Program Manager

Roots of Change formed the California Farmers' Market Consortium project with $1 million dollars in Specialty Crop Block Grant funding from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). The Consortium increases sales of specialty crops by encouraging people receiving federal nutrition assistance to shop at farmers' markets. Specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture, and include almonds, pears, stone fruit, leafy greens, prunes and processed tomatoes. The project directly benefits approximately 850 farmers who sell their crops in 48 farmers' markets across the State.

The Consortium also contributes to better public health and lower healthcare costs in the years ahead. The residents receiving federal nutrition assistance include seniors and recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP-formerly known as food stamps), and WIC clients (a supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children).

To provide additional incentive for healthy food buying, we use matching philanthropic dollars to provide "top up" matching money of 50 or 100 percent (depending on the market) to increase buying power. Bonus vouchers are given to recipients of nutrition assistance when they shop at participating farmers' markets to purchase fresh produce. The vouchers add purchasing power for those most in need of healthy, nutritious food.

This is the second year of the Consortium. Last year the consortium was made up of 8 partner organizations that serve the counties of Fresno, Los Angeles, Monterey, Alameda, San Diego, Santa Clara, Sonoma and San Francisco. By building partnerships throughout California with diverse sets of advocates, Roots of Change hopes to empower communities to create systemic change in the food and farming sector. For a list of partners and more information click here.

Position Overview:

The Program Manager will manage the California Farmers Market Consortium and report to the Director of Network Strategy. The full time staff position is located at 300 Broadway, San Francisco.

The position is funded through September 30, 2011. Continuation of the position is dependent upon additional funding from CDFA.

Responsibilities:

• Organize partners to increase coalition building and strategic planning by planning and hosting monthly conference calls and 3 in-person meetings with all the partners in locations around California.
• Conduct site visits of each partner location to observe their operations.
• Revise templates that partners use for reporting.
• Create toolkits for partner outreach efforts and organize new promotional activities to maximize success.
• Track the partners' progress, troubleshoot problems, and support improvements of their processes.
• Research organizations in the local regions that can help with outreach to eligible individuals and sign up new SNAP clients at farmers markets - and introduce those organizations to the partners.
• Work with partners to make sure they are adhering to the terms of their contracts and meeting the metric goals of the grant.
• Work with partners to help them gather information for reports for a wide range of metrics, identify appropriate forms, and review the data gathering process. Metrics include: SNAP, WIC and senior participants, funds spent for specialty crops through the program, potential clients contacted, new SNAP clients signed up, cooking demonstrations, and participating farmers.
• Support a learning community where partners can communicate best practices and lessons learned.
• Work with partners to make sure invoicing is being done correctly and on time, approve invoices and track payments. Track all matching money generated by partners.
• Attend California Small Farm Conference March 6-8.
• Evaluate and analyze each partner's results. Write case studies and summary reports.

Qualifications:

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree
• High level of grammar and punctuation skill
• Adept with Word, Excel and other basic office software
• Strong organizational and time management skills, strong attention to detail; ability to stay focused in busy, open work environment
• Experience creating a project plan and tracking deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, solve problems and collaborate with professional staff
• Strong communication skills, including ability to write and speak clearly
• Willingness to work fast, including some evenings and weekends, and to travel
• Experience working with people with diverse experiences and backgrounds
• Valid driver's license

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience working in farmers' markets, knowledge of food and agriculture sustainability issues and/or experience working in a food-related organization
• Experience managing contracts, invoices and reports with non-profit organizations
• Experience doing outreach work, especially with clients on government assistance
• Experience coordinating projects with multiple organizations
• Expertise with spreadsheet and project management software
• A strong working knowledge of on-line research
• Demonstrated ability to plan and execute complex projects
• Experience planning meetings in remote locations
• Experience working in a non-profit organization
• Experience working with people from isolated communities
• Spanish speaking

Compensation: Salary and benefits are competitive.

Submission Deadline: Applications will be reviewed beginning January 3, 2011.
Expected Start Date: February 1, 2011.

To Apply:

Apply to Haney Armstrong and use "CFMC Program Manager" as the subject. Please include your resume along with a cover letter describing your desired compensation and how your experience matches the areas of key responsibilities and qualifications. Please no phone calls.

Roots of Change is a project of The Trust for Conservation Innovation (TCI). Roots of Change/TCI is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, differently-abled people and LGBT persons are strongly encouraged to apply.