Director of Education (Full-time)

Position Summary

The Director of Education leads the development of educational initiatives to advance GrowNYC’s mission of fostering connections to our local food systems and environmental stewardship, as well as plans and oversees the delivery of meaningful educational experiences for all audiences within GrowNYC’s network of K-12 learners, teens, adults, and older active adult constituencies. The Director of Education oversees and closely collaborates with 8 full time and 3 part time employees, while also closely collaborating with other programmatic leads at GrowNYC and our mission-aligned partner organizations.
 

Director of Education Responsibilities (Include but are not limited to):

Reporting to the President/CEO and Director of Strategy/Operations, the Director of Education will carry out the following duties at the direction of senior management: 

Program Management 

• Lead the development and delivery of educational programs for all ages from early childhood to older adult.
• Oversee the following programs under GrowNYC Education: Teen Workforce Development, Gardens at NYCHA, School Gardens, Food Education for youth and older adults, the Teaching Garden on Governors Island. 
• Recruit, train, manage, and mentor program staff needed to develop, manage, and deliver educational programs.
• Stay abreast of developments in the fields of environmental education, state and federal K-12 standards, NYC initiatives and priorities that impact Education’s work, to identify emerging needs, gaps, and opportunities and forecast implications for GrowNYC. 
• Advise and supervise appropriate staff coordinating with City agencies, neighborhood partners, and community organizations on all operational aspects of GrowNYC’s Education initiatives.
• Deepen partnerships by continually engaging existing partner organizations while developing strong relationships with organizations and individuals in New York City and beyond. 
• Analyze program and staff performance and communicate progress regularly to the CEO. 

Fundraising and Donor Cultivation 

• Collaborate with GrowNYC’s Advancement team to fundraise from a varied base including foundations, corporations, and government funders. Assist with grant proposals and completion of necessary reports. Identify new revenue streams. 
• Develop Education’s annual budget and provide fiscally-sound management of the program through budget oversight and savvy financial decision-making. 

Strategy

• Working with the Education team and GrowNYC leadership, create and implement program strategies that ground the goals and mission of the organization, NYC partners, as well as State and City government policy and priorities.  
• Integrate Education across all programs at GrowNYC, including Food Access and Agriculture, Compost, Green Space, and GrowNYC communications, increasing cross-programmatic collaboration.

Communication and Stakeholder Engagement 

• Oversee streamlined communications surrounding programmatic offerings on outward facing materials (i.e., our website, newsletter, social media, etc.) to ensure cohesive messaging for constituents.
• Continue to build a recognizable brand, and raise the profile of GrowNYC Education.

Qualifications

• Strong track record of strategic leadership with a minimum of 5 years in a senior leadership role with supervisory experience. 
• Significant experience managing people with a strong emphasis on care, compassion, and mentorship.    
• 3-5 years of experience with fundraising and donor cultivation. Proven sound fiscal management experience.
• Comfort and experience overseeing complex budgets in a complex fundraising environment. 
• Desire to be part of the senior leadership team at an entrepreneurial organization and a commitment to working collaboratively to create systems and determine solutions to problems. 
• Intellectual agility and the ability to analyze, think critically, and understand emerging issues relating to programmatic priorities. 
• Capable of developing a clear program strategy while remaining flexible and providing for input from staff  with the ability to build consensus and manage expectations.
• Experience managing and engaging teams who spend significant time in off site settings, e.g. gardens, schools, etc.
• Comfortable with nonprofit ethos of flexibility/adaptability, creative resource allocation.
• Experience with developing learning, monitoring, evaluation metrics, and KPIs. 
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills; able to quickly gather, synthesize and summarize information in a clear and inclusive manner. 
• Proactive approach with demonstrated ability to exercise initiative. 
• Understanding of the inner workings of New York City Public Schools, New York City Housing Authority, NYC Aging, the New York City Parks Department, etc.  
• Demonstrated experience working with diverse constituencies.  
• Ability to multitask, think on your feet and remain calm in stressful situations.  

Ideal Qualifications 

• Passion for social justice and a working knowledge with regards to cultural fluency and inclusiveness. 
• Knowledge of sustainable agriculture, farming, and food systems. 

Physical Requirements

Able to be seated or stand for long periods of time. Able to carry garden and program materials as needed ranging from 10-25 pounds. 

Schedule

Most work will be completed between Monday and Friday, 9am - 5pm, 35-40 hours per week. Occasional evening and weekend work will also be required. 

Compensation

The position is an exempt, full time and salaried position. It pays $110,000 - $115,000 per year and includes full benefits (medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long-term disability, incentive savings plan, paid time off, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and potential for parental leave for full-time regular employees who have been employed with GrowNYC for 175 days and FSA programs).  This position is a non-union-eligible/not part of the bargaining unit. 

Location

Work may be performed as needed at any/all of the following locations: GrowNYC’s office located in Manhattan, within GrowNYC Education field or partner sites, and remotely following a hybrid schedule of 3 days in person work.