Climate and Soil Health Program Manager

Job Purpose

Reporting to the National Climate and Soil Health Deputy Director and Scientist, the Climate and Soil Health Program Manager supports AFTs Climate and Soil Health Program by providing operational leadership for key priorities, managing outreach, communications, and stakeholder engagement, coordinating cross-functional implementation activities, and ensuring and contributing to delivery of funded project outcomes. The position supports AFTs efforts to catalyze a new conventional agriculture: empowering farmers and ranchers across the nations diverse systems to achieve on-farm and societal benefits from systems that are soil health promoting, biodiverse, climate-neutral or better, resilient, equitable, and environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.

Position Summary

As an integral part of the National Climate and Soil Health Program, the Climate and Soil Health Program Manager leads program outreach and metrics tracking, manages the roll out and maintenance of the virtual network platform, and manages communications, stakeholder engagement, resource dissemination, and other operational priorities that support successful delivery across the Climate and Soil Health Portfolio. The position collaborates across projects and teams to develop outreach and educational resources and events, facilitate partner engagement, support financial management and funder and impact reporting, and ensure that key tasks, deliverables, and communications move efficiently from planning to completion to facilitate successful and timely award and program outcomes. The Program Manager supports the Director, Deputy, and broader team by contributing to identification of implementation needs, addressing operational challenges, and contributing to the continued evolution of Climate and Soil Health programming strategies.

Duties and Responsibilities

Programmatic management and support

- Manage select partners, stakeholders, and AFT staff to achieve goals and deliverables set forth by the National Climate and Soil Health Programs funders and other AFT teams as applicable;

- Lead, support and ensure successful implementation of assigned workstreams and deliverables for Climate and Soil Health related projects;

- Coordinate and contribute to the collection, documentation, organization, tracking, and reporting to funders of project outcomes, metrics, partner contributions, and deliverables.

- Lead and support outreach, communications, educational programming, producer engagement, and dissemination activities, including collaboration with internal and external partners to implement communications and engagement plans.

- Collaborate with internal and external partners, bridging across soil scientists, economists, farmers, on-the-ground technical assistants, suppliers and food companies, program managers, ag specialists and other contributors, to coordinate on-farm demonstration trials, implementation activities, information flow, resource creation, trainings, networks, and other project deliverables that support farmers in trialing, adopting, and/or continuing to use environmentally and economically sound practices or marketing their products with sustainability premiums and environmental services.

- Coordinate, contribute to, and support the development, review, publication, and dissemination, of science-based project resources, such as website content, outreach materials and plans, curricula, trainings, presentations, factsheets, farmer reports, public-facing reports, white papers, decision support tools, and peer-reviewed manuscripts, that support adoption of soil health practices and facilitate overall improvements in climate and soil health outcomes.

- Represent AFT at occasional project-related events, such as conferences, trainings, and meetings;

- Build, facilitate, and manage the Climate and Soil Health Program virtual network microsites within the greater AFT Higher Logic program.

- Coordinate and support development of external advisory committee to support improved feedback loops and project outcomes, particularly on improved market access for producers using environmentally and economically sound practices.

Stakeholder, partnership and collaboration management for impact:

- Support and operationally manage Climate and Soil Health Programs external partnership development with a diverse network of agricultural and conservation professionals and funders, including NRCS, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Land Grant University Extensions, Industry, farmers, crop consultants and others relevant to implementation of project workstreams and for achieving project outcomes.

- Engage staff and stakeholders in identifying barriers to programmatic goals and funder deliverables, and work collaboratively to develop resounding solutions;

- Support and facilitate culture of shared learning, team creativity and problem solving for public benefits across a diverse, interdisciplinary, collaborative, mutually supportive national team.

- Serve as AFT representative for cross-organizational endeavors and events.

Work plan, budget and fundraising management support

- Support Director, Deputy, and Project Managers to map out and steward funding, personnel resources, workplans, budgets, and timelines of currently funded Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) and Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) and other project workstreams, as well as for the development of future programmatic areas and funding of the Climate & Soil Health Program, for achieving high quality, timely current and future project outcomes.

- Support development of partnerships and outreach approaches that expand access to Climate and Soil Health programming for diverse agricultural communities.

- Assist the Deputy Director in carrying out administrative and financial tasks, such as invoicing, contract review, partner payments, and ensuring necessary documentation is complete as necessary for partnerships, program execution, project milestones, and funder compliance.

- Support Climate & Soil Health Director and Deputy in their efforts to raise funds to carry out the division strategy through partner engagement, proposal development support, compilation of resources, metrics, and success stories, and coordination of required materials.

