Rural Climate Action Concierge (Part-Time)

Colorado Farm & Food Alliance is seeking a dynamic and creative leader to support our community-based campaigns around rural climate action. This position will work closely with Colorado Farm & Food Alliance staff and several teams of community leaders to help develop, fund, and implement projects in western Colorado that showcase rural climate action.

To be considered for this position, please send a brief letter describing why you are the person to help with the tasks below, highlighting any qualities, lived or work experience, passion, education or other skills that you would bring to the job. You may also attach a resume, video or other materials to present your background and qualifications, to [email protected] by June 30, 2023, with subject: “Climate Action Concierge.” Start date will be as soon as practicable, perferably in July.NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.

Core Competencies

We are most interested in candidates who can speak to the following competencies:

• Team-Player: We expect that task list to be developed in conjunction with COFFA staff and community leadership teams, and to be accountable to them.
• Detail-Oriented: This position is to serve federal and other grant-making as well as other work that requires close attention to detail: in planning, during project work, and in follow-up.
• Self-Starter: We need someone that can set their own task list, keep to it, and get things done.
• Strong Writing Skills: We want someone who is ready to help us tell the compelling story of what rural climate leadership looks like and the necessity of it.
• Problem-Solver: Meeting unexpected challenges, learning from them, and turning those into successes is a major part of this work.

Relevant Experience

We are looking for some of the following or parallel experiences, and we encourage qualified individuals from all backgrounds and career stages with any relevant experience or education to apply:

• Leadership development background: This position will coordinate several teams of community leaders, and help them build the skills they need to help our projects, as well as their own, to succeed.
• Communication expertise: This position will require writing and public speaking, media work, and other skilled communications.
• Rural organizing experience: This position is located in, and working with, a small rural community that includes people from a range of backgrounds, professions and political beliefs, who we are building into a potent force for change.
• Familiarity with state and federal grant-making: This position will support and help guide federal and state grant-making.

Leadership Circle Project Support

(1) Coordinate closely w/ COFFA staff, leadership teams (“Circles”) and partner groups to support strategies and project tasks that further the development of team projects and proposals;

(2) Work with COFFA program staff, Circles, and key partners to facilitate and coordinate project activities; identify, recruit and support leaders; develop outreach, briefing and support materials; and, to elevate and share stories of success.

Leadership Circle Grant-writing Support

(1) Work with COFFA staff, Circles and grant-writers to identify, track, and research funding opportunities, and to prepare grant proposals for project funding, with focus on securing federal and state grants;

(2) Oversee record-keeping and grant management for any COFFA administered project grants and coordinate with other grant-lead partners in tracking reportable activities across groups and activities.

About Colorado Farm & Food Alliance

The Colorado Farm & Food Alliance envisions a Colorado where a healthy local food system supports strong communities that are economically secure, socially equitable, and ecologically resilient.

Our mission and purpose is to educate about the importance of Colorado's agricultural land legacy, to foster equitable and secure food systems, and to provide a platform for leadership development and community engagement in support of sustainable agriculture, climate action, food justice, and a resilient future for the Gunnison River watershed and beyond. COFFA activities and projects:

+Support regional food system security

+Increase nutritional access for the food-insecure and limiting waste

+Strengthen civic leadership in underserved rural communities

+Educate Coloradans about best practices, conservation, and farm and food issues that affect them

About Paonia,CO

Paonia Colorado is routinely described as unique, wonderful and remote. Some familiarity with the region and life-style, before relocating here, is always a plus for those who settle. Housing options are severely limited.

The North Fork Valley, of which Paonia is the largest town (at about 2,000 people), is unique in so many ways that it would be difficult to even list them let alone explain them all. Quirky, from another time, and strong community, are all familiar descriptors. Its remoteness is part of what makes it wonderful, and it is surrounded by some of the most majestic parts of western Colorado, right at the boundary of the Southern Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Plateau, with plunging desert canyons and steep alpine terrain all within a short distance.

Perhaps its most notable current claims to fame are the local farms and the food scene, with over a dozen wineries, plus cideries, breweries and restaurants - with pop-ups and surprise chef-curated dinners among the orchards, filling out the calendar in season. But as a small town, restaurants can also sometimes all be closed, or close early. There are no 24 hour stores and the hospital is over 30 miles away on a two-lane road. The regional politics are generally conservative and sometimes reactionary.

Living in the North Fork Valley can feel isolating, but many people find it incredibly grounding too. Neighbors know each other here, and they show up to help. This position will be deeply ingrained with established and rooted community-members with an opportunity to to make impactful change. We encourage only those with the intentional ability to serve in these roles, navigate complicated relationships, and thrive in this place, to consider the position.

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This is a part-time (¾ FTE) position located in Paonia, Colorado with hybrid working arrangements and community presence a required part of this job. The part-time salary range is $28,000 - $30,000 based on a four-day work-week, part-time hours are approximately 25 hours/week.

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NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.