Wright-Locke Farm is now hiring an Education Director to develop, manage, and facilitate youth and adult education programs. This person will have primary responsibility for all aspects of the farm’s educational programs and will report to the farm’s Executive Director. The Education Director is a full-time, year-round salaried position. Compensation will be based on experience.
The Education Director’s responsibilities include managing all aspects of the farm’s educational programs. More specifically, the Education Director is responsible for:
Developing education programs:
Planning and creating schedules and curricula for both youth and adult programs
Finding, hiring and coordinating with adult education program hosts (includes coordinating program plans and supplies needed, determining appropriate compensation for service, and handling scheduling and fees associated with kitchen rentals and permits as necessary)
Community outreach to expand the number of children, teens, and adults partaking in the farm’s educational offerings, including coordinating future farm visits and enrichment programs
Creating and maintaining community partnerships, including coordinating partner programs both on and off the farm
Researching and planning for future programs
Managing education programs:
Hiring, training, and managing all education staff including the Assistant Education Director and Seasonal Educators who lead/colead seasonal youth programs
Recruiting and coordinating volunteers to assist staff during youth education programs
Purchasing durable and nondurable supplies as necessary
Organizing and cleaning program and work areas as well as supplies/tools
Managing the farm’s two youth education gardens
Planning for each growing season
Purchasing seeds/seedlings
Planting (includes starting seedlings in the greenhouse, direct seeding, and transplanting)
Maintaining both gardens throughout the spring, summer, and fall seasons
Harvesting outside of programs if necessary
Facilitating education programs:
Leading a significant number of seasonal youth programs during the spring, summer, and fall
Leading both youth and adult educational farm visits that may include a hands-on volunteer component when desired and appropriate
Leading off-site youth and adult enrichment programs
Leading a significant number of seasonal adult programs during the spring, summer, and fall
Assisting hired hosts before, during, and after adult education programs (includes setting up, welcoming/checking in participants, collecting payments, and cleaning up)
Administrative functions related to education programs:
Marketing youth and adult programs (both print and web-based)
Marketing education jobs (web-based)
Updating farm education-specific webpages on WLFarm.org
Updating webpage content through WordPress
Creating and updating program registration functions through CiviCRM
Database management related to youth and adult program registration through CiviCRM (includes collecting and recording payments for programs)
Education-related correspondence (email, phone, etc) and managing customer relations with care to maintain positive relationships with parents of children attending youth programs, participants of adult programs, and groups partaking in on-farm and off-site programs
Grant writing and submitting annual reports as necessary
Annual education budget evaluation and planning
Attending farm staff meetings
Candidates for the Education Director position should:
Have significant experience working with children in an educational program capacity; developing, managing, and/or facilitating educational programs related to agriculture/gardening, seasonal cooking/healthy eating, the environment, and/or related subjects are strongly preferred
Have a strong desire to create and teach youth and adult curricula related to sustainable small-scale agriculture, healthy seasonal cooking, and related subjects
Be passionate about working with children of ages 4 – 14 in an organic farm setting
Have significant experience working with adults in an educational program capacity; developing, managing, and/or facilitating educational programs related to agriculture/gardening, seasonal cooking/healthy eating, the environment, and/or related subjects are strongly preferred
Have significant experience managing teen and/or adult volunteers; experience managing volunteers in a youth education program capacity is preferred
Be very organized, detail-oriented, and able to efficiently multitask
Have a positive attitude, be a strong and dedicated leader, and be able to adapt to changing environments and circumstances
Be extremely comfortable working outdoors- rain or shine!
Be comfortable utilizing and maintaining shared work areas
Be comfortable with public speaking
Be comfortable cooking with both kids and adults and teaching culinary skills
Be comfortable gardening with kids
Be comfortable working with/handling farm animals (no experience required)
Be able to lift 50 lbs and spend a significant amount of time standing/walking
Have reliable housing and transportation
Have reliable technology (laptop, cell phone) necessary for the job
Have a willingness to travel for off-site programs when necessary (includes using one’s own vehicle for such programs)
Pending emergencies and excused absences, the Education Director must be able to commit to working full-time at the farm during the program season (this includes some weekends and weeknights); there is some flexibility in on-site work outside of the program season (the program season is currently March – early November)
If you are interested in the Education Director position, please send a resume and cover letter to Executive Director Archie McIntyre at amcintyre@wlfarm.org as soon as possible. Please include 2 – 3 references (professional references preferred) on your resume or cover letter. Interviews will be scheduled December 2017 – January 2018 or until the position is filled.
If you have questions concerning the position description that you would like answered before submitting a resume and cover letter, please also send them to Executive Director Archie McIntyre at amcintyre@wlfarm.org.