Programs Manager

Image credit: Gábor Veres, Unsplash

Job Title: Programs Manager

Post Date: July 18, 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

  • Review and research supporting literature, data and programs

  • Support co-PIs in grant administration and reporting 

Policy

  • Ensure key policy goals and activities are met by supporting project management of deliverables

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

  • Support campaign and policy materials development, research, and note-taking on meetings as needed with partners and Congressional offices, as well as support on policy consulting projects as needed.

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 and develop materials communicating our work and impact, such as annual reports, blogs and social media content

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

Operations

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

  • Work with colleagues to set monthly and weekly priorities; manage Asana (used for project management), 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 soil health and 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 Slack, AirTable, Asana, Salesforce, SendGrid, SquareSpace and Canva

  • 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: $70,000 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

  • Flexible start date: ~August 5-18, 2025 preferred

Land Core is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law. People of all backgrounds and abilities are encouraged to apply.

Please send a written expression of interest and your CV to operations@landcore.org with the subject line “Programs Manager”