Education & Youth Development

City Growers Director of Education – Job Description

Background

About City Growers
City Growers is an educational nonprofit based in NYC that uses Brooklyn Grange rooftop farms and other urban green spaces as learning laboratories where young people can explore the intersections of human and environmental health. Founded by Brooklyn Grange as the exclusive youth education partner of their farms, our mission is to use urban agriculture to engage young people in experiential and inquiry-based learning, nurturing a life-long relationship to food, their health, and the natural world. Our mission-driven work culture is fueled by a shared commitment to bring hands-on, outdoor education to as many NYC youth as possible.

About the Position
We are looking for the Director of Education to be a key contributor to our success and sustainability, helping City Growers into its next stage of growth.

City Growers’ Director of Education will be responsible for overseeing all City Growers programs through supervision, program development, implementation, and evaluation. The Director of Education leads City Growers’ Program Team which includes: 2 year-round Program Managers and a team of 6-10 part-time seasonal staff members during the farm growing season (approximately March through October). An ideal candidate will have experience teaching in a classroom setting and developing curriculum and programs from the ground up, an understanding of educational standards at NYC public schools, an understanding of metrics and reporting guidelines, a working knowledge of anti-biased and antiracist teaching practices when working with educators and pre-K-12 youth, and experience and comfort working with youth from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, experiences, abilities, and identities.

Work Environment

Environment
The ideal candidate thrives in a collaborative team-oriented and quickly changing environment, embracing curiosity and exploration of ideas that promote adaptation and growth in our programs.

Our Team
City Growers has a full time year-round team of five individuals: Executive Director, Director of Development and Communications, Senior Program Manager and Lead Beekeeper, and Program Manager, and Director of Education (TBH). During the growing season from March through October we hire between 6-10 part-time seasonal staff members that make up our Educator team, and two cohorts of 8-12 high school students who attend our paid teen programs. City Growers is also fortunate to have an active Board of Directors where every board member has a role and is considered a part of the City Growers team.

Values
City Growers is a mission-driven organization that values education as our grounding force, making the organization a great place to learn and grow from the participant level to staff and board members. We strongly believe that we are all on a path of learning and embrace every lesson learned as an opportunity to grow.

Purpose
In this role, you will have the opportunity to make an organizational impact by connecting our strategic goals with program implementation.

Growth Path
This position offers opportunities for deep exploration of aligning pedagogical theory with practice and mission driven work with strategic planning – essentially working to match intention with impact.

Skills You Will Learn in this Role
Urban agriculture and ecology education – using urban green spaces such as rooftop farms, public parks, school yards, and more as learning labs and classrooms for pre-K-12 education aligned with NYS Science and Learning Standards.
Evolving educational approaches to be more accessible and inclusive for NYC youth.
Program Budgeting – tying budget to program development and finding ways to leverage program income for program growth and expansion.
Developing needs assessments for equitable pricing models for partner schools and nonprofits.
Further developing staff supervision and team leadership skills in a collaborative work environment.
Gaining knowledge of the operations of working in a small nonprofit – working closely and developing skills by liaising with the Development/Fundraising, Finance, and Strategic Planning teams.

Role and Responsibilities

Supervision
The Director of Education reports directly to the Executive Director (ED) through regular weekly one-on-one supervision meetings, scheduled observations, and other ongoing support as needed.

City Growers’ Program Managers report directly to the Director of Education through individual and group supervisory support. One Program Manager oversees workshops on and off Brooklyn Grange farms, and the other oversees teen programs, community events, and beekeeping. The responsibilities of supervising these roles includes:
Supporting Program Managers in growth and development as managers, facilitators and educators;
Weekly individual and group supervision with Program Managers, and other meetings as needed;
Implementing regular observation and debrief cycles with part time seasonal staff teams who report to the Program Managers;
Leading the creation of rituals and structures for seasonal program transitions;
Providing professional mentorship to Program Managers and supporting them in finding balance in their work through exploration of ongoing techniques for time and project management and self-care;

Collaborative Teamwork
Collaborates with the Director of Development on program reports, metrics and program budget tracking;
Collaborates with the Executive Director on strategic growth of program revenue;
Collaborates with the ED and Strategic Planning Committee of the Board of Directors on goal setting and inter-organizational accountability to City Growers’ mission as it relates to our Educational Programs.

Program Development and Implementation
Implements and evaluates pedagogical structures for new programs, partnerships, and/or curriculum by providing overarching structural support and ongoing curriculum development;
Models to program staff a variety of teaching styles informed by practical classroom teaching experience while prioritizing experiential and inquiry-based learning with Educators as “Facilitators of Learning” and young people as “Explorers of Ideas”;
Uses Anti-bias and Antiracist teaching approaches;
Working knowledge of best practices for assessing and implementing inclusive and accessible teaching approaches for all learners;
Leads equitable pricing evaluation and implementation efforts towards intentional outreach and engagement that prioritizes Title 1 and non-Title 1 public schools, while leveraging resources from Independent and Private schools.
Support program evaluation strategies and outcomes through data collection, surveying, and regular communication with City Growers’ Program Staff and Director of Development;
Designs and facilitates all internal staff seasonal trainings and orientations as well as other professional development opportunities for full time and seasonal staff, both internally as well as outside opportunities.
Comfort addressing difficult topics or conversations and providing language to model, with a knowledge base to draw from.
Attends and seeks out regular trainings on STEM learning, Social Emotional Learning, DOE and DYCD best practices, Anti-bias and Antiracism, Trauma Informed Engagement and other relevant topics through external organizations.

Skills and Experience

Required
Highly collaborative and team oriented person;
K-12 teaching experience in a classroom setting and/or experience working with young people in informal educational setting(s) including after school programs, camps, and/or youth drop-in centers;
Experience providing training in Anti-bias and Antiracism practices with young people and the adults who work with them;
Working knowledge of experiential and inquiry-based learning approaches;
Skilled in pedagogical theory-based curriculum development;
Professional development facilitation experience;
Staff training experience in both planning and facilitating;
Staff supervisory experience.

Preferred
American Sign Language, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, and/or Bengali conversational or fluent language ability;
Experience working with young people with mental health illnesses or conditions, unique learning abilities, neurodivergence, and developmental disabilities, differences, or delays;
Social work experience with young people.

Schedule, Compensation and How to Apply

Schedule
Start Date: Immediate with some flexibility;
Daily Schedule: 8 hour days with paid lunch, 5 days per week. Hourly schedule is approximately 9a-5p with some flexibility as needed;
A hybrid schedule of both in-person and work from home days are an organizational norm. Anticipate one day in the office per week during the office season, and up to three days per week during the program season.

Compensation and Benefits
Position Type: Full-time, year round
Starting Salary: $54,000
PTO: Accrual based Paid Time Off starts at 120 hours annually, plus 12 paid holidays per year
Comprehensive Health Benefits
Brooklyn Grange CSA membership

How to Apply
Please send a cover letter, resume, and three professional references to [email protected].

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
City Growers is an equal opportunity employer. We provide all individuals consideration for employment and advancement opportunities without regard to race, religion, color, creed, age, sex, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, familial status, marital status, partnership status, status as a domestic violence victim, disability, pregnancy, military status, status as a Vietnam Era or Special Disabled Veteran, genetic information as defined by the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act or state law, source of income, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including without limitation, hiring, promotions, compensation, benefits, disciplinary actions, training opportunities and all other terms and conditions of employment. Violations of this policy will not be tolerated, and any City Growers employee found to be engaging in any type of unlawful discrimination will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.