Apple Seeds is a non-profit organization in Fayetteville, AR that reconnects students in NWA with garden-grown food. Founded in 2007, Apple Seeds' mission is to inspire healthy living through garden-based education. In that time the organization has made great strides, positively impacting the community—student surveys show improved attitudes toward healthy food and heightened knowledge of nutrition. 
 

Apple Seeds provides a variety of educational programs in area schools and at its Teaching Farm, including Farm Lab field trips, school cooking classes, Farm to Table cooking classes and garden workshops for teachers and community members. These programs educate and excite young students about healthy food while increasing access to those healthy foods. In 2018 Apple Seeds reached nearly 10,000 students through partnerships with more than 80 schools and local agencies and shared more than 5,000 pounds of garden fresh produce with these students.
 

The need is great in Northwest Arkansas. 1 in 3 children are overweight or obese and students receive on average 3.4 hours of nutrition education annually. Apple Seeds believes that every student has the right to accessible, fresh, healthy food and believes that the best way to learn about healthy eating is in the garden! 

The Program Manager is part of the Apple Seeds management team and has the responsibility for oversight, management and expansion of two educational programs—Farm Lab and Cooking in the Schools—and their program coordinators. This is a full time, salaried position that reports to the Executive Directors.
 

Primary responsibilities for the Program Manager include management to grant and program growth goals; refinement and expansion of program curriculum; training and management of AmeriCorps VISTA program coordinators; oversight of program logistics, systems and efficiencies; communications; and program budgets.
 

Program Responsibilities:

• Provide oversight, management and expansion of Farm Lab and Cooking in the Schools.
• Manage to relevant grant goals, ensuring that the program meets—if not exceeds—the grant and internal goals.
• Ensure that the programs engage students in gardening, cooking and eating nutritiously and in thinking more critically about the food they eat.
• Oversee distribution of program surveys, ongoing data collection, analysis and reporting; oversee end of year grant reporting.
• Collaborate with the Executive Directors on ways to expand the programs’ reach.
• Oversee improvements to program curriculum, lesson materials, recipes and standards.
• Oversee and improve logistics, standards, processes and communications
• Oversee expansion of Farm Lab programing for 1st grade and Kindergarten

Managerial Responsibilities:

• Lead on-boarding and orientation for AmeriCorps VISTA program coordinators
• Inspire coordinators to be creative and provide an engaging learning experience for students
• Provide guidance and ongoing feedback in a constructive and positive manner
• Set up regular check-ins and develop a system for tracking completion of tasks
• Lead performance reviews of program coordinators
• Provide Executive Directors with updates on coordinators’ performance
• Coordinate requests for time off; relay requests to ED prior to approval

Communication & Outreach Responsibilities:

• Communicate professionally with youth, parents, volunteers, and others in the community who want to get involved
• Develop relationships with teachers during programming and at teacher EXPOs and community events
• Recruit classes for programming and maintain program calendars

Characteristics Needed for Success:

• A self-starter who is excited to help grow Apple Seeds’ programs
• Experience with young students in education-related activities
• Outgoing and energetic personality
• Experience managing personnel
• Effective project management skills
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Advanced education or background in nutrition or education
• Gardening experience is preferred.
• Experience managing a budget highly desirable
• Proficient in word, excel, and power point