Garden & Greenspaces Coordinator

Job Description

Job Description

The CLHI Garden & Greenspaces Coordinator will develop local gardens by hands-on growing, coordinating community outreach and garden volunteer days, and providing educational programming and technical assistance to residents about gardening and greenspaces. The position requires good interpersonal skills, community organizing experience and a passion for gardening education and food justice.

The anticipated schedule for this position is Tuesday to Saturday during the growing season (March – October). The work week is anticipated to be 24 hours with some overtime as approved. During the off-season, we anticipate planning and other activities up to 20 hours per month. To accommodate community members’ schedules and special events, a typical schedule may include work hours on one or two evenings each week. This is a tremendous opportunity for a team-oriented, creative and detailed person to lead community development and strengthen the capacity of a well-respected, high-impact organization and its partners.

Responsibilities

• Provide expertise in planning garden and greenspace activities
• Serve as the primary point of contact for and maintain communication with CLHI community garden groups and partners through email, phone, and social media
• Coordinate and facilitate planning meetings to design, build, and maintain the gardens
• Lead staff and volunteers to build garden infrastructure
• Support community garden and greenspace leaders at each site in managing day-to-day gardening activities and challenges
• Conduct regular site visits at each garden to assess plant health, deliver materials, etc.
• Lead - and facilitate others in leading - regular on-site and online educational opportunities for residents
• Represent CLHI at relevant community events
• Assist with various fundraising activities for CLHI as directed
• Perform other work as assigned by the Program Director or Executive Director

Knowledge & Skills

• Make purchases and coordinate deliveries for each project
• Develop and manage budgets for each assigned project
• Demonstrated experience and ability to develop reports and manage data collection to evaluate programs’ impacts
• Document community engagement with photos, quotes, etc.
• Assist CLHI team in maintaining social media presence by providing photos and materials for CLHI’s social media and email newsletter
• Track hours and mileage for work-related travel
• Demonstrate strong time management
• Excellent written and verbal communication and relationship-building skills
• Enthusiasm and team building spirit
• Project management ability to prioritize, be proactive and complete projects efficiently

Qualifications

• Significant experience with community organizing and community outreach to many demographics, e.g., youth, elders, people of color, immigrants, economically-diverse
• Experience in gardening, food growing
• Ability to teach gardening concepts to a variety of learners
• Some experience in carpentry and/or landscaping
• Strong planning and organizational skills, including events and volunteer management
• Ability to manage several task lists at once and adapt to changing conditions
• Ability to work outdoors in all weather (heat, humidity, rain and cold) and do manual labor
• Willingness to work independently and also cooperate as part of a team
• Experience with MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and willingness to learn other computer-based skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Regular access to a reliable vehicle – this position may require substantial driving
• Positive attitude; engaging personality
• An understanding of and commitment to community engagement, food justice and CLHI’s values
• Historical understanding of North Camden, Camden, NJ land use planning and social movements is a plus

Ability to speak/write fluent Spanish is a plus