Community Agriculture Program Manager in Silver Spring, Maryland at AfriThrive Inc

Who You Are

You are passionate about using agriculture to strengthen communities, educate young people and families, improve access to culturally relevant foods, and connect people to the land. You are an organized and engaging program professional who enjoys working with schools, community members, volunteers, partners, and diverse populations.

You bring experience in community agriculture, school or community gardens, agricultural education, sustainable agriculture, food systems, or related programming. You can turn ideas into organized programs, build relationships, coordinate multiple activities, and take ownership of results.

What You Will Do

The Community Agriculture Program Manager leads AfriThrive's community-facing agriculture programs, with primary responsibility for community gardens, school gardens, agriculture education, and related community engagement initiatives.

Community & School Gardens

• Manage AfriThrive's community and school garden programs, including annual workplans, seasonal calendars, activities, and program goals.
• Coordinate garden preparation, planting activities, educational programming, community participation, and ongoing site needs in collaboration with the Farm Operations team.
• Build strong relationships with schools, families, gardeners, community organizations, and site partners.
• Ensure gardens are welcoming, productive, educational, and aligned with AfriThrive's mission.

Agriculture Education & Community Engagement

• Develop and deliver hands-on gardening and agriculture lessons for students participating in school garden programs.
• Develop and coordinate workshops, demonstrations, and culturally relevant garden-based education for youth, families, and community members.
• Create age-appropriate learning activities connecting gardening with healthy eating, food systems, sustainability, and culturally significant foods.
• Coordinate farm and garden tours, community workdays, educational events, and other experiential learning activities.
• Support the development of beginning-farmer and broader community agriculture education initiatives as the program grows.

Program Management & Accountability

• Develop and manage program workplans, budgets, schedules, goals, and performance measures.
• Coordinate implementation across multiple community agriculture sites and ensure activities and deliverables remain on schedule.
• Track participation, activities, outputs, outcomes, and program expenditures.
• Identify challenges early, develop solutions, and continuously improve program quality and effectiveness.
• Provide regular program updates and contribute to organizational, Board, and funder reporting.

Volunteer & Participant Coordination

• Coordinate agriculture-related volunteers and interns in partnership with the Community Engagement team.
• Lead site-specific volunteer onboarding, orientation, and training on garden activities, tools, safety procedures, and program expectations.
• Develop clear volunteer assignments, schedules, training materials, and work plans based on program and seasonal needs.
• Provide ongoing supervision, coaching, and support to ensure volunteers are safe, engaged, and effectively contributing to community and school garden activities.
• Coordinate volunteer leads and interns, as appropriate, to support larger workdays, garden activities, and special projects.
• Track volunteer participation, training, assignments, and contributions and provide feedback to the Community Engagement team.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen volunteer engagement, retention, leadership development, and community participation.

Partnerships & Community Engagement

• Build and maintain strong relationships with schools, community organizations, garden/site partners, universities, agricultural organizations, local government, and other community stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary relationship manager for partners supporting AfriThrive’s community and school garden programs.
• Identify and develop new partnerships that expand garden sites, education, volunteers, technical assistance, resources, and community participation.
• Coordinate partner activities, meetings, site visits, workshops, and joint community agriculture initiatives.
• Represent AfriThrive at relevant community, school, agriculture, and food systems meetings and events.
• Work with the Senior Manager, Agriculture & Food Systems and Development team to identify partnership and funding opportunities that strengthen and expand community agriculture programs.

Collaboration & Program Integration

• Work closely with the Farm Operations Manager to coordinate plants, materials, technical support, site preparation, irrigation, and other production needs for community and school gardens.
• Collaborate with Food as Medicine, Healthy Food Access, Community Engagement, and other AfriThrive teams to connect agriculture with broader organizational programs.
• Work with the Impact & Innovation team to strengthen data collection, evaluation, and learning.
• Support agriculture-related grants and ensure assigned activities, documentation, and deliverables are completed on time.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in agriculture, horticulture, environmental studies, food systems, education, community development, or related field; equivalent relevant experience considered.
• 3+ years of relevant experience in community agriculture, school/community gardens, agricultural education, food systems, or community-based programming.
• Experience coordinating programs, projects, volunteers, participants, or community activities.
• Strong organizational, project-management, facilitation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to manage workplans, budgets, schedules, multiple sites, and program deliverables.
• Ability to work effectively with schools, community partners, volunteers, youth, and culturally diverse communities.
• Commitment to food security, health equity, culturally relevant agriculture, and AfriThrive's mission.
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel regularly among program sites.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing community or school garden programs.
• Experience developing and delivering agriculture or environmental education.
• Knowledge of regenerative, sustainable, or organic agriculture.
• Experience working with immigrant, refugee, and underserved communities.
• Experience coordinating volunteers, interns, or beginning farmers.
• Familiarity with grants, program budgets, data collection, evaluation, and reporting.
• Knowledge of culturally significant crops and community-based food systems.

What Success Looks Like

During the first year, the Community Agriculture Program Manager will:

• Establish strong workplans, calendars, budgets, and performance measures for AfriThrive's community and school garden programs.
• Ensure community and school garden sites are well organized, actively used, and delivering meaningful educational and community outcomes.
• Increase participation by youth, families, volunteers, and community members.
• Build strong relationships with schools, community organizations, and agriculture partners.
• Establish consistent systems for program documentation, data collection, evaluation, and reporting.
• Deliver agriculture education, workshops, garden activities, and community events successfully and on schedule.
• Demonstrate readiness to expand AfriThrive's community agriculture portfolio as organizational capacity grows.

WORK CONDITIONS

This role may require frequent standing, walking, stooping, and lifting objects up to 50 pounds. The employee must be able to stand for up to three hours continuously and perform tasks requiring fine motor skills and vision adjustments. Work often occurs in varying environmental conditions, including extreme heat, cold, rain, snow, and ice, for periods of up to three hours.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

AfriThrive offers a competitive benefits package, including:

• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with employer match
• Paid vacation, increasing with tenure
• Paid sick leave
• Twelve (12) paid holidays annually
• Three (3) personal days
• Professional development opportunities
• Mileage reimbursement for approved work-related travel
• A sabbatical opportunity every six years to support long-term renewal and growth
• Opportunity to help build an innovative, community-centered agriculture program with lasting impact.

About AfriThrive

AfriThrive is a nonprofit organization working to advance food justice, improve access to culturally appropriate and nutritious foods, strengthen community health, and create opportunities for individuals and families to thrive. Through food access, Food as Medicine, sustainable agriculture, youth development, community engagement, and strategic partnerships, AfriThrive works alongside communities to build healthier and more equitable food systems.

Equal Opportunity

AfriThrive is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating an inclusive workplace. Employment decisions are made based on organizational needs, job requirements, individual qualifications, and merit without unlawful discrimination.