Job Description – Vice Presidentfor Programs

Summary: The Vice President for Programs supervises staff and manages work in three programmatic areas: Farmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability.

Reports to:President CEO

Duties:

  1. Staff Support: Supervise and support all staff within Farmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability. (This currently covers the following subjects and programs: donated easements; purchased easements; Buy/Protect/Sell; Farmland Protection Partnership Program; Forever Farms; GIS support; stewardship; beginning farmer services; land leasing program; land access loan program; Maine FarmLink; nutrition incentives; Veggies for All; individualized business planning assistance; educational workshops and technical assistance; shared-use farm equipment; farm disaster relief program.) Help staff in these areas to recognize key issues and opportunities, solve problems, and do their work as well as possible.
  1. Strategic Thinking: Alert supervised staff of various ideas and opportunities that may help refine or improve relevantprogramming. Alert the President or other senior staff, as appropriate, to ideas for operational improvements or new programs that would advance MFT’s work inFarmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability.
  1. Grant Proposal Coordination: Work with supervised staff to help identify and pursue grant funding that may be available through foundations or government sources. Provide oversight and assistance, as needed, to ensure that all grant writing undertaken by supervised staff is strategically targeted, well-executed, and fully coordinated with broader efforts within MFT.
  1. Budgets and Work Plans: Work with supervised staff to help develop and then compile and refine proposed budgets and work plans in each of the three programmatic areas (Farmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability), as part of MFT's annual budget process.
  1. Internal Reports: Prepare internal management reports tracking progress made with Farmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability. Support supervised staff, as appropriate, in identifying and tracking key metrics. Consult and cooperate with MFT's database manager, as needed, to ensure that databases are current and that the information in the database is included in relevant internal reports.
  1. Board Reports: Prepare board reports for each of the three programmatic areas (Farmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability), by compiling information from various staff into coherent and consistent summaries.
  1. Grant Reports: Prepare, contribute to, or supervise the production of, as appropriate, reports to funders for grants received that support work inFarmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability.
  1. Performance Reviews: Conduct an annual performance review of all staff in Farmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability. (Most reviews of project or program managers will be conducted in conjunction with the President. All reviews of lower-level employees who report to a project or program manager will be conducted in conjunction with that project or program manager.)
  1. Contract Management: Manage all contracts relating to work performed inFarmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability. (In select contracts, the role of contract manager may be delegated to a member of supervised staff, as appropriate.)
  1. Lands ProjectProspecting: Plan and oversee an aggressive strategy intended to increase deal flow for farmland protection projects. This strategy will likely involve a combination of “retail efforts” (such as coordinating farmland protection staff as they get to know select communities, reach out to farmers and other community players, and attend meetings of local and regional farm organizations or land trusts) and “wholesale efforts” (such as sending mailings to landowners).
  1. Lands Projects Case Management:Assign and/or re-assign projects to Farmland Protection staff, as needed, to maintain an equitable workload for all project managers. (At present, many but not all projects are assigned by region; but reassignment is appropriate, as needed, to balance workload.)
  1. Lands Committee:Coordinate and manage the work of the Lands Committee, which is comprised of board members and other volunteers. Likely tasks include scheduling meetings, developing agenda, running meetings, recording meeting outcomes, and providing orientation/education opportunities, in conjunction with MFT’s Legal Counsel, as appropriate.
  1. Outreach & Communications: Review periodically all of the communication materials (such as handouts, brochures, website content) relating to the three programmatic areas (Farmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability) for the purpose of identifying for the Outreach Director any desired corrections or additions. Support the Outreach Director in the development or modification of any such materials, as appropriate. Support the Outreach Director with relevant content for press releases, e-news, and newsletter articles.
  1. Social Media: Utilize social media to call attention to relevant work being undertaken in Farmland Protection, Farmland Access, and Farm Viability. Encourage supervised staff to do the same. Coordinate with the Outreach Director, as appropriate.
  1. MFT Ambassador:Participate as needed in activities such as outreach events, annual meeting, public presentations, etc. Be an ambassador for MFT, and reach out consistently to help build MFT’s reputation and membership base.

Desired Qualifications:

  • Ability and eagerness to help lead a dynamic organization.
  • Exceptional intelligence, creativity, and management skills.
  • Clear and deep commitment to the future of farming in Maine.
  • Adequate knowledge of the key issues surrounding farmland protection, farmland access, and farm viability to provide meaningful programmatic guidance to staff.
  • Minimum ten years of professional experience within a relevant organization or business.
  • Proven experience managing complex projects and supervising professional staff.
  • Exceptional communication skills (both oral and written).
  • Willingness to travel as needed and to work occasionally on evenings and weekends.
  • Any of the following are highly desirable:
  • Experience with program development and management.
  • Experience with human resources and personnel issues.
  • Experience with business planning.
  • Experience with budgeting and financial management.
  • Experience with real estate transactions.
  • Experience with public relationships and media.
  • Experience with fundraising and/or grant writing.
  • Direct experience in farming.
  • Connections and contacts within Maine’s farming community and/or conservation community.
  • Masters level (or higher) degree in a relevant field.

Salary:

Salary will depend on the candidate’s qualifications. MFT’s benefits package includes a retirement program, a wellness benefit, and a health care stipend. At present, MFT does not offer its own health insurance directly.