Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator - AmeriCorps Service Member Position - Growing Places

This is a TerraCorps AmeriCorps Service Member Position serving with Growing Places

Serving at Growing Places for 11 months, Growing Places is interviewing candidates for a Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator (SAC). The SAC will engage with the Director of Systems + Impact to manage volunteers on community service projects, educate or train individuals in environmental stewardship or environmentally conscious practices, and complete three capacity building projects. Potential projects include:

 Serve with staff, local farmers, and volunteers to build capacity of our inventory management system and new local food processing center that lightly processes agricultural products.

 Organize volunteer program to support Growing Place's role as North Central MA's sustainable agriculture mid-tier operations (aggregation, processing, and distribution) of locally produced agricultural food .

 Educate and orient volunteers about Growing Places' work and volunteer's role in promoting environmental sustainability as related to the local food system. Applications for this position must be submitted via the TerraCorps online application: available-member-positions (site.com)

The position description for the SAC at Growing Places can be found at TerraCorps Available Member Positions.

About Growing Places: Growing Places is a nonprofit established in 2001 that focuses on food and environmental justice in 27 communities of North Central MA (NCMA). Our mission is to inspire and connect the NCMA community to create equitable access to healthy food and environmental sustainability through education, collaboration, and advocacy. To address NCMA's high rates of food insecurity and disproportionate rates of nutrition related chronic disease, GP's work is dynamic as it is continuously informed by community need and listening to those we aim to serve.

About TerraCorps: TerraCorps cultivates an ecosystem of people and organizations that center community land ownership, access, and stewardship to support a diversity of interests that benefit human health and environmental sustainability. We value the power of local nonprofits to best understand and serve their communities and our goal is to help them succeed by providing them access to the AmeriCorps national service model to build organizational capacity.

TerraCorps partners with a network of 40+ nonprofits in Massachusetts and Rhode Island focused on community needs related to local land conservation and sustainable agriculture. These partners provide service sites for a new cohort of up to 60 AmeriCorps service members annually who serve in one of five coordinator roles focused on:

 Land Conservation

 Land Stewardship

 Sustainable Agriculture

 Community Engagement

 Youth Education

Service members are paired with a site supervisor who provides them guidance and mentorship while they learn to manage community programs and projects over an 11-month, 1,700-hour service term.

Start Date: 8/26/2024

End Date: 7/25/2025

Term of Service & Service Hours: Full-time approximately 38–40 hours/week

Requirements

A. AmeriCorps Eligibility Qualifications

1. Be at least 17 years of age at the start of service.

2. Have a high school diploma or its equivalent.

3. Be a citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident alien of the United States.

4. Satisfy the National Service Criminal History Check eligibility criteria (45 CFR 2540.202).

B. Position Qualifications

1. Strong interest in national and community service.

2. Strong writing, verbal communication, and presentation skills.

3. Able to serve both independently and as a member of a team.

4. Comfort navigating computer software programs including: MS365 (primarily Outlook, Word and Excel) and our produce inventory management software for which training will be provided

5. Experience training and/or educating community members and volunteers.

6. Able to build relationships with people from varied cultural, economic, educational, racial, political, and religious backgrounds.

C. Environmental Conditions and Physical Qualifications

1. Moderate to strenuous physical activity is required: walking, lifting and carrying 40 pounds, kneeling and/or crouching for long periods. 2. Travel to off-site meetings and remote parcels of land as needed. 3. The ability to move safely over uneven terrain in remote locations. 4. The ability to see and respond to dangerous situations. 5. The ability to work in extreme weather conditions. 6. General office environment: ability to sit at desk for long periods, manual dexterity needed for keyboard work, writing, and phone calls. 7. May come in contact with herbicides and pesticides. 8. The ability to wear personal protective gear correctly most of the day.

D. Other Preferred Qualifications

1. Adaptability in a busy working environment 2. Strong organizational skills 3. A strong interest in creative and innovative project development

Benefits

 $27,000 living allowance (pre-tax), divided and paid biweekly over the 11-month term of service, which is $1,080 /pay period (pre-tax).

 $7,395 AmeriCorps Segal Education Award (upon completion of 1,700 hours of service).

 Student Loan and Interest Forbearance on qualified federal student loans for duration of service term.

 Individual healthcare coverage.

 SNAP benefits in RI and SNAP/HIP benefits in MA (if eligible).

 Childcare benefits (if eligible).

 Opportunity to take up to two weeks’ time off for holidays, sick/personal days, and/or vacation over the full service term.

 Mentorship, training, and career development opportunities while serving directly with community-based nonprofits and top professionals in the field.

 The personal rewards of national service and community engagement.

 Lifelong access to a diverse and growing community after service.

 After you finish your year of service, you may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program here: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service.

YOU MUST APPLY HERE: available-member-positions (site.com)