Manager of Operations & Programs

Organization: SustainEd Farms 

Title: Manager of Operations and Programs

 

Employment Type: Full-time independent contractor (hourly)

Schedule: 40 hours a week; Monday - Friday with occasional weekend events

Expected Start Date: February 20th, 2023 (flexible for the right candidate)

Pay Rate: $23.00-$28.00 hourly ($46,000-$56,000 yearly), based on experience. 

Benefits: Flexible work schedule. Access to regular professional development. Monthly health benefits stipend ($150 per month). 

Location: Denver, CO (or front range, CO); hybrid: in-person and telework

Supervised By: Executive Director

 

About SustainEd Farms: 

SustainEd Farms is a Denver 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that uses gardens as a way of teaching students about nutrition and environmental sustainability, while using the food produced to supplement communities that lack equitable access to fresh, healthy foods. We work with 30 Denver schools, grades pre-K through 12, supporting over 5,000 students. At these school gardens, we grow over 3,000 lbs of food and distribute it to food banks and no-cost farm stands. We are guided by our mission: Growing food. Growing knowledge. Growing justice.

 

Essential Functions and Objectives:

The Manager of Operations and Programs is responsible for leading and managing a comprehensive array of services and programs for SustainEd Farms. They will review ongoing services being offered and develop new programs as needs emerge. They will be responsible for activities pertaining to curriculum, programming, events, partnership development, personnel, and contracts. This position will inform the Executive Director of program accomplishments and any issues that arise.

 

Responsibilities: 

• Provide effective and inspiring leadership, and stewardship of SustainEd Farms by being actively involved in all programs and services, including school gardens, aquaponics labs, farm stands, and other garden-related initiatives.

• Ensure that all program activities operate consistently and ethically within the mission and values of SustainEd Farms.

• Act as primary point of contact for all partner schools regarding initial garden set-up, school programming, budgets, formal contracts, continued maintenance, and community/school events.

• Write curriculum and design programming that aligns with SustainEd Farm’s sustainability and nutrition education mission.

• Work with the Executive Director to train education and garden specialists, and provide regular coaching and support throughout the school year and growing season.

• Provide sustainability assessments and reports of school partners and programs.

• Implement and lead a continuous quality improvement process throughout the program and service areas, focusing on process improvement. 

• Promote regular and ongoing opportunities for stakeholders to give feedback on program operations supporting data collection that will be utilized in overall organization share-outs as well as funder and grant reports.

• Partner with the Executive Director to represent SustainEd Farms with external stakeholder groups, including community, governmental, and private organizations.

• Coordinate and partner with social media lead and website developer to ensure key events and program highlights are shared with SustainEd Farms stakeholders. 

 

Knowledge, Experience, & Other Qualifications:

We deeply value the diversity of insight, perspective, and experience brought by people from diverse backgrounds. This includes Black, Indigenous, Latino, and Asian people, LGBTQ+, gender non-conforming people, people with disabilities, and other cultural backgrounds. SustainEd Farms is an equal opportunity employer. 

 

Below are a list of preferred knowledge, experience, and other qualifications. However, we recognize that having qualifications does not always correlate to an ability to perform a job well. We encourage all diverse, passionate individuals to apply.  

• 3-5 years of professional experience.

• Strong educational background, which may include an undergraduate degree and/or an advanced degree in a related field such as Agricultural Science, Nutrition or Environmental Studies.

• Prior experience working in an agricultural setting, including knowledge of gardening, farming, care of chickens and goats, and general construction.

• Prior experience working with diverse students in a K-12 education setting.

• Knowledge of Colorado and Denver food systems and education systems. 

• Strong relationship builder and communicator with experience leading diverse work teams, developing an organization-wide strategy for program excellence, and engaging community partners.

• Experience with reporting and program measurement and evaluation, especially connected to grants.

• Passionate about SustainEd Farm’s mission and able to promote and communicate the philosophy, mission and values of SustainEd Farms to external and internal stakeholders.

• Resourcefulness in finding solutions to unique problems and making pivots to ensure outcomes.

• Flexible, collaborative mindset and innovative thinker.

• Must be willing to lead and participate in year-round outdoor gardening activities with community members and students in grades Pre-K - 12.

• Must be able to pass a background check in order to work with our public school partners.

 

How to Apply: 

This position is open until filled. Application interviews are anticipated to begin in early January, 2023. Please send a resume and cover letter that explains your connection to SustainEd Farms’ work and how your experience relates to this position's responsibilities to Executive Director, Matt Suprunowicz, at matt@sustainedfarms.org. Please use the email subject line “Manager of Operations and Programs”.