Programs Manager

Image credit: Gábor Veres, Unsplash

Thank you so much for your interest in the Programs Manager position. We are reviewing applications and are unfortunately not accepting any additional applications at this time.

Job Title: Programs Manager

Post Date: August 26, 2024

Land Core seeks a dedicated programs manager who aims to grow a meaningful career in agriculture and non-profit organizations while advancing the adoption and scalability of soil health and resilient agricultural systems in the U.S.  

The successful applicant will help lead our programs, projects and communications, and will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and an affinity for detailed project organization. (See role description below.)

The candidate will report to the Executive Director, receive direction from and work day to day with our Director of Strategy, collaborate regularly with the rest of Land Core’s internal team, and work closely with contractors and key partners (including academics at UC Berkeley, Rice University, Michigan State University, and University of Arkansas). There will also be ample opportunities to engage with farmers and ranchers, allied (and unlikely) organizations, coalitions and working groups, and build relationships with colleagues in food, agriculture, and conservation. The successful candidate will have various opportunities to grow and expand their role over time. 

The outcomes of this work will shape not only Land Core’s public-sector policy goals, but also our wider education, communications, and cross-sector initiatives.  

The successful candidate will have various opportunities to grow and expand their role over time. 

About Land Core:

Founded in 2017, Land Core is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization advancing soil health programs and policies that create value for farmers, businesses, and communities. We are focused on building the missing infrastructure and economic incentives that will make the rapid adoption of soil health possible.

The organization’s work includes federal policy, risk mitigation, statistical model development (working with a team of academics and partners), as well as communication and education around soil health issues more broadly. By focusing on issues such as outcomes-verification and risk mitigation, as a way to connect American farmers and ranchers to much-needed economic incentives, the organization has developed a track record of identifying gaps and innovative solutions in the space, quickly and effectively finding common ground, building diverse coalitions, and passing legislation.

Role Description:

The role spans our three key programs, along with related communications and operational activities that make our work possible, visible and impactful. Responsibilities include:

Risk Model

  • Advance and coordinate our multi-partner, cross-sector risk model project, including coordination with key team members, project management including oversight of project objectives, timeline, and budget 

  • Support outreach to existing partners, development of new project partners, and socialization of project goals and results

  • Support co-PIs in grant administration and reporting 

Policy

  • Support relationship management and outreach to key policy partners and stakeholders

  • Support on policy consulting projects as appropriate, including campaign and policy materials development, attending meetings with Congressional offices, research, and note taking

  • Maintain Land Core’s Soil Health Bill Tracker, including analyzing bills, updates to tracker, and sending monthly bill tracker alerts 

Education & Communication

  • Lead organization’s monthly e-newsletters

  • Support the development and dissemination of program communications materials to a wide range of public and private stakeholders

  • Help draft, design and develop materials communicating our impact, such as annual reports 

  • Stay up to date on relevant conferences to attend and opportunities to share Land Core’s work 

  • Draft posts and help grow organization’s audience and social media presence

Operations

  • Support organizational fundraising through occasional drafting of grant applications and updates to funders

  • Work with colleagues to set monthly and weekly priorities; manage Asana (used for project management & CRM), and review throughout the week for upcoming deadlines; manage team communication in Slack

Skills and Qualifications:

  • ​​At least 3 years experience in the workplace

  • Demonstrable interest in Land Core’s mission 

  • Willingness to learn and work in areas where you are not an expert 

  • Program or project management experience

  • Strong attention to detail, deadlines, formatting and consistency 

  • Well organized, with an affinity for creating and maintaining systems and structures

  • Strong research, writing, and verbal communication skills

  • Thrive working autonomously and in a remote setting with distributed teams

  • Self-directed, asks questions, follows up and takes initiative

  • Be fluent with Google Suite and familiar with (or able to quickly learn) cloud-based applications, including AirTable, Asana, SendGrid, SquareSpace, and Slack

  • Ability to maintain and build relationships through partnership and collaboration with multiple organizations

  • A working understanding of soil health principles and a strong interest in agricultural systems (familiarity with relevant agriculture stakeholders considered but not required)

  • U.S.-based

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience in a related field

Position Details:

  • Full-time employee (at will employment)

  • Compensation: $50,000-60,000 annually

  • Benefits: Retirement Plan (Simple IRA, with 3% employer contributions, and match opportunities; Medical Benefit ($100 per month stipend toward cost of health insurance); Paid Time Off (including sick days, flexible PTO and fixed PTO during winter-shut down and public holidays); Work From Home / Flexible Hours; and Training & Professional Development Stipend.

  • Work can largely be performed virtually and flexibly; time zones aligned with the continental US (PST - EST) are strongly preferred  

  • Positive, flexible work culture

We seek and welcome diverse perspectives: people of all genders, races, nationalities and (dis)abilities are encouraged to apply.