FOOD SECURITY JOBS

Job opening:  Growing Futures Coordinator
Organization: Parkdale Food Centre
Location: Ottawa, Ontario

This position is 30 hours/week, starting Feb 1 2020; compensated at an annual full-time salary between $46,150-$49,450 (pro-rated to 30 hours/week), depending on experience. PFC provides paid sick leave, paid professional development and a generous health plan.

Job Purpose: Do you:

• See opportunities where others see challenges?
• Think it’s important to connect young people to their communities?
• Believe healthy food is a human right?
• Want to live out your Bill Nye dreams making quirky fun educational video content for youth?

Then this is the gig for you!

Growing Futures is a small team dedicated to having big conversations with youth because we believe the world needs more fearless leaders! COVID-19 has changed both our relationship with food as well as with community, and these impacts have rippled into our education, family lives, health and wellbeing. As the Ottawa Community Foundation has so-well said, “the necessity and the opportunity to re-imagine ways to work towards a healthy, inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable City are now more evident than ever.” So we invite you to join us in the reimagining! As Growing Futures Coordinator, you will coordinate and help develop engaging, virtual programming that aims to inspire children and youth to understand the complex and interconnected problems of poverty, health and food insecurity in their neighbourhood. Under the guidance of the Centre Manager, and Growing Futures team member, you will help develop, deliver, and evaluate Growing Futures’ Solutionary Workshops.

Duties and Responsibilities

Program delivery

• Deliver workshops virtually to schools. This includes preparing for workshops in advance, travelling to workshop locations to deliver kits and setting up all required supplies and equipment;
• Communicate with teachers or organizers to coordinate workshops;
• Administer program evaluation by communicating with teachers and other participants;
• Monitor and evaluate program effectiveness, developing strategies to strengthen programs and working with staff to introduce and adapt new ideas, approaches, and methods.

Community outreach

• Represent Growing Futures at outreach /community events throughout the year;
• Market workshops and other program components to schools and organizations.
• Facilitate collaborative partnerships between schools and community partners

Financial Management:

• Maintain the budget and track all revenue and donations for Growing Futures
• Develop the program budget, maintain financial records and monitor adherence to budget with support of Centre Manager and PFC bookkeeper
• Secure funding including, but not limited to, grants and sponsorships

Program Development:

• Develop program goals
• Oversee the development of online courses for the digitization of tools and the creation of virtual field trips
• Assist with hiring team members and summer students, including screening applications, interviewing candidates and checking references
• Manage any special projects arising

Communications and Partnerships ? Research, develop and secure new partnerships including the Ottawa School Food Network ? Manage and strengthen existing partnerships with teachers and school board ? Build relationships and engage with Advisory group, staff, and public to encourage participation and buy-in ? Manage internal and external communication about Growing Futures ? Develop and oversee the delivery of a communications plan for the program, identifying new and creative ways to use PFC’s Channels to increase the reach of our work

Skills and Qualifications (Qualifications non-exhaustive):

• Bilingual in French and English
• Understanding of/interest in creating basic budgets and financial record-keeping
• Experience in creating and implementing evaluation tools
• Familiarity with Wix or other template-based website builders
• Strong oral and written communications skills; Genuine friendliness and enthusiasm
• Knowledge and empathy for active engagement with youth from diverse backgrounds (cultural, religion, abilities and socio-economic circumstances);
• A love of food, community, a passion for food literacy, and a firm belief in the importance of community care
• A passion for story, narrative structure and translating complex ideas into accessible, relevant, engaging formats and applying anti-racism/anti-oppression lenses to social problems;
• A passion for working with young people and creating space for self-empowerment

To apply:

Please forward your Cover Letter and CV to Alissa Campbell by January 18th 2020: alissa@parkdalefoodcentre.org . Some questions to consider when writing your cover letter: What is it that communities can do best? What do you care about enough to act on where you live?

Please indicate you saw this posting at FoodWork.ca.