Farm & Food Education Programs Manager

About Pie Ranch:

Pie Ranch is a unique food system education center located on our diversified regenerative farm on the San Mateo Coast, about 55 miles south of San Francisco. Our home near Pescadero, CA, is in the ancestral homeland of the Quiroste Tribe, now stewarded in partnership with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and Amah Mutsun Land Trust. The home site of Pie Ranch includes two parcels, 27-acres in total. These neighboring pieces of land are each shaped like a slice of pie, and also grow the ingredients to make pie. In 2018 we began leasing 418-acres to the north at Cascade Ranch where we host our Regenerator Program for new farmers and land-based businesses. Pie Ranch’s vision is to support a multiracial community of growers and eaters with access to land, education, and resources necessary to bring abundance and reciprocity into our relationships with each other and the Earth. Each day we work toward our mission of cultivating a nourishing and just food system from seed to table through food systems education, farmer pathways, and regional partnerships. Grounded in our values, we work to center justice and equity in all our programs, policies, structures, and how we communicate with each other.

Our programs for youth and the public primarily take place at Pie Ranch and provide participants with the inspiration, joy, and experiences needed to affect food systems change in their communities. Our programs include community and fee-for-service programs, field trips for youth, summer programs, on-farm jobs for young adults, and internships for college aged students.

For more information on the organization, see http://www.pieranch.org

About the Position:

Under the direction of the Program Director, the Farm & Food Education Programs Manager’s (FFEPM’s) primary duties are to lead, manage, and enrich farm-based educational programs at Pie Ranch. This entails managing and implementing on-site school field trips, our youth workforce program, Youth Corps, as well as internships for college students. The FFEPM also supports the execution of public programs (pie bakes, workshops, private luncheons and dinners, tours, etc.) on the farm. The FFEPM acts as a farm liaison and works with the farm team every week to tend the .23 acre program plot. The FFEPM facilitates farm projects for visiting youth and the public, finding ways to interpret the workings of the farm.

This position has a Tuesday-Saturday work schedule.

Job Responsibilities (Percentages are rough estimates for the year):

Educational & Public Programs (55%):

Manages and implements all aspects of on-site and overnight school visits and serves as an educational facilitator for public programs as the schedule allows.

• Staff and lead up to three educational programs per week (including supporting Saturday programming, ie. Third Saturday Volunteer Work Day) that may engage all or some aspects of our culinary, farm, conservation, and animal programs at Pie Ranch.
• Develop and deliver experiential education curriculum with a food justice and regenerative agriculture lens to youth and adults, primarily at our Home Pie site and occasionally at school sites.
• Coordinate field trip logistics with teachers and administrators and meets weekly with the programs team to discuss upcoming visits, roles and responsibilities for visiting programs.
• Support public programs and events as an educational facilitator as schedule allows.
• Collect data for the Pie Ranch Visitor log and oversee the assessment & evaluation tools for education programs, utilizing post-trip surveys to measure the program’s impact and share stories with stakeholders.
• Occasionally contribute to newsletter and other public communications about programs.
• Assist Program Director with developing & refining MOU’s for partner schools and organizations.

Youth Corps and Interns (20%):

• In collaboration with the Program Director, bottom-line the operation and success of the Youth Corps program and College interns on the farm focusing on the development of both hard and soft job skills, as well as the personal growth of youth in the program.
• Manage recruitment and outreach, budget, conduct orientation, and close each Youth Corps session.
• In collaboration with Pie Ranch staff, manage the Youth Corps work schedule and coordinate with Pie Staff (Farm, Culinary, Conservation, and Farmstand).
• Manage and maintain Youth Corps documents and materials, including onboarding slides, waivers, directory, alumni list, etc.
• Direct relevant Pie Ranch staff in continual development and execution of meaningful and relevant Youth Corps tracks.
• Facilitate regular feedback sessions between Youth Corps and Pie Ranch Staff.
• Maintain systems for submitting and reviewing timesheets, tracking job skills training, milestones, etc.

Farm Liaison and Support (20%)

• Work on the farm 4-8 hours per week with a focus on crop planning, maintaining, harvesting, and caring for the .23 acre program garden plot in collaboration with the Farm Manager.
• Supports the farm during weeks when there is light programming due to the season (3 winter months, for example).

Facilities, Finance and Other (5%)

• Work with the program team to assess and track economic viability & sustainability of education programs including managing the program budget.
• Meet or communicate weekly with Facilities to assess needs for the weekly programs.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Required:

• Flexibility, adaptability, self-direction, positivity, emotional intelligence, and excellent communication skills are essential to the success of this role.
• Ability to provide leadership/on-task modeling for all staff; arriving early for set up/coordination of programs/events, Youth Corps, Interns and other visitors.
• Strong organizational, coordination, and collaboration skills. This is a manager position and requires project and staff management.
• Friendliness, approachability, and enthusiasm for working with other people.
• Experience and interest in developing evaluative tools and educational program evaluation.
• Understanding that several months at Pie are “slow” months for visitors and that others are busier.
• A minimum of three to five years of experience in a similar role (as a teacher or coordinator).
• Experience in regenerative, organic farming or gardening.
• Experience working with diverse crops; enthusiastic about learning
• Experience working with youth of diverse backgrounds in a classroom or garden context.
• Commitment to Racial Justice and Anti-Oppression work.
• Understanding of and commitment to food sovereignty and food justice.
• Youth leadership development experience and skills.
• Strong ability to communicate clearly and enthusiastically with students, teachers, and school administrators.
• Experience with developing curriculum, educational tools, lesson plans and activities related to sustainable agriculture and food justice.
• Understanding that work is within the rustic reality of a farm.
• Understanding the realities of working at a non-profit with ongoing needs around funding and infrastructure.
• Understanding of the Be Present model of communication and willingness to integrate the model into all forms of communication at Pie Ranch.
• Understanding the importance that public programs and fee-for-service programs play a part in supporting school/youth visits and general operations.
• Understanding and acceptance of Pie Ranch current staff structure, decision making process, policies and procedures.
• Proficiency with Word, Excel and Gmail.
• Ability to coordinate funds and manage budgets.
• Ability to drive and access to a vehicle for regular travel to and from Pie Ranch and partner schools.
• Ability to work 40+ hours per week.

Desired:

• Proficiency in Spanish
• Commitment to personal health and interest in cooking and nutrition.
• Access to a smart phone or personal computer for out of office communications.

HOURS:

• This is a full time salaried exempt position with benefits.
• This position has a Tuesday-Saturday work schedule.
• Flexibility to occasionally run events on off-scheduled days (Sundays) in exchange for other days of the week.