loves building new projects in the not-for-profit space including fundraising? Do you get joy from learning about needs and opportunities and strategizing to address them? Are you driven by achieving goals and meeting deliverables? 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 Manitoba and take the lead on the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship Program (YAAP) in Western Canada. 

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 the YAAP and Manitoba programs grow and sustain themselves with strategic oversight and management. 

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 building community and educational  spaces for knowledge sharing and growth. YA began as a seed of an idea and since has grown into a dynamic 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:

  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 in regenerative agriculture;
  4. BC: land access programming and supports; and
  5. Western Canada: 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, emotional intelligence and leadership, and working together to support farmers to overcome barriers and challenges.

COMPENSATION & HOURS

  • This is a full-time, year-round position
  • 35 hours per week
  • $35 per hour
  • Mileage is reimbursed at provincially-approved rates
  • Vacation starts at 4% plus additional bonus time off Dec 26-31st
  • Contract is renewed annually

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy & Funding:

Develop and steward a YA Grow-a-Farmer Strategy that outlines Manitoba’s context, current activities, and potential areas for development to address new farmer needs, as well as strategic partnerships and funding opportunities to sustain activities in the province.

  • Support ongoing program development for the Prairies.
  • Develop grant applications, funding proposals, sponsorships, donations, etc. for Manitoba program activities. 
  • Work with program budgets and oversee project revenues and expenses.
  • Support project reporting through annual and longitudinal evaluation and impact assessment tools.
  • Create wrap-up reporting focused on project deliverables, providing recommendations for best practices and next steps.
  • Support strategic partnership development with other organizations and continue to liaise and maintain relationships with funders.
  • Support with other YA organizational duties and administration as needed.

Oversight of Manitoba Program Staff & Deliverables:

Staff roles that will run alongside the YA Manitoba Program Manager role currently to build service delivery capacity for new farmers in the Prairies include the Saskatchewan & Manitoba Business Mentorship Network Coordinators, the Manitoba Apprenticeship Coordinator, and the Prairies Communications and Network Coordinator.

  • Maintain positive working relationships with staff and contractors, including attending, organizing and documenting meetings, and ensuring inter-organizational communications are going smoothly. 
  • Support YA Manitoba staff to develop program capacity.
  • Oversee work plans and workplace documentation to ensure handover and succession of roles is positive and well-managed. 
  • Support staff to problem solve and troubleshoot on project deliverables. 
  • Steward YA HR policies and procedures.
  • Support with hiring processes, on-boarding and training, role review, performance documentation, and on-going work delivery as needed. 
  • Where workplace challenges arise, work with the management team to strategize on solutions and next steps. 
  • Manage Manitoba wage subsidy positions as needed.

Young Agrarians Apprenticeship Program (YAAP) Management:

This will include managing program staff and program procedures, ensuring program deliverables and goals are met, monitoring and supporting coordinators in their work with host farms and apprentices.

  • Supervise and support the work of the B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba Apprenticeship Coordinators to meet their program goals.
  • Lead weekly team meetings with the apprenticeship team.
  • Manage the Apprenticeship Program Work Plan to ensure timelines and tasks are on track.
  • Steward the Apprenticeship Program Standard Operating Procedures and update as necessary.
  • Oversee program documentation and contact management in Google Drive and Salesforce. 
  • Oversee administration of the Apprenticeship Memorandum of Understandings with host mentor farms and waivers for host mentor farms and apprentices (updated annually).
  • Support troubleshooting and problem solving with program coordinators and participants.
  • Work with the E-Learning team to maintain and update the YAAP E-Learning modules for host farms and apprentices.
  • Steward program evaluation and impact assessment processes and conduct an annual program review. 
  • Work with the team to develop program improvements. 
  • Manage the YAAP program budgets and grant deliverables. 
  • Coordinate with the Executive Director to provide reports to funders as required.
  • Liaise with the Business Mentorship Network Program Manager and Coordinators.

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 Manitoba, with a minimum of five years of experience in diversified sustainable / ecological / organic agriculture.
  • Solid understanding of business in an agricultural context.
  • 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.
  • Strong relationship building, networking, and stakeholder outreach and engagement skills.
  • 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 love for process-oriented workflow and workplace documentation.
  • An interest in bringing people together to build community and for coordinating events.
  • 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 – MB & YAAP Manager

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

In your application, please:

  • Indicate where in Manitoba you are located
  • Answer the following 3 questions in your cover letter:
  1. What is your experience and understanding of working with farmers?
  2. Why are you excited about helping to grow the next generation of farmers in Manitoba?
  3. What are your greatest strengths in 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: December 15th, 2023. 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