BACKYARD GARDEN COORDINATOR

City Slicker Farms, a non-profit urban farming program in West Oakland, California is seeking qualified applicants for our Backyard Garden Coordinator position. The Coordinator will be managing the operations of the Backyard Garden Program. This will include supervising mentors, interns and volunteers; conducting trainings, coordinating outreach, builds, and site visits; gardening; coordinating materials; administrative work; and record keeping. The Backyard Garden Coordinator reports directly to the Operations Manager. This is a great position for motivated people who are interested in all aspects of community food security and food justice.

The Backyard Garden Program builds food self-sufficiency by empowering low-income households to grow fresh produce where they live. Low-income households interested in growing their own food apply to this free program. Our staff then tests their soil for contaminants. Based upon the soil analysis and what the household wants to grow, the household makes a garden plan with our staff. Together, the household gardeners and City Slicker Farms’ staff and volunteers build a garden in only four hours. Backyard Gardeners not only work with City Slicker Farms to create a garden in their yard; they are partnered with a garden mentor to support them through two years of growing food for the table. Mentors provide technical assistance and bring needed supplies, including compost, plants, and seeds for the garden. Backyard Gardeners are responsible for maintaining their gardens. We encourage them to share their harvest and their knowledge with their family and community.

Backyard Garden Program Responsibilities:
- Provide marketing for and outreach to program participants and volunteer mentors
- Conduct site visits and builds with backyard gardeners
- Coordinate and provide quarterly follow-up support visits and ongoing technical assistance to backyard gardeners
- Organize events for backyard gardeners
- Coordinate backyard garden mentors (including monthly mentor meeting)
- Plan and lead community workshops
- Supervise, delegate and train backyard garden mentors, preschool garden coordinator, interns, and volunteers on program tasks and protocols, including safety, health, and cleanliness standards
- Work with Operations Manger in the greenhouse
- Give talks and presentations about City Slicker Farms and food/social justice related topics
- Update calendar and pertinent information on website for Backyard Garden Program
- Follow-up with email and phone communications for the Backyard Garden Program
- Attend all internal meetings. Attend any community outreach, collaborative or other pertinent meetings when needed
- Help foster connection among backyard gardeners (examples include introducing backyard gardener neighbors to each other and inviting established backyard gardeners to builds)
- With the Operations Manager, monitor the upkeep of all vehicles (bikes, trucks, etc)
- Help research and secure garden supplies, including in-kind donations
- Manage record keeping and inventory of supplies
- Manage all evaluation, program reports, goal settings, data entry and other needed administrative duties
- Maintain all training and procedure documents

Skills Required:
- Minimum of one year gardening and/or farming work
- Ability to instruct community members in gardening techniques
- Experience supervising staff and/or volunteers
- Have a valid driver’s license and ability to drive dump truck
- Attention to detail
- Organizational & communication skills (record-keeping, data entry, planning, filing, managing schedules, e-mail, etc)
- Great interpersonal skills
- Able and willing to do hard manual labor and to lift 50 pounds
- Ability to stay on task while handling multiple distractions and think on your feet
- Ability to ride a bicycle and haul a bike trailer
- Experience working with a diverse group of people (age, race, gender, ethnicity, economic status)
- Experience supervising staff and/or volunteers
- Basic computer skills (Microsoft platforms, email, database)
- Committed to social justice
- Good sense of humor

Skills Preferred:
- Spanish speaker
- Basic construction/carpentry experience
- Experience with drip irrigation

Work Schedule and Benefits:
- 100% FTE, Tuesday-Saturdays required
- Two weeks paid holiday in December plus two weeks paid vacation
- Compensation negotiable based on skills. Please submit your salary request with your cover letter and resume

Please submit resume, cover letter and salary request using one of the following methods:
1.) email to jobs@cityslickerfarms.org, or 2.) postal mail to City Slicker Farms, Attn: Julie Pavuk, Operations Manager, 1625 16th St., Oakland, CA 94607.

Applications will be accepted until January 2, 2012. Job opening will be posted until filled.

People of color and West Oakland residents are encouraged to apply.