POSITION FILLED – We’re hiring! Alberta Apprenticeship Program Coordinator

Young Agrarians is hiring an Apprenticeship Program Coordinator in Alberta- Maternity Leave Coverage

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

Deadline for Applications:  12pm Monday, June 5, 2023. This position will start when we find the right candidate.

Do you thrive working with people from diverse walks of life? Are you a person that loves to help others learn and grow? Would you consider yourself a whiz at growing relationships? If you have this magic mix of skills then we would love to hear from you.

JOB DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

Support the coordination and development of the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship Program in Alberta! This will include recruiting participants, supporting mentors and apprentices, organizing farm tours and conducting check-ins and evaluations. This role will work closely with the other provincial Apprenticeship Coordinators and the Program Manager.

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 since has grown into a dynamic educational 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:

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. Prairie provinces: 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 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, emotional intelligence and leadership, and working together to support farmers to overcome barriers and challenges through educational supports and resources.

COMPENSATION & HOURS

• This is a part-time, year-round, temporary position, covering a maternity leave*
• Start date approximately beginning of June 2023, continuing until September 2024
• 15 hours per week April to December & 20 hours per week January to March
• $30 / hour
• Mileage is reimbursed at provincial rates

* Possibilities may exist for continued employment for the right candidate.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Alberta Program Coordination:

• Develop and maintain relationships with host mentor farms and organizations.
• Work with host mentor farms and other farmers to plan and host summer learning events in 2023.
• Recruit host mentor farms for the 2024 program season.
• Support promotion and marketing.
• Plan and host the 2024 orientation and summer learning events.
• Identify wage subsidy opportunities and promote to host farm mentors.
• Share opportunities, resources, tools and other communications relevant to the Alberta Young Agrarians network through the YA website, social media, and U-Map. 

Collaboration with the Apprenticeship Program Team:

• Co-plan online mentor workshops with the Prairies Staff Team. 
• Co-plan an online workshop on Indigenous foodways and soil health.
• Support program evaluation and participate in annual program reviews and continuous program improvement.
• Support project reporting by tracking key performance indicators and deliverables.
• Maintain positive relationships with other staff. This includes attending weekly regional meetings and program meetings.
• Troubleshoot program delivery challenges, and ensure that appropriate communication takes place with relevant staff.
• Follow organizational policy and protocol for workplace communications around performance and contractual obligations. 
• Support with other organizational needs as time allows.
• Ensure good workplace documentation, including:
  • Maintaining work plans.
  • Maintaining contact information in Salesforce, as per YA best practices.
  • Maintaining program files on YA Google Drive.
  • Ensuring documents, contact lists, and program materials are maintained and updated.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Familiarity with the food and farming community in Alberta.
• Experience representing a non-profit organization and passion for realizing the mission.
• Proficiency coordinating people & projects.
• Ability to communicate both in writing and verbally to create engagement, motivation and action. 
• Strong relationship building skills to engage people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. 
• A love for the learning process and supporting others. 
• A high level of self-motivation as part of a remote team. 
• Fluency working with computers and ability to learn new software programs as required. Software applications include: Google Drive, Salesforce, WordPress, etc.
• Home office, computer, reliable Internet connection, and cellphone.

TO APPLY

Please submit applications by email to Taina Uitto at om [at] youngagrarians [dot] org with the following:

Subject line: Firstname Lastname – AB Apprenticeship Coordinator

Please attach a PDF cover letter and resume as one document with the following file name: Firstname Lastname – Alberta-Apprenticeship-Coordinator.pdf. In your application, please:

• Indicate where you are located
• Include any public social media handles
• Clearly summarize the number of years of experience you bring with respect to the qualifications listed. 
• Answer the following 3 questions in your cover letter:

1. What is motivating you to apply? 
2. What skills and abilities can you bring to this position? 
3. What is your experience and understanding of working with farmers?

• Clearly indicate on your resume or cover letter which online platforms you have experience working with (Google Workspace, Canva, WordPress, Mailchimp, Zoom, Social Media, and Salesforce) as well as any other relevant programs you are familiar with.  
• Optional: submit a video (up to 1 minute), telling us what would make you a great coordinator for the Young Agrarians. 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.

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