Garden and Nutrition Educator

About the job

We are seeking an experienced and passionate Garden and Nutrition Educator to join our team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for garden coordination, nutrition education, and volunteer coordination. As the Garden and Nutrition Educator at The Neighborhood Resource Center, you will play a key role in ensuring that our members are able to reach their dreams through increased access to food. This is an in-person position with some local area travel in an area with inadequate public transit, so regular use of a motor vehicle for transportation is required.

About the organization

The Neighborhood Resource Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational, cultural and nutrition center in Richmond, Virginia's east end. We pride ourselves on our mission to build relationships, share resources, and develop skills to enhance lives in Greater Fulton and East Henrico County. Our success is driven by our ability to listen to community needs and our talented and dedicated team of professionals who work together to achieve our goals.

Role and responsibilities

The role’s primary focus will be to build and maintain relationships with community members to support our learning garden and nutrition education programming. The Garden and Nutrition Educator will serve as our volunteer coordinator, helping us to build our volunteer program to maintain our garden spaces, our food pantry program, and other initiatives across program areas. They will provide direct supervision of those engaged in the program: apprentices, interns, and volunteers, to include recruitment and training. They will lead the implementation of nutrition education programming, to include cooking classes and workshops–with support of the Food & Outreach Program Director and other staff. They will operate the food pantry program, the only delivery food pantry in the City of Richmond.

On a typical week

A typical week for the Garden and Nutrition Educator involves meeting with other program staff to coordinate the food pantry and a weekly check-in meeting with the Food and Outreach Program Director. The Garden and Nutrition Educator is planning the Spring garden and spending time outdoors maintaining growing areas. Some time each week is spent engaging with volunteers and also joining other staff in helping our members with transactional services and answering phone calls to make referrals to other food pantries across the city. Lunch breaks are encouraged and most staff choose to take a one hour lunch break each day. The Garden and Nutrition Educator would regularly use Google Forms and Sheets to enter outcomes data. They would also use Google Workspace, including Google Chat and Google Meet on an almost daily basis.

About you

You are a resourceful, results-oriented person who excels at building authentic relationships and at managing multiple projects to expand access to food in support of the community’s needs. You have familiarity of resource barriers facing the Greater Fulton neighborhood and Montrose, including but not limited to, lack of access to basic resources (food, clothing, etc.), decades of governmental divestment, and the impact of income levels on emotional health and well being. You are able to maintain a vegetable and herb garden without the use of synthetic chemicals. You’re able to meet physical demands of the position, which requires frequent bending, squatting, reaching overhead, and heavy lifting of up to 50 lbs, as well as operation of basic power tools and landscaping equipment. You have a strong sense of ownership and resilience. You can consistently overcome challenges and leverage resources to creatively solve problems. You build authentic relationships across lines of difference, such as in support of Black families, seniors, members with disabilities, and those with economic barriers. You have a commitment to social justice and racial equity.

We offer

$40,000 annual salary

100% employer premium paid health insurance, including dental, medical, and vision. Two weeks of PTO available each year, 10 paid holidays, and additional paid staff wellness days offered throughout the year. Employer-paid professional development opportunities are available annually.

How to apply

If you are a dynamic and proactive Garden and Nutrition Educator looking to contribute to our organization’s success, we’d love to hear from you. Please submit your resume detailing your qualifications and how you can contribute to our team’s success. In lieu of a cover letter, please provide a response to the following question: What is your approach to identifying community members’ interests and how do you create community-centered programming? Visit our posting on Indeed or our “Jobs at NRC” page on our website to apply.

About the application process

We are eager to fill this position with the right candidate quickly. Resume and cover letters are reviewed as they are received and first round interviews are scheduled. First round interviews are held via Google Meet with video cameras active. Second round interviews will be in-person at the Neighborhood Resource Center.

Any questions? AskBreanne Armbrust, Executive Director, 804-864-5797.

The Neighborhood Resource Center is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and equity in the workplace. We strongly encourage those who reflect the communities we serve to apply, including individuals with disabilities and/or people of color.

Neighborhood Resource Center | 1519 Williamsburg Rd. Richmond VA 23231

nrccafe.org | 804-864-5797

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $40,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

Education:

• High school or equivalent (Required)

Experience:

• Organic farming: 2 years (Required)
• Nutrition: 2 years (Preferred)
• Volunteer management: 1 year (Preferred)

Ability to Commute:

• Richmond, VA (Required)

Work Location: In person