Job Title: Farmer Support Specialist
Job Category: Coordinator III or Specialist I, DOE
Location: Based in or adjacent to one of these counties: Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Kern / Partially-Remote
FTE: 1 FTE
Salary: $65,000-$70,000 annually
FLSA: Non-exempt
Reports To: Kali Feiereisel, Farmer Services Director
Other details: Bilingual [not required but strongly preferred]
Bilingual Pay Differential: Eligible
Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) is a California-based membership organization that includes family farmers and other community members passionate about local food, farming, and the environment. As a farmer-serving organization, we recognize the historic and lasting inequities in the California food and farming system. We believe farmers of color and other historically oppressed people should have the opportunity to create and participate in a food and agriculture system that aligns with their needs, values, identities, knowledge systems, and communities. We commit to advancing racial, gender, and environmental justice in our larger systems, as well as in our own workplace. Currently, our programming is focused in four areas: Farm to Market, Policy & Advocacy, Farmer Services, and Ecological Farming. To learn more about CAFF, our history, and our core values, visit https://www.caff.org/about.
Position Summary
The core responsibility will be providing direct technical support to family farmers across California on organic transition, Food Safety Compliance, and small farm technology adoption. Farmer assistance will be focused in the San Joaquin Valley (approximately Stockton to Fresno) area, with regular travel to and within these areas required. Additional statewide travel from time to time will be required for all-staff and team meetings. This position will be an important part of the Farmer Services team. The individual is responsible for leading the Food Safety Compliance program and providing support to the Organic Transition and Appropriate Technology Programs. Supporting those programs will entail helping growers transition to certified organic and providing digital literacy training, as a few examples. Leading the Food Safety Compliance work is an evolving area of our team and includes creating resources that simplify complicated regulatory requirements, small group technical assistance, and other activities depending on currently pending grant proposals. Someone who is patient, hard-working, proactive, problem-solves, collaborates well with others, and is passionate about CAFF’s mission and core values will excel in this position.
Position Overview
CAFF’s primary farmer constituency is small and often underserved farmers. These farmers are juggling many different roles as they run their farms. The Farmer Services team improves market readiness for community-scale farm businesses by providing technical support that strengthens farm operations and administrative skills. Put another way, we help farmers do the important tasks away from the field that are essential for business success! This could include helping a farmer set up their Google Business account, fill out their organic certification paperwork, or determining what category their farm falls into under federal food safety laws and what they have to do to be in compliance. CAFF has a long history of working with farmers in the Central Valley of California and surrounding areas. The Farmer Services team at CAFF is constantly monitoring farmer needs and evolving our programming to address their top areas for technical assistance. We expect this position to be responsive and topics the person in this position will work on will likely change over time. The foundational elements of the position—focused on farmer technical assistance, trainings, resource creation, and more—will stay the same.
Major Duties and Responsibilities
Essential responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Food Safety Compliance
- Provide remote and in-person 1:1 or small group technical assistance on Food Safety Compliance topics to farmers in your region of the state
- Co-develop and facilitate an on-farm technical assistance provider training on food safety 101 topics that technical service providers can support farmers with
- Support rollout of the new national Practical Food Safety for Farmers curriculum in California
- Create and update food safety resources as needed
Organic Certification
- Provide remote and in-person 1:1 or small group technical assistance on organic transition to farmers in your region of the state and any that are part of our existing Organic Transition Program.
- Assist farmers in the Organic Transition Program to purchase items with their organic transition grant funds.
- As needed, co-lead or lead:
- Development of different organic resources
- Creation of podcast episodes
- On-farm field days
- Conference workshops
Small Farm Technology
- Support technology adoption across California (through in-person or remote technical assistance), with particular focus in the five county San Joaquin Valley region
- Collaborate with other CAFF staff, contractors, and partners to provide groups of farmers digital literacy trainings. Support development and implementation of these trainings.
- Create online resources (e.g. on digital skills such as how to use Canva) and co-present, as needed.
