Youth Farm Crew Leader - Bilingual

Position:  Youth Farm Crew Leader - Bilingual 

Employer: Impact Northwest: Supa Fresh Youth Farm

Schedule: 0.5 PTE, 20 hours per week, primarily weekdays with 1 weekend day &/or evening per week for Farmers Markets and events during market season.

Wage/Benefits: $19.50-$21/hour, generous PTO and benefits package including health, dental, vision, life, disability, 401k and more. A bilingual candidate is eligible for foreign language proficiency pay.

Term: Temporary, Feb, 2024 through June, 2024 (extension of position is funding-dependent)

Location: Tigard, Oregon - Creekside Community High School, part of Tigard Tualatin SD

Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE): Impact NW  is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse workforce.  The organization strives to cultivate an inclusive environment that welcomes and values the diversity of the people we serve.  We value justice, equity, and inclusion, and work to create an environment where everyone is treated with respect and dignity.  We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job. We would encourage you to apply, even if you don't meet every one of our qualifications listed. If you are unsure whether you meet the qualifications of this position, please feel free to contact us to discuss your application.

Our Agency:

At Impact NW, our mission is to prevent homelessness because we believe in the fundamental right to a beautiful life. That means the stability and peace that come with basic human needs being met. More importantly, it means a life filled with opportunity and community support, especially for Indigenous, Black, Brown, Melanated, Immigrant and Asian people.

We are driven by our values and we hope you see yours reflected in them:

• Put people first

• See the beauty in people

• Promote peace

• Find a way

We believe that with our mission and values as our north star, we can move toward our vision of a future where housing is a human right. If this resonates with you, we'd love to have your purpose and passion on our team at Impact NW.

With you sending in your resume and cover letter / application ensures that you are doing a part in the quest for a stronger, more equitable community in the Portland Metro Area. Our People and Culture Department look forward to hearing from you.

Our Program:

Supa Fresh Youth Farm is a program component of YouthSource, a youth workforce development and education program that is part of Impact NW. 

YouthSource/Supa Fresh Program Mission: To cultivate self-sufficient, confident and joyful youth who enthusiastically pursue their career and life goals through internships, training and entrepreneurship.

Impact NW's (INW) YouthSource program is designed to provide opportunity youth, ages 15-24, with education services, work readiness training, post-secondary preparation and transition services resulting in employment, advanced training, and post-secondary education. This effort utilizes the services and experiences youth can participate in at the Supa Fresh Youth Farm, a youth-operated organic farm and soap company, as well as other student-led projects in which youth complete paid internships and training. The program is housed in Creekside Community High School, in Tigard, an alternative school in the Tigard Tualatin District, and is a part of a collaboration that seeks to provide youth who experience some of the biggest challenges with opportunities that allow them thrive. Equity, youth leadership and voice are at the heart of all program elements.

Job Description:

Impact NWs Supa Fresh Youth Farm program is looking for a new team member! We are seeking someone who is committed to social justice and is excited to provide youth with leadership as they participate in engaging workforce development opportunities at the Supa Fresh Youth Farm. This is an excellent opportunity for a creative visionary who is passionate about social justice, education, agriculture, and food, and wants to grow along with this amazing community.

Main Responsibilities:

Crew Leader

·  Supervise crew of up to 15 Youth Farmers 2-4 times throughout the week, in both Farm Crew and farmer’s market capacity; develop daily agenda and task list, facilitate tasks, navigate group dynamics, and assist Farm Program Supervisor in delivering curriculum, and completing farm tasks with youth crews. 

·  Assist program staff in leading student-interns in writing the farm newsletter, and updating website/social media.

·  Maintain accurate attendance and participation records, communicate regularly with crew members, create and distribute youth crew schedules on Slack and other communication streams 

·  Ensure safe working conditions, including securing CPR certification, carrying first aid kit at all crew sites, following all food safety and COVID protocols throughout harvesting, farm work, and CSA packing

·  Maintain clean, organized, stocked work sites; oversee use of and purchase supplies and equipment. 

