Young Agrarians is hiring an Operations Manager
RELATIONAL > TECHNICAL > ORGANIZED
DEADLINE TO APPLY: 12pm, Friday September 10, 2021
ABOUT Young Agrarians
Young Agrarians (YA) is a farmer-to-farmer educational resource network for new and young ecological farmers in Canada. We recognize the Indigenous lands and territories that we work on and alongside, and are committed to providing programs and services that are inclusive and available to farmers and friends of diverse backgrounds. Since 2012, our 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 network and set of programs to work to address the needs of new and young farmers.
YA’s Grow-a-Farmer Strategy works to deliver the following programs:
- National: aggregates resources and opportunities online;
- National: coordinates educational and networking events on and off farms year-round, and e-learning;
- Prairies: on-farm apprenticeship training program in regenerative agriculture;
- BC & Alberta: provides land access programming and supports; and,
- BC: facilitates business mentorships.
YA works to grow the sector by supporting new entrants through in/formal 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 technical assistance to access land, business readiness tools, and mentorship. The long-term goal is to increase the number of new, viable, and ecological farmers in Canada.
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 at the grassroots and institutional levels.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
In year 1, the YA Operations Manager will be responsible for transitioning organizational operations into one role, and providing support for governance coordination and project management as needed. Key duties include providing administrative support for: financial management, funding reporting, governance, and salesforce. This position reports directly to the Executive Director and management team.
ACTIVITIES
- Provide operations support to the Executive Director and management team as needed;
- Work closely with the Executive Director and management team to establish the overall vision and direction for the implementation of internal operations, policies, procedures, and systems, and follow through with implementation;
- Develop, foster, and maintain excellent working relationships with YA team, farmer network, and stakeholders;
- Manage organizational administration ranging from maintaining accounts to society filings;
- Support management staff with maintaining and developing human resources ranging from hiring and recruitment, to onboarding new staff/contractors;
- Financial administration including coding support for Quickbooks;
- Support with strategic development and evaluation frameworks for tracking program impacts towards our theory of change;
- Ensure program strategy is interwoven amongst staff and coordinate team meetings;
- Support with governance, advisory development, and young farmer engagement;
- Help to move grants, and reporting to completion through editing support and information gathering;
- Support development and evolution of YA’s digital ecosystem including but not limited to Salesforce, WordPress, and UMAP; and,
- Provide special project management support as capacity allows.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience working in an operations or administration related management role in the non-profit / charitable sector, including providing human resources and governance support.
- Knowledge of food and farming is an asset.
- Emotional intelligence: brings a positive vibe and solid communication skills to the workplace.
- A love for process-oriented workflow and administration. Self-motivated, detail oriented, able to set and meet deadlines.
- Ability to work as part of a remote team.
- Passion for working collaboratively with staff and contractors.
- Ability to build consensus and relationships among managers, stakeholders, and staff team, and problem solve challenges as they arise.
- Experience using Salesforce or an equivalent CRM.
- Understanding of general finance and budgeting, including profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash-flow management.
- Fluency working with computers and ability to learn new applications/tools as required. Applications include: Spreadsheets, Google Drive, MS Office, Facebook, Mailchimp, WordPress, Salesforce, and Quickbooks.
- Must have a computer, phone and high-speed Internet connection.
COMPENSATION & HOURS
- $35/hr, 32/hrs/week, 12-month employment agreement, renewed annually.
TO APPLY
- Please send a cover letter and resume or video and resume to farm@youngagrarians.org.
- For a cover letter and resume please send as one PDF with the cover letter first and resume second, with the following file name: Firstname Lastname – Operations Manager.pdf
- For a video and resume application, please include a hyperlink to the video in the email body, and attach resume as a pdf, with the following file name: Firstname Lastname – Operations Manager.pdf
- Please include your responses to the following questions:
- What is motivating you to apply?
- What skills can you bring to the organization?
- How do you feel about administration and financial management?
- 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!
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