Urban Agriculture Program Manager

Job title: Urban Agriculture Program Manager

Job description: Urban Bounty (UB), formally Richmond Food Security Society is a registered charity aspiring to create a resilient local food system through education, advocacy, and community-building initiatives.

We are a small team of staff supported by volunteers all passionate about urban agriculture and food security. We live the values of the Richmond Food Charter and we courageously engage our community to address challenges. We build community and have fun doing it and hope to create long-term, tangible, systemic results. We are a living wage, equal opportunity organization and encourage Black, Indigenous, and people of colour to apply for this position.

We are looking to hire an outgoing and dynamic Urban Agriculture Program Manager for the long term. The successful candidate will manage core programs such as the Community Garden Program, the Seed Library Program and the Fruit Recovery Program. There is significant growth potential in this role, and the opportunity to be involved in the planning, design, and expansion of the organization.

The successful candidate will report to the Executive Director and must have experience and be passionate about community development. The candidate must be exceptionally organized, and a real people person with solid volunteer and project management skills.

Core Responsibilities

Manage and coordinate the Richmond Community Garden Program, including:

• maintaining garden plot registration and waitlists.
• ensuring community gardeners comply with community garden agreements and relevant municipal, environmental, and pesticide use by-laws.
• providing knowledge and resources to community gardeners on organic food production, soil science, integrated pest management, biodiversity, and plant selection.

Manage and coordinate the Richmond Community Seed Library Program, including:

• planning and maintaining a demonstration seed saving garden, including tracking detailed crop data such as growing conditions, isolation distances, pollination status, and genetic history.
• attending community events to raise awareness and engagement in Seed Saving.
• providing knowledge and resources about seed saving to members.
• curating locally adapted species for the seed library.
• ensuring seeds are stored, labeled, and maintained correctly, including conducting germination tests to ensure the viability of seeds in the seed library.
• organizing the annual Seedy Saturday Event.
• build and maintain partnerships with local seed-saving organizations.

Manage and coordinate the Fruit Recovery Program, including:

• building and maintaining relationships with homeowners to ensure fruit picks are scheduled based on seasonal readiness.
• managing summer interns and teams of volunteers to harvest fruit picks and the timely delivery of fruits to community organizations.

Ongoing Responsibilities

• Develop, coordinate and lead workshops and public events.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and partners including but not limited to city staff and elected officials, school district administrators, health authority staff, summer interns, volunteers, and the public.
• Develop and implement systems to evaluate programs qualitatively and quantitatively.
• Communicate effectively about the organization and programs through traditional media, online media, and print products, following brand standards and communications protocols.
• Actively work in the best interests of the whole organization, including fund development and developing operational systems.
• Keep organized and thorough operational records of program data, results, contacts, and operational details.
• Recruit, train, and coordinate volunteers to extend and enhance program goals and outreach.
• Other exciting and supportive tasks as required.

Benefits

• Work with a growing, passionate team committed to community development and food literacy.
• Be part of the thriving food security and urban agriculture movement.
• Build extensive knowledge in the non-profit sector.
• Practice sound program and project management principles.
• Work with stakeholders and clients, utilizing strong communication and conflict resolution skills.
• Develop strong oral and written communications skills including report writing, both in text and visual formats.
• Understand and use relevant municipal environmental laws and regulations.

Requirements

• Post-secondary degree in a relevant field, such as Land and Food Systems, Sustainable Agriculture, Environmental Science, Horticulture, or Environmental Geography.
• Minimum of 5 years of related experience in a similar field or position.
• Solid working knowledge of organic gardening principles, food security, urban agriculture, food gardening, seed saving, and sustainability.
• Vehicle access is required in order to transport supplies to events, and travel to garden sites. Mileage will be reimbursed.
• Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.
• Demonstrated experience leading community-based programs.

Have or able to get:

• criminal record check with vulnerable sector search
• Emergency First Aid
• Tech-savvy, and proficient in G-Suite, Canva, word-processing, databases, and emails.
• The ability to speak Chinese (either Mandarin or Cantonese) is a strong asset.
• Physically able and ability to lift 50 pounds

Location

This position is based primarily out of the Urban Bounty office which is centrally located in Paulik Park, Richmond, BC. Travel around Richmond will be required for meetings, in-person program delivery, and events. Virtual work from home is possible with a laptop provided.

Role Details

Application deadline: Ongoing, or until the position is filled. Early applications encouraged.
Start date: August 2021

Hours: 37.5 hours per week, permanent full-time. Hours are typically from Mon-Fri 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. There may be occasional events and or meetings during the evenings and weekends. Paid time off in lieu of overtime pay and flexibility in hours of work to be agreed upon with the Executive Director. A balanced work/life schedule is encouraged.

Pay: Starting at $25.85/hour during the first 6 months of probation and then a lift to $26.00 for the balance of year one. Prorated 3 weeks annual vacation + prorated 10 annual wellness days. Eligibility for basic health plan credit of $36/month after 6 months probation.

• Year Two – $26.50/hour. Prorated 3 weeks annual vacation + prorated 10 annual wellness days + $500 professional development credit.
• Year Three – Increase based on CPI and performance.

Application Details

Please feel welcome to reach out in advance of applying to ask any clarifying question and send a cover letter and resume to the attention of the Executive Director, Ian Lai at

We thank all applicants for their interest and only those receiving an interview will be contacted.

We acknowledge that we live, work and play on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of xwm?θkw?y?m (Musqueam) peoples.

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