Food Justice/Garden Education - Activity Specialist @ Ps 503/506

JOB TITLE: Activity Specialist - Food Justice/Garden Education Specialist

DEPARTMENT: PS 503/506- School-Based Program

Exemption: Non-Exempt

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION: To create, implement and facilitate age-appropriate activities for school-aged participants.

REPORTS TO: Colleen MacDonald

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park seeks a flexible, creative, motivated team member to join our staff of professional artists, social workers, and young adult youth workers in a community-based after-school and summer camp program.

As the Food Justice Specialist you will be asked to tap your creativity and passion for equity in our global food systems to create and lead hands-on, engaging, programming that inspires our after-school participants to imagine new possibilities in the way we share, consume, and play with our food, and find joy in a wide variety of foods and food practices through frequent cooking lessons. A love for nature and experience in gardening is also critical to this role as you will be a guide and facilitator in introducing participants to urban agriculture through their experience nurturing a wealth of plants in our local community garden.

I. SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES include but are not limited to

• Be responsible for organizing and maintaining cooking tools, and facilitate staff use of such tools for special events/independent cooking activities
• Attend weekly professional development meetings
• Contribute to the planning and execution of special events, staff development training, and other community-building activities
• Organize community events in the garden for youth and their families in our community
• Grow food with young people in the nearby community garden
• Prepare healthy food recipes and cook with youth and/or their families
• Create and lead a curriculum based on the themes of Food Justice and Local Urban Agriculture

II. QUALIFICATIONS

• Committed and invested in the development and success of our program
• Flexibility and the ability to work well as a member of a team of different disciplines (artists, teachers, young-adult staff)
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills
• Interested in managing and creating positive experiences for groups of youth, including participants with special needs and challenging behaviors
• Education/Degree minimum requirement: Bachelor’s Degree
• Has skills working with youth of all ages (Kindergarten - High School)
• Has a strong local food/urban agriculture/cooking/youth development background
• Bilingual: English/Mandarin/Cantonese or English/Spanish, a plus

III. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS

• Have a strong sensitivity to cultural differences present among staff and clients within our organization.
• Forge a mutually respectful partnership with persons served and their families.
• Maintain contact as needed with participant’s families, school personnel, and external community groups to co-exist in the same space
• Possess a strong belief in people’s ability to grow and change
• Engage in discussions and trainings regarding receiving/providing information, discussing arising issues, explaining or interpreting guidelines/instructions, and instructing
• Build and maintain close, daily interactions with participants, co-workers, and supervisors

IV. WORKING CONDITIONS

• May be exposed to all weather conditions and might be required to work in various temperatures in order to facilitate activities in various locations inside and outside of the school building
• Demonstrated ability to maintain a high energy level
• May be required to transport equipment to set up activities
• Actively engage and interact with children each day
• May be required to be active by walking, bending, standing, squatting, or sitting on the floor with children
• Be comfortable performing multifaceted projects in conjunction with day-to-day activities.

V. SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITY

The Food Justice Activity Specialist’s role focuses on engaging participants in activities and learning opportunities pertaining to Food Justice and healthy eating.

This position is a regular full-time position at 35 hours per week.

Benefits

• Up to four weeks of paid vacation
• 403B retirement plan
• Opportunity to participate in additional voluntary life and disability insurance
• Medical, dental, vision
• Life insurance
• Weekly individual supervision and ongoing professional development

The salary range is $45,000 to $55,000, commensurate with experience.

To apply, send a resume and cover letter to Colleen MacDonald at [email protected] with the job title in the subject line AND apply via Paylocity.