Agriculture and Land Based Training Association
ALBA
Position Announcement
Executive Director
Overview
The Agriculture and Land Based Training Association (ALBA) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation founded in 2001. ALBA is a place of learning and advancement for hard-working, low-income farm workers and other aspiring farmers seeking a better life. ALBA’s five-year Farmer Education and Enterprise Development (FEED) program aims to achieve the following:
- To utilize the ALBA’s one-hundred-acre farm and facilities to establish and nurture new organic farming ventures.
- Through its educational programs, to help participants develop the skills necessary to launch a farm business and/or to advance ones career in agriculture.
- To market the crops grown by ALBA’s student farmers in response to consumer preference for local, small-scale,and organic product.
ALBA’s mission is to help beginning farmers gain the knowledge and skills they need to become commercially viable entrepreneurs. The organization fulfills this mission through the provision of training and technical assistance to aspiring farmer participants. ALBA provides bi-lingual courses in English and Spanish in agronomy; and offers hands-on farming experience at its farm incubator, located near Salinas, California.
The Position
The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills and demonstrate effective management capacities to ensure proper oversight of the education and agricultural production programs. In addition to fiscal and personnel management skills, he or she will demonstrate a track record of success in program development, fundraising, and/or business development; and demonstrate a commitment to disadvantaged and marginalized populations.
The Executive Director will bring vision and energy to the position. S/he will also possess a participative management style that advocates positive team-building values, well-developed interpersonal skills, the ability to get along with diverse populations, and strong conflict-resolution and problem-solving experience. S/he will bring credibility and decisiveness to the position; will be results-oriented with a proven capacity to organize, prioritize, and work on multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining a commitment to excellence and exemplary internal and external customer service.
Among other duties, the Executive Director will build broad community awareness of ALBA and its programs, advocate on issues relevant to organic farming and sustainable agriculture, and work to increase opportunities for economic growth among ALBA’s farmer constituents.
Qualifications
- Master’s degree preferred (equivalent experience will be considered) in non-profit management, public administration, business administration, social work, community development, sustainable agriculture, small business financing, or related fields;
- Five to seven years demonstrated experience as an administrator of a complex organization. Non-profit experience at a program director or executive director level is preferred;
- Experience in fundraising from public and private sources;
- Strong understanding of non-profit operations, including experience working with boards of directors, personnel management, program development, and public relations;
- Strong fiscal management experience, including ability to develop and implement budgets;
- An affinity for working with a culturally and politically diverse community; demonstrated ability to work with farmers, farm-workers, lowand moderate-income families, ethnic minorities (primarily Hispanic), and public officials at the local, State, and federals levels, regulatory personnel;
- Knowledge of commercial agriculture, organic farming, and fresh produce aggregation and distribution is helpful.
- Knowledge of business incubators, small business financing, and non-profit development resources is helpful.
- Experience in working with volunteers is helpful.
- Proficiency in English and Spanish is preferred.
Qualified candidatescan submit a cover letter and résumé to . More information about ALBA and its programs may be obtained at
ALBA is an Equal Opportunity Employer.