Senior Program Associate, Resilience & Wealth Building
Status: Full-Time, Non-Exempt
Reports To: Senior Program Manager, Resilience & Wealth Building
Supervisory: Non-applicable
Primary Office: Remote or in the office with regular travel throughout the Central Coast
Salary: Salary range is $60,000 - $70,000 commensurate with experience.
JOB SUMMARY:
Join California FarmLink to support the prosperity of California farmers, ranchers, and fishers, ensure equitable access to economic opportunity, and support environmental stewardship and vibrant local food systems.
The Senior Associate is a critical member of the Resilience and Wealth Building program (RWB). The RWB program runs two cohort-based programs, in English and Spanish, providing a comprehensive overview of farm business management. The RWB program also develops and delivers additional, more advanced programming for those who have completed the introductory program.
The Senior Associate plays a key role in supporting FarmLink’s education programs, both in Spanish and English, as well as directly serving its farmers, ranchers, and fishers. This role will work closely with the Senior Program Manager to pilot a new advanced educational program for farm employers, and with the Senior Program Associate to run the English-language and Spanish-language group education programs.
This is a non-exempt full-time position at 40 hours per week.
FarmLink’s Land and Business (LAB) programs are:
- Resilience & Wealth Building – runs two cohort-based programs, in English and Spanish, focused on business management. These two cohort-based programs last 10-12 weeks and cover all aspects of topics including business structure, labor, land tenure, accounting, taxation, credit, insurance, and regulatory compliance. A third employment program is being developed and piloted in 2023.
- Equity and Conservation on Working Lands – facilitates secure and equitable agreements for land tenure and other critical business transactions, incentivizes adoption and expansion of conservation practices, fosters successful business succession planning, and supports landholders in ensuring their land remains in agricultural production.
- Business and Innovation – provides direct support to Lending by facilitating one on one technical assistance for loan readiness and ongoing compliance with loan conditions.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Support RWB team in promoting, recruiting, and partnership-building for educational programs.
- Support RWB team with organization and management of education programs.
- Support program management, which includes management of data through CRMs and various software, communication with participants, providing technical assistance, and more.
- Support the maintenance and development of educational resources including applications and forms, recorded webinars, published written materials, templates and worksheets to support client learning and access to programs, in English and Spanish.
- Work closely with the Communications Department to ensure these materials are functioning as intended on our website and to support ongoing messaging about the availability of these resources.
- Work closely with the Loan Department to connect clients to loan programs and other assistance.
- Support farm businesses with technical support, online application and form submission.
- Attend and support facilitation of virtual, in-person, and hybrid group educational programs and workshops, including three established multi-month educational programs, and a variety of specialized follow-up workshops and advanced educational offerings. Programs actively run from October thru April and the role requires occasional travel to some classes.
- Assist farm businesses with accessing FarmLink programs, program incentives, technical assistance and referrals.
- Support FarmLink’s involvement in partner conferences through workshop coordination, logistics planning, and communication with partners
- Assist with creating client stories and blog posts to share with funders and the public.
- Support FarmLink’s Business Skills Advisor in delivery of one-on-one technical assistance to education clients.
- Support Program Manager with data management, evaluation of, and reporting on RWB programs.
- Support with English and Spanish translations of educational resources.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Ability to clearly communicate the written and spoken word with tact, diplomacy, and/or clarity fluently in English and Spanish.
- Education and work experience related to agriculture, community development, environmental studies, educational programs, or other related fields.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, comfortable working with people of varied cultural backgrounds including those with English as a second language.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- AA or a Bachelors in business, agriculture, community development, education, environmental studies, agronomy, or other related field, or the equivalent combination of education and work experience.
- Highly organized and self-directed problem-solver able to create timelines and structure while remaining flexible and adaptive.
- Knowledge and experience using MS Word, Excel and Google Suite tools. Knowledge and experience using CRM software (i.e. Salesforce) and other softwares a plus.
- Ability to travel to and attend occasional in-person classes, conferences, and meetings in the Central Coast (and throughout the state)
Applicants who do not meet all of the qualifications are still encouraged to apply.
California FarmLink offers a generous benefits plan, including health insurance after 30-60 days (depending on start date), employer contribution to 403b retirement plan, paid vacation, and a family-friendly and flexible work environment. California FarmLink maintains a drug-free workplace and is an equal opportunity employer.
We seek candidates that represent the diversity of the communities we serve, and strongly encourage you to apply.
How To Apply
Please use the subject line “RWB Senior Associate” to email a thoughtful cover letter explaining your interest in the position and organization with your resume to: humanresources@cafarmlink.org. No phone calls please.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
Posted June 1st with an anticipated start date of July 24th, 2023.
Who We Are
The mission of California FarmLink is to invest in the prosperity of farmers, ranchers, and fishers- through lending, education, and access to land. We value equitable access to opportunity, resilient working landscapes, fairness and accountability, and learning from diverse farmers and ranchers. For more info, and to learn about FarmLink’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: https://www.californiafarmlink.org/dei-principles/