Encinitas, California
Executive Director Job Description
Position: Executive Director
Status: Regular, Full-Time, Exempt
Hours: 40 hours/week, Monday-Friday. Evenings, weekends, and holidays on occasion
Reports to: Board of Directors
About Coastal Roots Farm
Coastal Roots Farm (CRF) is a nonprofit community farm and education center. We cultivate healthy, connected communities by integrating sustainable agriculture, food justice, and ancient Jewish wisdom.
Since our inception in 2014, Coastal Roots Farm has provided dignified access to fresh food for those who need it most. Inspired by Jewish agricultural practices, we raise organic crops and share the harvest with our community through pay-what-you-can farm stands, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, and direct donations to local hunger relief organizations. Through field trips, workshops, agricultural festivals, and community events, we offer hands-on education and invite our neighbors to connect to the land and each other.
Coastal Roots Farm is located in Encinitas, CA on approximately 15 acres of land. Our Farm consists of vegetable gardens, greenhouses, a food forest, animal pastures, compost systems, and a vineyard. Coastal Roots Farm was incubated by the Leichtag Foundation and received 501(c)(3) public charity status in 2016
Position Overview
The Executive Director (ED) will imbue vision, passion, and skilled management practice to the role, working in close partnership with Farm team members, the Coastal Roots Farm (CRF) board, funders, North County Coastal neighbors and community, colleague Jewish community farms, and other stakeholders. The ED will have a proven track record as a successful operational manager and someone who excels at iterative, dynamic strategy development and execution. While overseeing the daily operations and execution of all programs at CRF, the ED must also maximize revenue-generating opportunities; ensure fiscal transparency and accountability; stay on the cutting edge of community engagement trends and best practices; develop and manage a positive, productive work culture; work successfully with board members, funders, agricultural and farming practitioners and community leaders; consistently convey and integrate Jewish wisdom and culture to the entire CRF landscape and incorporate an entrepreneurial service philosophy to CRF. The successful candidate will bring stellar talent development and community organizing skills to have a transformative impact on the North County San Diego Jewish and general community, the broader region and the local, national and international Jewish landscape. The ED will be a catalyst for engaging, motivating, educating and enriching agricultural, Jewish and community life at Leichtag Commons and in the larger community.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
The essential functions include, but are not limited to, the following:
Operational Management, Programming and Vision
- Manage the operations of CRF to maximize efficiency, productivity and the long-term sustainability of the organization.
- Oversee the design, implementation and execution of mission-driven, competitive, and creative programming and social enterprise.
- Develop and oversee a marketing plan that will achieve consistent increases in Farm impact, service penetration, and revenue and reflects fresh, cutting-edge messaging that meets the various Farm target populations where they are and reflects their needs and interests.
- Manage the Farm’s 20-acre footprint, including associated facilities and operations.
- Ensure and oversee the identification and evaluation of opportunities for improvement and implement plans for improvement.
- Supervise negotiations of contracts, agreements, and MOU’s, defining needs and resources.
- Lead, prepare, and manage annual operating and capital budgets in conjunction with the Board of Directors.
- Maintain oversight of operations and budget to ensure practical fiscal management.
Strategic Planning and Vision
- Create and actualize clear, reasonable and sustainable short-, medium-, and long-term visions and business plans for CRF.
- Articulate and implement a shared vision, index of success indicators and measurements, programming schedule, and case statement that reflects the unique mission of CRF and its multidimensional impact.
- Maintain a focus on balancing proactive planning with opportunistic nimbleness in order to identify and leverage emerging trends and community needs.
Executive Leadership
- Provides inspirational leadership for CRF with poise, confidence, outstanding public presentation skills, transparency and sound judgement.
- Serves as spokesperson and chief advocate of CRF locally, nationally and internationally particularly among agricultural/farming stakeholders, food policy leaders and in the Jewish engagement and innovation landscape.
Financial Resource Development
- Works with Leichtag Foundation philanthropy staff to develop and implement a comprehensive fundraising strategy that includes prospecting, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of current and prospective donors.
- Plays a leading role in the fundraising activity and success of CRF as the recognized dynamic leader of the organization.
Staff Management
- Provides strong ongoing supervision, management and coaching to CRF staff including regular evaluations and accountability.
- Fosters a work environment that is results-oriented, intellectually curious, community and customer focused, and responsive to opportunity and trends.
- Creates a positive, energizing culture for the staff that sets them up to succeed.
- Takes action with appropriate urgency in matters pertaining to personnel management including incentivizing top performers, implementing staff and organizational changes, and setting policy.
- Responsible for HR activities, including recruitment, staff development, evaluations, and release of all personnel.
- Develop an effective and cooperative management team, and provide strategic growth opportunities that attract, keep, and motivate a diverse, high-quality staff.
Board Administration and Governance
- Work with Leichtag Foundation management to develop a strategy to recruit board members who will bring important skill sets to CRF and set them up to succeed as active champions of the organization.
- Develop strong relationships with board members and make an effort to understand their strengths in order to maximize their contributions to CRF.
Leichtag Commons
- Participate actively in the Hive to foster a collaborative environment that maximizes community effectiveness and engagement strategy.
- Maintain CRF as a leading organization at Leichtag Commons and consistently consider the success of the Commons in conjunction with and integral to the success of CRF.
Required Qualifications and Experiences
The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Significant (minimum 5 years) experience in management roles in the Jewish or secular nonprofit or mission-driven organization world. Experience in farming organizations is a strong plus.
- Demonstrated passion for local and sustainable agriculture, community health, food access and policy and environmental education.
- Outstanding public speaking and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent written communication skills.
- Extensive experience with fiscal budgeting and financial forecasting.
- Experience and success with financial resource development including major gift solicitation, donor cultivation, donor stewardship and the donor continuum.
- Experience operating a physical facility such as a farm, campus, learning center, etc.
- Proven track record of developing a strategic plan for an organization and executing that plan.
- Significant experience managing a team of professionals to accomplish their best work.
- Deep understanding of the dynamism of Jewish life and how that affects current and emerging community trends.
- Significant knowledge of Jewish traditions, rituals, and liturgy. Knowledge of Jewish agricultural laws and practices is a strong plus.
- Engenders trust and confidence with a deep commitment to integrity and humility.
- Adjusts to changing priorities, copes effectively with complexity, and understands and absorbs new information quickly.
- Willing and capable of taking an independent stand and calculated risks.
- Innovative and resourceful; action and result-oriented.
- Understands the need to satisfy internal and external customers and stakeholders.
- Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred. We will consider a range of candidates’ experiences and academic credentials.
Reporting Relationships
Reports to the Board of Directors.
Compensation
Salary commensurate with experience. Coastal Roots Farm offers a competitive benefits package.
Typical Working Conditions
The Executive Director will work in an office environment and outdoors on occasion. There will be exposure to Southern California outside temperatures, chemicals used in the agricultural industry, and loud noises.
Essential Physical Tasks
Continual walking, standing, climbing, stooping, bending, kneeling, reaching, lifting, cutting and carrying.
Equipment Used
Computer, printer, office equipment.
How to Apply
Please email your resume to jobs@coastalrootsfarm.org, and state the position for which you are applying in the subject line of the email.
Coastal Roots Farm is an equal opportunity employer.