Program Manager for Culinary Job Training Program

Overview

Are you interested in joining a committed team that is passionate about changing the world, one meal at a time? Then you may find yourself at home at Farming Hope.

Our goal is to empower our Apprentices, to ensure access to food is a human right, and to inspire our community. This makes for a dynamic and fulfilling work experience. We are a small team where everyone is a problem-solver who can execute with ownership. For people with a love of food and who have a deep desire to make an impact, it’s game-changing work in a fun and engaging space with a meaningful culture.

Organization Description

Farming Hope is a food justice nonprofit and culinary job training program. Our paid, transitional employment program helps adults transition to personal well-being  while nourishing food-insecure neighbors and rescuing food from going to waste. 

Our Apprentices are overcoming obstacles to employment as they seek to reenter the workforce. Some are justice impacted, housing insecure, in recovery, refugees, survivors of a crime, or long-term unemployed. We offer on-the-job training, empowering folks with opportunity while also giving them a chance to feed it forward.

We are a highly collaborative, community-based organization dedicated to making a difference. Learn more about our organization at farminghope.org.

Job Overview

The Program Manager is a crucial role responsible for overseeing the success of our Apprenticeship Program, managing approximately 15 Apprentices per cohort. Cohort sizes may increase over time based on organizational bandwidth and training opportunities. Typically each cohort is approximately 50% monolingual Spanish speakers, so it is essential for the Program Manager to speak Spanish fluently and be comfortable providing interpretation and translation.

The Program Manager is the #1 advocate for our Apprentices, and the responsibilities include:

• Apprentice recruitment and onboarding
• Curriculum development
• Teaching weekly job skills and soft skills classes
• Interpretation and translation of program materials and conversations with program participants
• Maintaining and developing team rituals to foster community
• Data tracking for program
• Reporting on grants that fund Apprentice program
• Building relationships with program partners (ie case managers, social workers, and parole officers)
• Collaborating with Program Director to support Apprentices to secure and maintain full-time work post-graduation
• Continuous program improvement to best support each Apprentice as an individual
• Iterate on ways to engage and support our alumni community
• Other duties as assigned that are needed to help drive to our vision and fulfill our mission
• Farming Hope is a small team, and as such we expect that 5-10% of every team member’s duties will be helping the organization as needs arise

In addition, the Program Manager serves as an HR Manager on the team, and will work closely with the Program & HR Director with responsibilities such as payroll, benefits, and personnel management. HR will account for approximately 10% of the role.

In this role there are intentional opportunities to learn and grow as a manager, as well as an inclusive community leader. As a job training nonprofit, Farming Hope advances a culture of continual learning and professional development, emphasized by our participation in national networks including REDF and Catalyst Kitchens. 

Candidate Qualifications

• Workforce Development or Employment Specialist or similar casework experience
• 3+ years experience 
• Data entry and computer literacy
• Coaching and mentoring experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills 
• A self-directed mindset, able to manage oneself, take initiative and prioritize multiple tasks and projects
• Highly organized and detail-oriented
• Flexibility with dynamic work environment
• Commitment to systemic transformation
• Spanish fluency 

Other beneficial qualifications: lived experience of barriers to employment; food service experience; management experience; knowledge of trauma-informed management.

About Farming Hope

Farming Hope is an equal opportunity employer. We enthusiastically accept our responsibility to make employment decisions without regard to race, religious creed, color, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, marital status, medical condition as defined under State law, disability, military service, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions or any other classification protected by federal, state, and/or local laws and ordinances.

At Farming Hope we have a clear vision to be a place where a diverse mix of talented people are able to learn, teach, and grow. Diversity is more than a commitment at Farming Hope—it is necessary to advance equity and inclusion for the Apprentices in our training program and our guests in the community.

To Apply

Send your cover letter and resume as PDF files to hiring@farminghope.org