·  Strive to create a work environment that is inclusive, non-discriminatory, anti-racist, and emotionally safe for all participants, by incorporating practices that support youth of various abilities, backgrounds, and identities. Model appropriate communication, develop group agreements, and manage conflict in restorative ways

· Uphold and model values that are consistent with the mission, vision, beliefs and values of INW YouthSource and Supa Fresh Youth Farm.  Model reliability, integrity, leadership, strong work ethic, environmental stewardship, local pride, healthy lifestyle, teamwork and positive attitude.

Farmers Markets

·  Lead seasonal market booth operations with youth crew, including timely set up and staffing, practice excellent customer service, proper handling of money

·  Facilitate transportation of produce, tables, signs, and all other necessary display items to and from markets; training in commercial driver’s license may be required

·  Assist in training youth on aspects of working at the farmer’s market, including customer service and cashiering

·  Ensure proper harvest and storage of produce for market, as well as inventorying and tracking other items, handling and storing produce safely. 

Staff Responsibilities

·  Attend weekly all-staff and farm team meetings and occasional staff trainings.

· Maintain regular communication lines including checking email daily, returning phone calls and coordinating events and activities in advance. 

·  Assist program staff with outreach efforts to families, partners, and local community to involve a diverse range of people in the farm project. 

·  Assist with scheduling and applying for farmer’s markets, advertising, organizing and preparing market supplies, and creating a market schedule for youth interns to start in spring. 

·  Assist staff with errands to purchase and deliver supplies, track expenses and complete expense reports. 

·  Assist program staff in providing safety training and emergency responses for all visitors to the farm, including but not limited to students, teachers, parents and volunteers.

·  Assist with a variety of events from volunteer work parties at the farm to graduation set up.

Qualifications:

*A note on qualifications: Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job and will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated, dynamic, and creative professional with a collaborative attitude and a passion for education, food, agriculture and empowering others to succeed, in addition to the following qualifications:

-Experience teaching/leading students, grades K-12, and preferably high school age up to age 21

-Experience teaching/leading historically underserved student populations. 

-Experience working in an agricultural, farm, garden and/or culinary setting, including but not limited to growing produce, maintaining farms/gardens, planning crop rotations, planting, harvesting, processing, cooking, and environmental restoration.

-Bilingual: English/Spanish

-Valid Oregon driver’s license and clean driving record; access to reliable transportation for farmer’s markets

-CPR/First Aid Certified (or willing to obtain this during training period with support from Impact NW).

-Must be able to present vaccination record or exemption certificate

-Excellent written and oral communication skills

-Must be able to pass a criminal background check

Secondary Qualifications:

-Ability to foster positive relationships with underserved students in educational and professional setting.

-Ability to maintain impeccable attendance, use sound judgment, complete and follow through on tasks, meet commitments to students, staff, organization and funders, and meet time-sensitive deadlines.

-Ability to maintain client confidentiality and high professional standards of honesty and integrity.

-Positive, enthusiastic, patient, kind.

-Strong group management skills that do not rely heavily on exclusionary discipline practices

-Strong leadership and interpersonal skills.

-Self-motivated, proactive, self-starter, takes initiative.

-Ability to work effectively both individually and in a team.

-Agile, able to adapt to changing priorities, comfort with adapting work plans based on student needs.

-Excellent problem-solving abilities, adaptable and calm in stressful situations and last-minute changes. 

-Exceptional organizational skills.

-Time management skills, ability to meet deadlines, multitask and balance priorities.

-Computer skills: Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Slack, Social Media, Wordpress, Mailchimp, Adobe, Square register, Shopify.

-Volunteer/Community Service Experience.  

Other Job Requirements:

-Able to perform manual labor, work outdoors in a physically demanding environment in a variety of weather conditions while supervising youth. 

-Repetitive motion, prolonged sitting or standing, lifting, bending, carrying items, walking around farm sites, kneeling.

-Early morning, evening, or weekend attendance may be required sometimes.