Location: Seattle, WA (option to work remotely from anywhere in WA)

Salary Range: $42,700 – $44,500 (30 hours/week position)

See full details at https://wafarmlandtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/WFT-Farm-to-Farmer-Coordinator-Statewide.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Organizational Overview Washington Farmland Trust (formerly PCC Farmland Trust) is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to sustaining a future for farming. Founded in 1999, we protect and steward threatened farmland across the state. We keep land in production by making it accessible to a new generation of farmers. Visit www.wafarmlandtrust.org for information about our programs.

Position Overview

Farm to Farmer is a full-service program of Washington Farmland Trust (WFT) that transfers land to a new generation of farmers. We help farmers find the land opportunities they need to grow their businesses, and help landholders sell or lease their land to keep it in farming. The Coordinator will leverage their deep farming knowledge to provide technical assistance to farmers and landholders across Washington. They will also lead a creative and inclusive engagement strategy and help shape unconventional land tenure and financing models in order to increase land access and ownership for farmers from marginalized groups including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian farmers. A fluctuating schedule is available in order to balance this position with a job in farming.

The successful candidate will help advance the organization and shape the evolution of WFT’s farmland access tools and programming to center the needs and barriers facing farmers from socially disadvantaged and marginalized communities. Applicants should demonstrate an ethos grounded in equity and social justice and have experience working to create a more inclusive food and farming system. They will be joining the organization at a critical inflection point as WFT pursues deep, internal transition through intentional diversification of staff and board, and lasting programmatic commitments to justice and equity in agricultural conservation and farmland access. We are seeking a colleague who approaches this work with compassion, vulnerability, empathy, curiosity, and humility.

This is a 30 hours/week (.75 FTE) position that reports to the Community Partnerships Director and requires close collaboration with staff across the organization, as well as Farm to Farmer network partners. Washington Farmland Trust maintains a small physical office space In Downtown Seattle. However, the whole WFT team is currently working remotely and we encourage applicants based anywhere in Washington State for this position.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

  • Provide one on one technical assistance for farmers, farmer collectives, and community organizations in renting and buying farmland with particular emphases on supporting farmers from marginalized groups including those from Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian communities, and farmers who served in the U.S. Military, national guard or reserves. Types of support include: clarifying land goals, identifying priorities for suitable land, understanding financing options and financial readiness, recognizing aspects of equitable farm leases, and completing due diligence on specific farm properties 
  • Support farmer collectives and community organizations in implementing creative land tenure and financing models 
  • Collaborate with farmer training and incubator programs to assist graduates in finding their next properties 
  • Provide one on one technical assistance for landholders in transitioning or leasing their land to farmers. Types of support include: clarifying goals, identifying barriers for food production, developing lease agreements, supporting the implementation of land transition plans, and connecting them with service providers and resources 
  • Work closely with the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) to help landholding, former members of the U.S. military, national guard or reserves in leasing or selling their properties to farmer veterans 
  • Facilitate introductions between landholders and farmers looking for land 
  • Work with the Farm to Farmer team and local Farm to Farmer coordinators to innovate on existing tools and create new ones to reduce barriers to land access and ownership 
  • Support local Farm to Farmer coordinators to implement the program in their geographies; facilitate monthly team meetings 
  • Cultivate relationships with brokers, lawyers, and other program partners to offer services to landholders and farmers looking for land 
  • Lead the implementation of a robust and creative engagement plan that promotes Farm to Farmer services to farmer and landholder audiencesAssist with the creation of engagement and promotional materials in multiple languages, partnering with translators 
  • Work with the Farm to Farmer team and partners to develop presentations and organize workshops on land access and farmland tenure transition topics 
  • Represent the WFT at community events 
  • Work closely with the Farm to Farmer team, partners, and the development team to implement a funding strategy to sustain the Farm to Farmer network 
  • Lead and support efforts to deepen WFT’s organizational commitments to justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion, including rotating membership on WFT’s Equity Standing Committee and its intersectional taskforces
  • Participate in fundraising and other activities to support organizational development

Desired Qualifications

(NOTE: Some on-the-job training will be available and expected, therefore applicants with limited experience in the following should not hesitate to apply!)

  • A deep commitment to increasing land access and ownership for farmers of color and building an inclusive farmland access movement in Washington 
  • Experience with farming and/or running a farm business
  • Experience in providing technical assistance, as an educator, or in community engagement 
  • Project management skills 
  • Demonstrated ability to communicate and work effectively with a diverse range of stakeholders 
  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, growing organization and navigate change 
  • Conversational language skills in Spanish, Hmong-Mein, or Swahili are preferred, but not necessary. We currently work with farmers that speak these languages and are aiming to develop long-standing, mutually beneficial relationships with these communities 
  • Experience with the Service Member Veterans and Family (SMVF) community 
  • Valid, insurable driver’s license/record 
  • Willingness to travel occasionally throughout WA state for conferences and other events

Compensation & Benefits

This is a 30 hour/week, non-exempt position with an annual salary of $42,700 – $44,500, WASHINGTON FARMLAND TRUST (206) 547-9855 | info@wafarmlandtrust.org | wafarmlandtrust.org depending on experience. Washington Farmland Trust also offers a generous benefits package including:

  • Employer-sponsored medical plan with optional coverage for domestic partner and/or dependents at additional cost 
  • Retirement plan, with organizational contribution of 5% of salary 
  • Paid vacation and sick leave 
  • 10 paid holidays per year 
  • Option for a fluctuating schedule to accommodate for the intensity of farming season 
  • Organizational support and funding for professional development 
  • Patagonia Pro discount

To Apply

Please email resume and cover letter to Megan Jenny at apply@wafarmlandtrust.org. In your cover letter, please:

1. Speak to how your professional goals and experience align with the responsibilities of this position

2. Describe how you would draw on your lived experience and/or your commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion to expand the reach of the Trust’s mission and impact

3. Share an example of how you have applied one or more of the WFT values (thoughtful, reliable, curious, anti-racist, balanced, and inclusive) to advance your work

Initial application review deadline extended! Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. A first round of application reviews and interviews will take place on a rolling basis starting Wednesday, September 1.

Recognizing that this hiring process is timed with farming season, we are interested in hearing from prospective applicants who are interested, but unable to participate in a hiring process until this fall. Washington Farmland Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is deeply committed to and investing in organizational transformation for diversity, equity, and inclusion. People of all ages, races, gender identities and sexual orientations are encouraged to apply.