Company description

At The Food Project, we believe that everyone has the right to fresh, healthy, affordable food. Our goal is to transform the food system into a more just, community-engaged model that supports food security for all while connecting diverse communities to each other and to the land. 

Since our founding in 1991, The Food Project has grown into a nationally recognized, non-profit organization that works at the intersection of youth, food, and community. Young people are the driving force of The Food Project and work on our farms and with community members to realize the right to food that nourishes our communities and the planet we share.

Each year, we employ 140 teenagers in this vital work on 70 acres of urban and suburban farmland across eastern Massachusetts where they grow 200,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables and use this food to enact innovative food system initiatives that increase access to fresh, healthy food for all. 

We focus this work in the two communities we are most deeply connected to: Boston’s Dudley neighborhood and the City of Lynn. 

Job description

What We Seek

We are seeking a strategic, equity-driven leader with a strong background in youth development and community engagement. The Associate Director will play a key role in implementing cross-departmental partnership strategies, supporting program impact evaluation, and aligning youth programming with organizational goals. This position requires a skilled collaborator who can build and steward relationships across communities, institutions, and regional partners to advance our mission. The ideal candidate will bring strong management experience, a commitment to justice and belonging, and a passion for supporting young people as agents of change. They will also contribute to organizational learning, foster a culture of accountability, and help drive strategic growth and alignment across our youth and community initiatives.  

 

Responsibilities  

Youth Programs & Partnerships - Greater Boston Management

Work with Director of Learning and Program and staff to implement a community partnership strategy among staff across departments (youth, community, farm & food distribution, dev/comm, operations) 
Work with the Regional Team to implement community events and partnerships contributing to the alignment, maintenance, and further development in accordance with organizational strategy. 
Work with the Director of Learning and Program and Director of Impacts and initiatives to determine the impact and outcomes of programs to inform the next steps.
Work in collaboration with the Director of Learning & Programs to focus on Seed Crew, Dirt Crew, and Root Crew curricular development in line with Youth Outcomes.
Rotating regional visits and observations for youth programs work to gather information to inform feedback and further program and staff development.  

Organization Building & Effectiveness

Provide guidance and process on developing and fulfilling strategic plan & annual goals to achieve mission of the organization.  
Develop, model, and steward, a culture of shared values and self accountability within the Leadership Circle. 
Work with the Director of Learning and Programs and Youth Programs team (group meeting) to research, design, maintain, and ensure program alignment across Greater Boston and North Shore.  
Identify opportunities to leverage strengths and enhance youth program experience. 
Work together in refining and evaluating arcs of experience (curriculum, activities, operations, evaluation). 
Work together to ensure that the organization's strategy for the region aligns with resident vision and priorities.

External Relationships

Develop regional partnerships to enhance the regional priority of youth and community programs, as outlined in the strategic plan. 
Partner, build, participate and manage key Greater Boston relationships with key institute partners such as DSNI board, DNI and ect. 
Build strong relationships with local institutions to ensure accountability of TFP's work to resident interests and foster community control in the food system (municipalities, local non-profits, businesses, residents, etc.)
Participate and represent The Food Project  in city coalitions around youth and food justice initiatives
Funders:  Cultivate relationships with funders in collaboration with TFP's development team
In collaboration with the Director of Learning and Programs, support the building and maintaining robust regional alumni network and opportunities for continued engagement

Management

Will be responsible to supervise 3 to 4 staff members. 
Manage routine maintenance and registration of all youth program regional vehicles and Boston office.  
Co-creation and Management of all regional youth, alumni, and community partnership budget  
Ensure a clean, organized, and efficient workspace 
Oversee respective budgets, respective annual plans, review variance reports, data collection and entry, finance allocation, and Paychex management.  

Organizational Health 

Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, Equity: Training, work, affinity group space, dialogue space.  
Feedback Participation
All Staff Meetings
Supplemental Strategic Planning, Annual Planning, Budgets
Support Recruitment, Onboarding, Orientation, Training:  Tap into various networks, participate in screenings, interviews, etc. for all organizational positions.
Health & Wellness:  Building in intentional time to dedicate for your personal health and wellness.  
Perform other duties as needed, within capacity. 

Qualifications

Demonstrated experience managing a team in complex, interconnected, emergent work.
Deep commitment to working with young people as partners; direct youth development experience required.
Outstanding ability to think strategically and translate that into actionable goals.
Strong relationship-building skills.
Must embrace TFP’s mission, goals, and commitment to building just food systems.
Committed to helping to foster an environment of equity and belonging and contributing to an organizational culture of learning and well-being.
Minimum of 3 years of youth development management and supervisory experience and 3 years of community engagement 
2 years of project management experience: first-hand involvement in initiating, planning, executing, and monitoring projects.
Excellent time management, especially when working collaboratively and balancing competing internal priorities and external deadlines.
Solution oriented outlook and growth mindset. 
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build effective relationships.
Ability to balance attention to process, results, and relationships. 
Comfort working within our data management systems: Salesforce, Asana, Google applications, and Microsoft Office Suite.
21+ with a valid driver’s license and clean driving record (required for use of TFP vehicles) 

Preferred Skills:

Proficient language skills in Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole or Vietnamese
Preferred Resident of Roxbury, Dorchester or Mattapan. 

 

Location & Schedule   

This position will be based in Boston and Lincoln, MA with fluctuating Tuesday-Saturday (during academic year) and Monday-Friday (summer) depending on the season. Some periodic travel throughout the year to our Lynn Wenham sites as well.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, varies DOE, $60,000.00 - $69,500.00

Application instructions

Deadline

May 05, 2025