Commons Network Manager | Apply by August 9, 2024
FLSA Classification: Exempt
Hours: Salaried, 30-hour work week across the organization
Salary: $75,000 (plus annual cost of living adjustment)
Benefits: Eligible for full-time benefits including PTO, QSEHRA health care reimbursement, sick days, professional development stipend
Location: 100% remote; occasional travel to attend meetings and events
Reports to: Executive Director
Who we are: Agrarian Trust is dedicated to expanding community ownership of farmland to benefit next-generation farmers. We are inspired by worker self-directed organizations where staff collaborate to create programs and policies to guide them. We have built a staff structure with decision making held by teams in program circles rather than in a hierarchy. We welcome new staff to join us in continuing to evolve our workplace to support democratic decision making and creative collaboration across our small team. Though we are a national organization, we consider ourselves to be community-based in that our work is based on mutual partnerships and led by local communities.
We are looking for someone who:
- Initiates projects and sees them through
- Brings their full self and maintains healthy work-life boundaries
- Offers clear and frequent communication and can give and receive feedback
- Builds, tends and mends, and cultivates relationships, and is comfortable navigating conflict
- Imaginative, loves to learn, and is curious about collective ownership and stewardship
- Has an intersectional analysis of systems related to food, agriculture, and the environment
Major Responsibilities
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING (35% / ~10.5 hrs/wk)
- Collaborate with partners and commons movement organizations to develop community-based landholding strategies and gather stories, lessons, and resources to grow the commons movement
- Facilitate cross-pollination between commons organizers, sharing resources across local contexts
- Support partners in developing shared purpose and governance frameworks
- Lead reflective efforts through network gatherings and evaluation from partners
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING (35% / ~10.5 hrs/wk)
- Weave together examples, models, toolkits, publications, in-person and online learning, sharing stories and presenting workshops on collective and commons-based land holding and tenure
- Create and deliver training for network partners on topics such as community land stewardship, commons governance, and land access models
DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY (10% / ~3 hrs/wk)
- Support and work with the Development Manager to identify and pursue funding opportunities to support resource-sharing initiatives
- Report to the Finance and Development Manager about the development needs of partners
- Collect and share updates, metrics, and narratives necessary for the Development and Finance Manager, Executive Director, and Operations Manager to report on grants
- Support the success of two 5-year grant projects including the USDA Regional Food Business Center Program (KY, OH, WV, Southwest VA, Western PA, Western MD, and TN) and the USDA Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program (National)
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE (10% / ~3 hrs/wk)
- Participate in staff decision-making, culture-building, and organizational development
- Familiarity with community-based governance models, community land stewardship, commons governance, and land access models
- Familiarity with and relationships in the Southeast and Appalachia
- Experience with and interest in participating in a democratic and non-hierarchical workplace
- Experience with advocacy organizations in influencing policy and legislative changes
- Experience working in diverse communities and with BIPOC farmers and/or food businesses owned/managed by people of color
MOVEMENT BUILDING (10% / ~3 hrs/wk)
- Cultivating partnerships with advocacy organizations that influence policy and legislation to support community-centered land ownership and regenerative agriculture practices
Qualifications & Experience (Note: Please consider applying if you meet our required skills.)
REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- Relevant experience in advocacy, community development, land trusts, social and/or environmental philanthropy, or relevant work with nonprofits or start-up social ventures
- Demonstrated project management skills including planning, coordination, and budgeting
- Experience building network relationships and facilitating meetings, workshops, and events
- Demonstrated experience in conflict resolution and transformation
- Track record of developing and sharing educational resources to support partners
- Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and experience integrating antiracist principles and practices in an organizational or network context
DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE (Not required)
- Experience with and interest in participating in a democratic and non-hierarchical workplace
- Experience with advocacy organizations in influencing policy and legislative changes
- Experience living or working in geographically diverse communities, rural communities, and/or with BIPOC farmers or food businesses owned/managed by people of color
- Knowledge of sustainable food production, land justice, and the work of land trusts and nonprofits in transforming agriculture (land access models and land stewardship)
- Professional working proficiency in a language spoken among our partners (Spanish, French, Kiswahili, Arabic)
Desired Location & Remote Work
We are an all-remote team. Staff members must embody proactive communications and this position will engage with the team in all U.S. time zones. This position requires access to high-speed internet and a reliable phone. A new work computer will be provided. This position will collaborate closely with our Commons Program Manager (based in NC). While we have a preference for an East Coast time zone for this position, we welcome candidates from across the U.S. to apply.
To Apply
Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis until August 9, 2024. We hope to fill the position by September 1, 2024. Please submit a cover letter, resume, and three references to [email protected] with “Commons Network Manager Application” as the subject line of your email.
Agrarian Trust works toward practicing the relational culture that we support in our projects and is developing greater participatory governance. Staff have opportunities to create agreements that define our mutual expectations and create supportive spaces for all of us to work in. We encourage people of color, people from working-class backgrounds, people with disabilities, women, transgender, and gender-nonconforming people to apply.