Senior Manager, Agriculture & Food Systems in at AfriThrive Inc

Senior Manager, Agriculture & Food Systems

Who You Are

• You are an experienced agriculture and food systems leader who can translate strategy into strong programs, systems, partnerships, and measurable results.
• You understand agricultural production, but you also see the larger food system, how farms, infrastructure, procurement, food access, community agriculture, health initiatives, partnerships, and funding work together.
• You are a strong people and program manager who can lead managers, establish accountability, manage budgets and grants, build external partnerships, and strengthen systems across multiple locations.
• You are comfortable moving between the farm, community, partner meetings, budgets, data, and organizational planning.
• You are motivated by agriculture's potential to improve food security, health, economic opportunity, and community resilience.

What You Will Do

The Senior Manager, Agriculture & Food Systems provides strategic and operational leadership for AfriThrive's agriculture portfolio. The position oversees farm production and community agriculture programs while strengthening the systems, partnerships, infrastructure, and resources necessary for sustainable growth. The Senior Manager ensures that AfriThrive's agriculture investments support the organization's broader food access, Food as Medicine, community engagement, and health equity goals.

Agriculture Strategy & Portfolio Leadership

• Lead implementation and continuous improvement of AfriThrive’s agriculture and food systems strategy, including annual goals, workplans, budgets, production priorities, and performance measures.
• Translate organizational priorities and program demand into coordinated plans across farm production, community agriculture, and school garden sites.
• Drive the growth, sustainability, infrastructure, and overall impact of the agriculture portfolio.

Agricultural Venture & Financial Sustainability

• Develop and implement a strategy to grow AfriThrive’s agriculture operations into a financially sustainable, mission-aligned venture with clear revenue, cost-recovery, and margin targets.
• Develop enterprise budgets and analyze production costs, labor, yields, crop losses, market demand, and revenue potential to guide what, where, and how much AfriThrive grows.
• Develop reliable markets and earned-revenue opportunities with institutional buyers, healthcare partners, restaurants, retailers, food hubs, and culturally specific markets.
• Balance production for Food as Medicine and food access programs with market-based production and other earned-revenue opportunities.
• Monitor financial performance and identify opportunities to increase productivity, reduce losses and costs, improve margins, and responsibly scale viable agricultural enterprises.

Team Leadership & Accountability

• Supervise and support the farm staff, establishing clear expectations, workplans, performance measures, and accountability.
• Build a strong team culture through coaching, communication, training, appropriate staffing, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with HR on recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and professional development.

Farm Production Oversight

• Provide strategic oversight of multi-site farm production while delegating day-to-day operations to the Farm Operations Manager.
• Review production plans, targets, labor needs, yields, quality, losses, and operational efficiency.
• Ensure production aligns with Food as Medicine, food access, and market commitments, and support resolution of significant operational challenges.

Community Agriculture & Education

• Provide strategic oversight of community and school gardens, agriculture education, and related community agriculture initiatives.
• Support the Community Agriculture Program Manager in delivering strong workplans, partnerships, educational programming, and measurable outcomes.
• Expand meaningful agriculture opportunities for community members, youth, volunteers, and beginning farmers.

Infrastructure, Equipment & Food Systems Capacity

• Lead long-term planning for irrigation, greenhouses/ high tunnels, cold storage, equipment, vehicles, and other agriculture infrastructure.
• Strengthen preventive maintenance, asset management, safety, and efficient resource utilization.
• Improve integration among production, procurement, storage, transportation, and distribution.

Partnerships & Market Development

• Build strategic relationships with landowners, farmers, universities, government agencies, schools, funders, buyers, healthcare organizations, and agriculture organizations.
• Represent AfriThrive in relevant agriculture and food systems partnerships, coalitions, and initiatives.
• Develop opportunities for land access, infrastructure, markets, research, technical assistance, and workforce development.

Grants, Budgets & Resource Development

• Manage agriculture budgets and ensure responsible use of financial and operational resources.
• Partner with Development to identify funding opportunities, contribute technical expertise to proposals, and diversify agriculture funding.
• Oversee agriculture-related grants and contracts, ensuring timely implementation, compliance, deliverables, documentation, and reporting.

Data, Evaluation & Reporting

• Establish and monitor KPIs for production, revenue, costs, margins, yields, losses, acreage, participation, and other program and operational outcomes.
• Ensure reliable data collection and use results to improve performance, guide investments, and support business and program decisions.
• Provide regular performance updates for executive leadership, Board, organizational, and funder reporting.

Food Safety, Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with applicable food safety, worker safety, environmental, and organizational requirements.
• Maintain strong SOPs, staff training, documentation, safety, and risk-management systems across agriculture sites.
• Identify significant operational and financial risks early and ensure timely corrective action.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, food systems, horticulture, environmental science, business, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 5–7+ years of progressively responsible experience in agriculture, farm management, food systems, or agricultural enterprise development.
• Demonstrated experience leading teams, managing multiple sites or programs, and driving accountability and performance.
• Strong knowledge of agricultural production, farm operations, budgeting, cost management, and business or market development.
• Experience managing budgets, grants, government-funded programs, partnerships, and performance reporting.
• Strong strategic planning, project management, analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Commitment to food security, health equity, culturally relevant agriculture, and the communities AfriThrive serves.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel regularly among AfriThrive sites.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing financially sustainable farm enterprises, markets, buyers, or earned-revenue opportunities.
• Experience with diversified and culturally significant crops, regenerative/sustainable agriculture, and greenhouse/high tunnel production.
• Knowledge of irrigation, farm equipment, infrastructure, food safety, GAP, IPM, and agricultural compliance.
• Experience with USDA or other government-funded agriculture programs.
• Experience connecting agriculture with community programs, food access, Food as Medicine, cold chain, procurement, or distribution.

What Success Looks Like

During the first year, the Senior Manager will:

• Establish a coordinated agriculture strategy, workplan, budget, performance measures, and clear accountability across the portfolio.
• Strengthen multi-site production, team performance, infrastructure, safety, operational systems, and reporting.
• Develop an Agricultural Venture & Financial Sustainability Plan with production costs, enterprise budgets, market opportunities, and revenue and cost-recovery targets.
• Improve alignment among farm production, market opportunities, Food as Medicine, food access, and community agriculture.
• Strengthen buyers, partners, funding, and earned-revenue opportunities while keeping grants, budgets, and deliverables on track.
• Develop a multi-year roadmap for a productive, financially sustainable, and mission-aligned agriculture and food systems portfolio.

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.