About the Duke Campus Farm:
The Duke Campus Farm (DCF) is a one-acre working farm, now entering its thirteenth season, which provides sustainably-grown produce and food systems education for Duke and its surrounding communities. In collaboration with our undergraduate and graduate student farm crew, academic courses, and research, we grow and harvest for our Community Supported Agriculture program, our partners at Root Causes, and the broader Duke and Durham communities. More important than the thousands of pounds of food that we grow, however, are the opportunities the farm provides for engaging and reimagining the ways we cultivate, access, value, and think about food. Our mission is to catalyze positive change in the food system by growing the next generation of food systems change makers.
Position Summary:
The Duke Campus Farm seeks a dynamic network weaver to forge, support, and maintain relationships in our broader social ecosystem by strengthening existing partnerships and building new ones.
In this spirit, this position will lead program development, working with new and existing campus partners, our Sloss Fellow, and DCF’s student staff, to create programming that brings new audiences to our work in sustainable food systems broadly-conceived (regenerative agriculture, farming and climate change, justice and equity in the food system, connection to land and place, im/migration, etc.). The core audience for this programming is Duke students, and the bulk of this programming will be co-curricular (i.e. meaningful and connective learning experiences that happens outside of the classroom).
Strong candidates will have additional strengths in at least two of the following areas:
- Strategic communications
- Program evaluation
- Leadership development for emerging adults
- Fundraising and development
- Building and sustaining authentic campus-community partnerships
- Organizational management
Qualifications:
We seek an applicant that has:
- at least 3 years of experience managing programming for a general or campus audience
- at least 1 year of experience creating programming for a general or campus audience
- 2 years or more of demonstrated experience in at least two of the six strength areas mentioned above (strategic communications, program evaluation, leadership development, fundraising and development, buildings and sustaining partnerships, organizational management)
- experience working with emerging adults, preferably in a campus environment
- enthusiasm for occasional work in an outdoor environment under a range of weather conditions
- demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively, with professional colleagues as well as with emerging adults
- a willingness to seek guidance, receive feedback, and ask questions when needed
- direct and healthy communication skills with students, and other team members
- flexibility, patience, and an ability to bring out the best in student staff and program participants
- a clean driving record with access to reliable transportation
- ability to lift 25 lbs unassisted
- experience in agroecology, food justice and/or culinary arts a plus.
As a full-time staff member, the Assistant Director is expected to be part of our organization’s evolution. Our staff is small, but mighty, and we wear many hats. If you can speak from the heart about the farm to the university president at a DCF event, but also don’t mind helping put the chairs away at the end of it, you could be a great fit for this position. We are actively seeking folk with a range of life experiences to join our team.
Schedule and compensation: This is a full-time, year-round position with some fluctuation in hours/worked per week - more hours/week in the academic year, less in the winter and most of the summer. The starting salary is $60,000 plus Duke’s benefits package which includes health, dental, and vision insurance. In 2020 (most recent available census data), median income for an individual in Durham, NC was $35,164.
This is a two-year position with the possibility for renewal.
More information about job responsibilities is available here.
To apply, please submit a resume, cover letter, and contact information for three references to [email protected].
Make sure your cover letter addresses the following three questions:
- What attracts you to a position on a university campus (and not, for example, at a small non-profit)?
- What kinds of programming can you imagine at a campus farm like Duke’s?
- What’s the best way to inspire young people to create change in the food system?
Preference will be given to applications received before March 31st, but position will be open until filled, with a start-date in late spring of 2023.