Description
Education Coordinator
Organization Information
GrowNYC is a 54-year-old environmental nonprofit organization helping more than 3 million New Yorkers by providing essential services and taking action to make NYC a livable city, one where every person can enjoy a healthier, more sustainable life. GrowNYC Programs include:
- Our network of Greenmarkets, Farmstands sites, and the work of GrowNYC Wholesale ensure that all New Yorkers have access to the freshest, healthiest local food.
- We blanket the five boroughs with resources like food scrap and clothing collections to make waste reduction, recycling, and composting easy for all.
- We build and support community and school gardens through volunteer days, technical assistance, training, grants and more.
- We provide 70,000 children each year with programs that provide meaningful interactions with the natural environment.
Requirements
Education Coordinator: Full Time
Position Summary
GrowNYC is seeking an enthusiastic individual with strong experience in garden-based education to join our Teaching Garden team. The Teaching Garden is a 1-acre educational farm where students of all ages visit to learn about urban farming. Reporting to the Program Manager, the Education Coordinator will be part of a 4-person team who manages the Teaching Garden and will be responsible for overseeing school programming, supporting curricula, and helping to maintain the farm. Applicants should have experience in urban agriculture, sustainability, environmental education, and be comfortable working outdoors in all conditions and with people of all ages and abilities. The successful candidate will be a capable self-starter, willing and excited to grow existing initiatives, develop new ideas, and expand the Teaching Garden’s offerings.
Education Coordinator Responsibilities (Including but are not limited to):
Education:
- Lead hands-on garden-based lessons for all visiting groups (including K-12 NYC public school students, college groups, fellow non-profits, and senior citizens), typically 4-6 groups per week.
- Train and schedule Garden Educators for weekly programing and curriculum implementation.
- Coordinate daily site prep each morning and site clean-up/breakdown each afternoon.
- Develop and lead professional development events for educators.
Administrative Responsibilities:
- Recruit and schedule all visiting groups for guided and self-guided programming.
- Serve as the primary contact for visiting groups.
- Document field trip outcomes and impacts through evaluations and surveys.
- Expand upon current creative grade-level lesson plans, activities, and recipes for school field trips.
- Coordinate and plan programming for weekend workshops.
- Coordinate with on-island partners including but not limited to the Trust for Governors Island, El Puente, Earth Matter, and the Bee Conservancy on collaborative climate awareness programming.
- Partner with other GrowNYC initiatives on programming and outreach
Garden Maintenance:
- With the guidance of the Farm Coordinator, participate in all aspects of intensive organic vegetable production: planning, planting, harvesting, record keeping, pest/weed control, irrigation, and compost management one - two days per week.
- Assist and lead groups of corporate volunteers through garden tasks.
Qualifications
- Knowledge of sustainable agriculture, urban sustainability, climate awareness
- 3+ years of experience teaching youth and/or adults in a farm, garden, or other non-formal education setting
- Familiarity with the NYC school system
- Strong skills in program administration, communication, and time management
- Experience supervising staff and/or volunteers and working with diverse communities
- Willingness to be in outdoor settings in hot/cold/rainy weather
- Familiarity with current software technologies and social media; preferred knowledge in Excel, and/or data management system
- Basic gardening and carpentry skills a plus
Physical Requirements
This position requires the ability to stand and walk for up to 8 hours in all types of weather conditions (sometimes extreme) and lift heavy/bulky equipment and supplies, up to 50 lbs.
Schedule
This position is full-time (35-40 hours), Monday - Friday. Occasional weekend work may be required. The start date for this position is ASAP.
Compensation
The position is a non-exempt, full time, union-eligible role and the salary ranges from 50K-53K per year and includes benefits (medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long-term disability, incentive savings plan, paid time off, Public Service Loan Forgiveness available to employees, and potential for parental leave for full-time regular employees who have been employed with GrowNYC for 175 days and FSA programs).
Location
Work will be performed at the Teaching Garden on Governors Island, our office, located in Manhattan as well as GrowNYC programming sites citywide, and occasional remote work.
Applications
Qualified candidates for the Education Coordinator position should submit a cover letter, resume, and a GrowNYC reference. Interviews will take place on a rolling basis. Due to the volume of employment applications received, GrowNYC is unable to respond to each application individually. Applicants will be contacted directly if selected as a candidate. No phone calls or recruiters, please. Application deadline is August 25, 2024.
Contact
GrowNYC
P.O. Box 2327
New York, NY
10272212-788-7900
For additional information, please see our website: grownyc.org
GrowNYC is an Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity Employer and hires without regard to race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or physical disability.
