The Common Acre begins with the soil. Our mission is to restore relationships between people and the land through ecology, agriculture, and art. We reconnect humans with nature through the medium of food and seek to restore a living food system that feeds our minds and nourishes our communities. Our collaborative programs transform marginalized land into biodiverse pollinator habitat and community gardens, which in turn create space for inspirational cultural convenings. We also partner with scientists to improve our understanding of native pollinator ecosystems and feed that research back into our restoration work.

We believe urban food systems are key to creating healthy communities. Food is more than what we eat: it’s a medium through which we can connect, both mentally and physically, to our neighbors and our surroundings. Our health comes from the soil, and the pollinators that complete the growing process. We bring people closer to their food and each other through a network of community farms and wild bee habitat projects. 
 

About Us: The Common Acre is a 501c3 non-profit which restores relationships between people and the land through ecology, community, agriculture, and the arts. Our program, Alleycat Acres, reconnects people, place, and produce by transforming underutilized space into a network of neighborhood run farms - currently managing 4 farm sites on public lands. We work to empower diverse stakeholders in each neighborhood to direct community activations, produce distribution opportunities, and advance public agency in improving urban environments.

Food is more than what we eat; it’s a medium through which we can forge intimate, meaningful relationships. Our farms provide platforms for diverse communities to converge and build strong relationships with a coalition of people and partner organizations who are committed to social and environmental change. We strive to find innovative ways to put culture back into agriculture.

Status: Salaried (30 hours @ $40-50 DOE)

QSEHRA Health Benefit 

4 weeks PTO

Mileage and communications Reimbursement

Staff development stipend: $1000

Start date: April 2020 or as soon as possible

Deadline: Open until filled

Success on the Job: To be successful in this position, the Executive Director will need to work within an organizational culture that places high value on authenticity, trust, justice, creative thinking, rapid change, personal relationships, fun, imperfection, and collaboration. The Executive Director will have autonomy in their work, and will need to be comfortable leading, making decisions, asking for feedback, identifying when they need additional support, and communicating transparently with a team.

Background on this Position: Approaching our 10 year mark, TCA began with a founder-driven vision of utilizing the intersection of art and agriculture as a means of deepening our connections to each other and to nature. Through community conversations and board discussion, the mission evolved. Our refined strategic priorities emphasize self-determination by historically marginalized communities in public land use decisions. Some progress has been made on this front, but much more is necessary. 

We are seeking a dynamic leader with extensive experience in fundraising and communications to help us reach our full potential. We have a critical need to diversify revenue streams, and build our individual donor base and corporate sponsors.

Responsibilities:

Leadership, Fundraising, Communications, External relations, Administration

Leadership (40%)

• Together with Board, lead the development of the next three-year strategic plan, while overseeing growth and diversification of relationships and funding
• Partner with the Board to shape strategic direction, improve organizational policies and systems
• Guide, motivate and develop staff members
• Manage the design, implementation, coordination, and evaluation for all administration, operations, and programming
• Drive growth and strength of the organization and its impact by improving, creating and implementing sustainable staffing structures, development and marketing systems and strategies, and evaluation systems; including evaluating areas for program improvement

Development and Communications (40%) 

• Build and execute a development strategy to strengthen donor stewardship program, diversify funding streams, and reach long term financial sustainability
• Work with Grants Contractor to execute annual grants plan and oversee grant writing, provide supporting materials to Grant Writer
• Oversee and guide the organization’s brand and marketing strategy; support implementation as appropriate
• Drive and implement an annual development plan
• Represent public events and stakeholder meetings, building awareness and connections to increase volunteer and funder engagement, including building relationships with community leaders
• Building a communications and social media strategy & implementing together with Community Liaison

Administration (20%)

• Oversee financial matters, including tracking of expenses and accounts payable, and developing and monitoring budgets. Provide the Board with regular financial and organizational reports
• Oversee contracts and scope of work with funders, vendors, consultants and volunteers
• Oversee organizational facilities and office technology
• Oversee and manage business registration, tax filings, insurance, and organizational compliance