Program Sustainability Coordinator

Druid City Garden Project Published: December 13, 2016
Location
Tuscaloosa , Alabama
Skill Level
Mid Level
Job Type
Full-time
Categories
Education / Farm / Organics / Program Management

When you apply for this position, please say you saw this job on Green Dream Jobs!!

Description

~ Druid City Garden Project (DCGP) is a nonprofit, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Using an innovative garden-based curriculum, our programs connect students to their food, get kids moving, and makes learning fun. Our programs serve more than 4,000 elementary students each week of the school year. ~

What We Do:

We dream that one day every school in Alabama will have a teaching garden.

We believe that access to fresh, affordable, and sustainably grown food is a universal right. We believe that our students learn best when they put their knowledge into practice and that children can be just as excited about vegetables as they are about candy.

We believe that school gardens can change eating habits, improve academic success, and make learning fun. And, we have the evidence to prove it. See our website for more.

Position Overview 

Passionate about building a better community through food? Join our passionate team!

As part of the DCGP team, you will help us achieve our goal of bringing a teaching garden to every school in Alabama by helping schools who have been trained on the program continue to operate it, independently. This role is critically important in sustaining the Gardens 2 Schools program and allowing our model to reach more schools each year.

In our Gardens 2 Schools (G2S) program, we train school communities on our highly effective garden-based curriculum that brings Course of Study standards into a real world environment. After two years of intensive training, professional development support, and resources, schools take over the program and operate with minimal assistance from DCGP. Bringing excitement about garden-based instruction to the table, understanding the unique needs of teachers, and molding the G2S program to a specific school's environment are critical to maintaining this program.

The Gardens 2 Schools program is currently operating in 10 schools in the Tuscaloosa area, serving more than 4,000 children each week.

Responsibilities 

  • Consult in person with Garden Committees, made up of teachers, at transition schools on a regular basis, providing gardening advice, inventorying supplies, advising lesson sequencing for the garden, harvest plans, etc.
  • Oversee communication with Garden Committees of active and transition schools on gardening activities, issuing a monthly Transition School newsletter, and ordering necessary gardening supplies
  • Coordinate the installation of new school gardens, communicating with volunteers on garden builds, ordering supplies, and more
  • Create and implement Garden Committee Professional Development sessions at active and transition schools, with Program Director's oversight
  • Assist transition schools with major gardening events, such as garden build and clean-up days, and any pest outbreaks
  • Grow transplants for the first semester of first-year schools and backup transplants each season
  • Conduct seed saving initiative, growing out plants from the Sand Mountain Seedbank, then saving seed to return to the bank and be used in school gardens
  • Manage Program Sustainability Officer(s)
  • Assess and evaluate transition schools' success at operating the Gardens 2 Schools program independently
  • Oversee the data collection process at selected schools
  • Oversee consent form distribution, entry, and compliance
  • Oversee volunteer recruitment, maintenance, and reporting
  • Develop and maintain relations and collaborations with community organizations and educational institutions in support of program goals 

Qualifications 

What We're Looking For: 

  • Excitement about our work! Be enthusiastic about working toward a common goal alongside similar-minded, passionate folks
  • Be an expert on organic vegetable gardening, with demonstrated, concrete experience managing organic gardens or farms in a professional setting
  • Hold a minimum of a 2 or 4 year degree in a related subject
  • Have superb interpersonal skills
  • Be detail-oriented and just as excited about record-keeping as growing vegetables or working with partner schools
  • Have strong Microsoft Excel know-how
  • Experience with formal research studies is a plus
  • Management experience is also a plus
  • Be able to lift 50lbs, stand on feet for 8 hours at a time, be outdoors for 8 hours at a time in all non-dangerous weather, and be physically active
  • Pass federal and state background checks 

Compensation: Salary range is $27,000-$30,000 with full benefits.  

To Apply 

  • Please click below: "Apply Now Online!" to email your resume and a cover letter.
  • Be sure to indicate: Program Sustainability Coordinator.
  • Closing date is December 22, 2016.

When you apply for this position, please say you saw this job on Green Dream Jobs!!

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