Hiring: National Technical Assistance Coordinator- Boston/Lowell, MA
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project’s (New Entry) mission is to improve our local and regional food systems by training the next generation of farmers to produce food that is sustainable, nutritious and culturally appropriate and making this food accessible to individuals regardless of age, mobility, ethnicity or socio-economic status. In doing this work, New Entry provides critical training, career development and economic opportunity to new farmers. New Entry is a fiscally sponsored project of Third Sector New England.
Job Summary:
The National Technical Assistance Coordinator will provide support and facilitation for two USDA national technical assistance (TA) projects: (1) the USDA Community Food Projects (CFP) grants program which supports community-based food security interventions and projects aimed at low-income communities; and (2) the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) grants program which supports organizations to provide training support to entering farmers and ranchers in their first ten years of operations. This person will support outreach to national organizations, particularly in underserved communities; conduct intake and case management/technical assistance for applicants and grantees of both programs; help develop educational resources, toolkits, guidebooks and webinars to support successful programs and grant proposals; and support program evaluation, data collection, monitoring and project reporting.
Key Job Elements:
-Provide support to coordinate a National Technical Assistance (TA) and Referral Network for Community Food Project and Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Programs:
· Work with New Entry’s National TA Manager to establish goals and monitor outcomes of National CFP and BFRDP TA initiatives;
· Work with National TA Manager to plan national conference for community food security organizations;
· Conduct national planning, outreach and technical assistance to organizations developing community food security and beginning farmer training programming. In particular:
· Promote and outreach CFP and BFRDP TA programs nationally by attending and presenting at relevant conferences and events;
· Recruit applicants and engage national partners in CFP and BFRDP TA efforts.
· Maintain and expand national TA request and referral system;
· Develop national webinars on CFP and BFRDP grant application and program topics;
· Expand web-based clearinghouse for CFP and BFRDP resources and support;
· Support development of case studies, success stories and toolkits for CFP and BFRDP projects;
· Organize national trainings, webinars and meetings for CFP and BFRDP grantees;
· Document and evaluate program outputs and outcomes and assist in completion of reporting requirements.
Special requirements:
· Access to reliable private transportation necessary;
· Willingness and ability to work a flexible schedule, including evenings and weekends.
Qualifications:
· Skills and knowledge in multiple aspects of community food projects or food security programming gained through significant experience working with diverse ethnic and economic groups;
· Experience with adult education theory, beginning farmer and rancher training strategies and organizational development preferred;
· Prior experience in national outreach, non-profit programming and educational resource development is essential;
· Experience with programmatic evaluation and assessment desired;
· Experience with event planning is desired;
· Enthusiasm for critically engaging with the local food movement and determining how non-profit programming can better address food insecurity, food access, and support the next generation of farmers and food producers;
· Strong organizational skills and acute attention to detail;
· Demonstrated leadership skills and networking/relationship building;
· Self- directed; works well within a rapidly-changing, high-performance environment;
· Effective oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills;
· Proficiency with standard computer software (MS Office, Social Media, Salesforce CRM, website content development, graphic design, Excel database);