General CAFF Responsibilities
This person will be an important member of CAFF’s Farmer Services Team and work closely with all members of the team on various projects.
- Submit timesheet and monthly expenses on time and correctly
- Follow all policies and procedures in the CAFF Employee Handbook and Operations Manual
- Represent CAFF by participating in community activities and events
- Assist in hosting (or collaborating on) at least one event as part of the regional gatherings taking place on the final day of the California Small Farm Conference
- Participate in weekly all-staff meetings and annual retreat(s) for all-staff and the farmer services team
We know it’s impossible to convey every single task for a particular job in one job description. Our hope is that as we work together, and your role evolves over time, we can adjust your job description accordingly.
Qualifications
Educational and Work Experience
- High school diploma or equivalent
- At least two years of previous work experience related to small business development, small farming, organic certification, and technology education
- Small-scale diverse and/or organic farming experience
- Knowledge of agricultural technologies and application to specialty crop production and/or diversified agricultural systems.
- Event planning
- Teaching adult audiences about complex topics
- Professional experience managing dynamic projects
- Experience working directly with farmers
- Experience working with nonprofits strongly preferred
- Experience in building partnerships and with multidisciplinary teams
- Ability to work with diverse clientele
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Passion for sustainable agriculture, local food and family farms and a general understanding of related issues
- Solid understanding of practical agricultural technology and equipment as applied to small-scale and diversified agricultural systems
- Deep understanding of key concepts and challenges related to small farm businesses
- The ability to analyze data and information and develop systems as needed
- Strong relationship builder, outgoing and eager to collaborate, make connections and grow the program
- Strong written and oral communication skills in English
- Flexibility to work independently, with minimal supervision, as well as collaborate with others in a remote team setting
- Ability to work on a variety of projects simultaneously with occasional weekend and evening commitments
- Ability to speak publicly and teach to various audiences. Demonstrated excellence in written, oral, and interpersonal, and information technology communication skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel
- Proficiency with collaborative working platforms such as Salesforce, Action Network, WordPress, Dropbox, Google Workspace, and Project Management Software
- Bilingual skills in another language preferred (preferably Spanish)
- Willing and able to maintain strict confidentiality
- Desired experience: Salesforce, Adobe Creative Cloud, Action Network, Asana, Notion
Physical Abilities and Other Requirements
- Travel to events/activities on up to a weekly basis during the “busy” farmer season, which is often November-April (valid driver’s license required)
- Ability to sit for long periods of time working at a computer.
- Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
- Requires a full range of physical mobility, such as bending, stooping, lifting, turning, carrying objects, and grasping.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties required of staff so classified.
To apply: Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, supplemental questions responses (questions below), and resume as a combined PDF, and a sample of your work (optional, combined in PDF if feasible) that you feel is relevant to this position, with the subject line “Farmer Support Specialist” to jobs[at]caff.org by 5pm Tuesday, October 6th. First-round interviews are planned for the week of October 19th. Reference requests will be made further along in the application process
Supplemental Questions:
- For the foreseeable future this position will need to provide in-person technical assistance to small farmers throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Ideally, we would like the new hire for this position to be based there. If they are not based there, then they would need to be nearby and willing to drive once/week to somewhere in the San Joaquin Valley October-March and twice a month April-September. If applicable, (1) are you open to re-locating to the San Joaquin Valley? If you are not open to relocating, (2) are you able to commit to longer day trips and/or one night a week 3-4 times a month October-March with work travel? Note: Mileage reimbursement and/or rental car would be provided as well as lodging, if needed. (250 words or less)
- Have you ever trained yourself on a new technical knowledge base or skill? If so, (1) what was it and (2) how did you go about learning and applying your technical expertise in that topic? (250 words or less)
- What is your understanding of on-farm food safety requirements and why is it important for small farmers to get assistance on this topic? (250 words or less)
- What is your understanding of appropriate technology principles and tools and why is it important for small farmers to get assistance on this topic? (250 words or less)