Other tasks:

- Work on other tasks as assigned or as skills can be leveraged to pursue opportunities to engage for positive impact on soil health, climate, and successful, resilient farming in diverse communities across the nation!

The above description is not necessarily an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements or working conditions. While intended to reflect the current job, the Climate & Soil Health Director reserves the right to revise or request additional tasks be performed.

Qualifications

- Program Implementation: Demonstrated success coordinating complex projects or workstreams involving multiple stakeholders, deadlines, and communications streams, to ensure tasks and deliverables are completed on time.

- Programs: Experience in successful planning, coordinating, and execution of outreach, communications, educational programming, producer engagement, or similar implementation-focused activities on time, within scope and budget.

- Funding and Financials: Some familiarity with, and ready to learn and support, budget management, state and federal grant management processes, contracting procedures and compliance, and other contracting or accountability systems required by universities, corporations, or foundation partners.

- Communication: Timely, effective and responsive verbal and written interpersonal communication across various platforms for internal/external team members.

- Leadership: Ability to effectively listen, respond and motivate internal/external team members to achieve common goals in a highly matrixed and/or remote environment.

- Mindset: Self-driven, organized, systematic problem-solver with strong ability to manage competing priorities while maintaining organization, responsiveness, and attention to detail.

- Adaptability: Proven ability to learn and adapt quickly and support the effective management of conflicting priorities in a rapidly changing environment.

- Systems: Proficient in using Microsoft applications such as Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Experience in Monday.com, Canva, and experience managing virtual communities, online platforms, project management tools, and shared collaboration systems, such as Higher Logic, preferred but not required.

- Agriculture: Experience and/or basic familiarity with agriculture, grazing, soil health, regenerative practices, climate resilience, renewable energy, carbon sequestration with a desire to learn in support of AFTs mission to holistically improve agricultural systems.

- Outreach: Experience managing outreach, communications, educational programming, producer engagement, stakeholder networks, partner relationships, or similar implementation-focused activities, in collaboration with partners including farmers and ranchers, non-profits, the scientific community, corporations, and government agencies among others.

- Expanding Access: Dedicated to practicing, learning, and advancing efforts to expand access to resources and support among small, limited resource, beginning and other farmers that have faced barriers that may impact practice adoption.

Education & Experience

- Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environmental Policy, or Conservation field required.

- 5+ years of experience working in interdisciplinary programming, with 3+ of those years in program or project management, particularly in soil health and/or agricultural fields.

- Additional non-profit work experience or professional accomplishments in one or more of the disciplines noted may substitute for any of the above requirements.

Working Conditions

- This job operates in a teleworking or professional office environment when not traveling

- This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers and phones.

- This role involves limited occasional travel to meet with producers, agricultural services providers, university professionals, and other agricultural and conservation stakeholders in indoor and outdoor locations, including visiting agricultural operations.

- Occasional evening or weekend work may be required to meet deadlines or attend events.

Travel

- Requires up to 10% travel.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position has no supervisory responsibility.

Compensation
American Farmland Trust offers excellent vacation, medical, retirement and other benefits. The salary range for this position is from $80,000 to $85,000 based upon experience.

American Farmland Trust offers a full benefits package for full time employees:

- Insurance coverage begins the 1st of the month following the date of hire.

- Medical & Prescription Coverage

- Dental Coverage

- Vision Coverage

- Company Paid Life Insurance & Long-Term Disability (LTD)

- Voluntary Life Insurance

- Flexible Spending Account (FSA) – Healthcare & Dependent Care

- Health Savings Account (HSA)

- 401k Plan

- Sick Leave: Regular full-time employees accrue 13 sick days per year.

- Vacation Leave: Accrue 15 days during the first year increasing by one day per year to 20 days per year maximum.

- Holidays: AFT observes twelve fixed holidays and a week between Christmas and New Years off during the year (all offices closed) plus a choice of up to three (depending on hiring month) floating holidays.

Why you should apply

- Be a part of a purpose-driven, committed, knowledgeable, high-performing, experienced and fun team

- A diverse and inclusive work environment

- A cause and mission you can be proud of

- Competitive compensation & benefits

- Remote work opportunity

Timeline

To be considered applicants must submit a resume, answer all screener questions and include a cover letter explaining what they are a right fit for both AFT and this role. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the role is filled.

Please apply directly through AFTs Paycom Career Portal using this link:

If the link is unavailable, please visit AFTs Careers page and select this position to submit your application.