Company description

TFFJ fights food insecurity and diet-related disease through school-based, youth-led hydroponic farming, providing local, sustainably-grown produce to food desert communities and building health equity for all New Yorkers and beyond. TFFJ works within NYC Title I middle and high schools in food desert communities, training students to build/maintain indoor hydroponic farms, each capable of growing up to 10,000 pounds of produce annually, that is served daily at school lunch and distributed to the surrounding community’s food-insecure residents. Further, students learn/master nutrition/health skills to share with peers/neighbors, empowering them to lead themselves and others towards healthier futures.

Job description

Duration: This role is funded through a grant from the USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production through 09/30/2024

Salary: $75,000 annual salary plus benefits (health, vision, dental, 403[b] plan with employer match)

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: Please note that TFFJ requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Requests for religious or medical exemption will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Position Overview

TFFJ seeks a passionate individual with a strong sense of community, an interest in working with youth, and a desire to support our small but growing organization as we expand our school-based hydroponic farming and advocacy program to serve a total of four partner sites serving nine schools within Far Rockaway, Queens.

Under the direction of TFFJ’s STEM Programming & School Partnerships Manager and our Advocacy & Community Engagement Manager, the Far Rockaway Regional Coordinator will lead outreach to community partners throughout the Rockaway Peninsula; oversee the operations of TFFJ’s community food distributions; support our curricular day STEM content engagement with students and teachers; and coordinate all school- and community-related outreach and engagement initiatives.

Please note: This role requires ongoing travel between the following four partner school sites, in addition to the locations of other community partners throughout the Rockaway Peninsula:

1. Far Rockaway Educational Campus (farm was built in 2021-22): 8-21 Beach 25th Street, Queens NY 11691
2. Scholars’ Academy (farm will be built in 2022-23): 320 Beach 104th Street, Rockaway Park NY
3. MS 53 Brian Piccolo (construction timeline TBD): 10-45 Nameoke Street, Queens NY 11691
4. PS 183 Dr. Richard R. Green (construction timeline TBD): 2-45 Beach 79th Street, Rockaway Beach, NY 11693

Responsibilities and Essential Functions

Community Outreach (~40%)

• Support TFFJ’s Advocacy & Community Engagement Manager by developing, organizing, and publicizing community outreach events at all sites with students and teachers in collaboration with school administration, community stakeholders, and funders.
• Lead presentations and tours of the Far Rockaway Educational Campus hydroponic farm for prospective community partners.
• Connect and build relationships with community-based organizations and organizing groups in new and current school communities; identify new community engagement opportunities.

• Organize and maintain event tracking and community outreach debriefs.
• Maintain TFFJ’s community outreach budget for the region and track all outreach event data.
• Provide key training and outreach to identified schools and community partners throughout the Rockaway Peninsula.
• Work with selected administrators at each school partner site to plan for the eventual transition of outreach and food distribution responsibilities after a three-year period.

Community Food Distribution (~30%)

• Work with TFFJ’s Farm Operations Manager and Advocacy & Engagement Manager to lead and manage the operations and finances of TFFJ’s ongoing school-based food distributions in the Rockaway Peninsula, starting with TFFJ’s farm site at the Far Rockaway Educational Campus.
• Work with TFFJ’s Farm Operations Manager and Advocacy & Engagement Manager to conduct customer and logistics research within each school partner site community to determine how to best operationalize a food distribution in each area. Research variables include viable price points, types of crops, financial barriers, and distribution partner options.
• Work with each site’s Farmer-Educator, School Food Manager, and partner organizations to enhance student and cafeteria staff engagement with TFFJ during school hours.
• Identify new and viable community distribution partners.
• Manage all food distribution data.

STEM Integration Support (~20%)

• Support TFFJ’s STEM Programming & School Partnerships Manager in promoting and managing school involvement with the curricular and after-school program as an educational resource, including overseeing communication between, faculty, program staff, and farm staff.
• Implement Hydroponic Grow Carts lessons at each identified school partner site.

Program Evaluation Support (~10%)

• Support the administration of TFFJ’s annual evaluation methodology for the curricular day and afterschool program for all schools with large-scale hydroponic farms.

Required Qualifications and Competencies

• Bachelor's Degree, ideally in education, public health, food studies, nutrition, environmental studies, social services, or community development.
• 5+ years of relevant management experience, preferably in education, food, or a related field.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and self-manage around multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Ability to work collaboratively and be a team player.
• Passion for education, food justice, youth empowerment, and food advocacy.
• Must be able to clear a required DOE background check.

An ideal candidate will:

• Bring energy and passion to classroom and community events.
• Be able to collaborate with diverse groups and be able to maintain a professional and respectful relationship with students, TFFJ staff, teachers, mentors, funders, and other stakeholders.
• Seek ways to collaborate with the TFFJ program at sites with TFFJ staff, teachers, school administration, community partners, and funders in order to streamline and improve systems and processes.
• Confidently initiate and maintain relationships with students, teachers, mentors, families, and community members at TFFJ school sites.
• Be able to provide their own transportation (partial reimbursement provided).

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $50,000 - $75,000

Application instructions

Deadline

October 09, 2022