Data Stewardship and Reporting Manager in AMES, Iowa at Practical Farmers of Iowa

Practical Farmers of Iowa is Hiring a Data Stewardship and Reporting Manager

About PFI

Practical Farmers of Iowa is a nonprofit organization that has worked to equip farmers to build resilient farms and communities since 1985. We create learning opportunities via farmer-led events, on-farm research and educational content through our robust network of farmers. We also provide funding and technical assistance to help farmers adopt regenerative farming practices and grow farm businesses. Our vision is an Iowa with healthy soil, healthy food, clean air, clean water, resilient farms and vibrant communities.

This work has always been rooted in our value of welcoming everyone and creating a culture of mutual respect. We believe that a diversity of people, ideas and perspectives strengthens our ability to find creative solutions, enriches our understanding and broadens our impact. At Practical Farmers, we celebrate this diversity and are committed to ensuring that our policies and practices create an equitable and inclusive workplace. We take equal opportunity seriously and seek to empower and support all applicants and teammates.

Practical Farmers offers a flexible, supportive and fast-paced work environment. Professional development is a core part of our culture and team members are encouraged to take independent initiative to help fulfill our mission.

About the Position

The farm viability department provides innovative, personalized support to help farmers achieve their goals. We partner with farmers to implement new on-farm practices, develop markets and create robust farm business plans. We make key connections across the food and agriculture supply chain, develop strategic partnerships and shape the policies that encourage resilient farms to thrive. As part of this work, we offer a wide range of farm viability programs for farmers and landowners in Iowa and surrounding states.

We’re seeking a data stewardship and reporting manager to maintain clean data systems that create excellent customer service for program participants and ease reporting to funders and others. This new subdepartment – data stewardship and reporting – will support the farm systems and business development teams to ensure consistent data and data management processes. The leader of this subdepartment will also support professional development work that enables us to continue offering high-quality programs our members want and need to drive change on the landscape.

In this role you’ll be responsible for ensuring the team delivers high-quality member engagement, along with robust data management, so program participants are successful and have a positive experience. If you’re passionate about supporting farmers and landowners and fostering a more diverse agriculture system – and you understand how top-notch customer service and seamless data systems support those goals – then this is your role!

Duties

• Facilitate teamwork within the data stewardship and reporting subdepartment.

o Ensure coverage of inbound and outbound engagement activities across the team.

o Ensure consistent data entry across intake, surveys and participation workflows.

o Support data cleanup, enrichment and validation activities.

o Oversee intake, enrollment and participation coordination workflows.

o Coordinate large-batch payment processing by preparing and validating participant data.

• Oversee contractors, staff members, volunteers and partners who conduct data stewardship projects and work.

o Oversee accuracy and completeness of member profiles.

o Ensure engagement data aligns with reporting requirements.

o Oversee Fieldprint Calculator data collection and handoff to operations team members.

o Manage data stewardship and reporting projects.

o Ensure smooth execution of participant-facing program workflows from intake through completion.

o Ensure participant interactions have clear outputs, next steps and referrals when needed

o Maintain consistency in how participants move through farm viability programs.

o Coordinate cross-team handoffs to ensure continuity in participant experience.

o Facilitate collaboration between departments and teams to achieve data stewardship project deliverables.

o Facilitate coordination with program, communications, development and operations staff teams.

o Ensure consistent messaging and participant experience across teams.

o Support smooth handoffs between engagement, program and technical staff.

o Share engagement insights to inform organizational alignment and communication.

• Design and implement processes to ensure farm viability work is consistent and efficient.

o Oversee execution of multichannel engagement (email, text, phone, inbox systems).

o Ensure timely and appropriate responses to participant inquiries.

o Manage escalation pathways between data stewardship and farm viability staff.

o Maintain standards for tone, responsiveness and member experience.

o Monitor engagement workflows for consistency and efficiency.

o Identify bottlenecks and challenges in participation processes.

o Recommend process improvements to the operations team for system-level implementation.

o Support consistent execution of standardized engagement procedures.

o Ensure engagement practices align across farm viability programs.

• Manage capacity and budget efficiently to complete work.

o Provide enrollment and participation data to finance and operations teams so they can issue payments.

o Coordinate closely with finance and operations teams.

o Monitor enrollment and participation levels relative to program capacity.

o Ensure data is available to support cashflow planning and payment timing decisions.

• Other duties as assigned or volunteered to support department or team projects

Required Qualifications and Characteristics

• Understanding of member or participant engagement workflows

• Familiarity with program operations in nonprofit or agricultural systems

• Working knowledge of data collection, tracking and basic reporting concepts (including data visualization and interpretation)

• Understanding of cross-functional program coordination (programs, communications, operations)

• Awareness of confidentiality and compliance expectations in program data handling

• Strong multichannel communication management (email, phone, text, inbox systems)

• Ability to coordinate complex workflows across multiple stakeholders

• High attention to detail in recordkeeping and to ensure data accuracy

• Ability to triage, prioritize and route inquiries appropriately

• Strong written communication for participant-facing messaging and reporting summaries

• Ability to maintain consistency across high-volume engagement activities

• Basic proficiency in data tools (spreadsheets, customer relationship management or database systems, survey tools like Qualtrics)

• Strong interpersonal communication skills (written and verbal)

• Supervision or personnel management experience

• Project management experience

• Ability to manage high-volume, time-sensitive operational workflows

• Ability to ensure consistent participant experience across multiple channels and programs

• Ability to understand engagement data and use it to help make day-to-day program decisions

• Ability to coordinate effectively across departments without being in charge of systems or having authority over them

• Ability to maintain calm and accuracy in a fast-paced, work environment

• Ability to follow and reinforce established processes and standard operating procedures

Desired Qualifications and Characteristics

• Familiarity with farm viability, conservation programs or agricultural cost-share programs

• Understanding of funder reporting requirements (state, federal, foundation)

• Exposure to behavioral engagement or participant journey design concepts

• Basic understanding of data integrity principles and CRM workflows

• Experience with survey design and deployment tools (e.g., Qualtrics)

• Ability to synthesize qualitative and quantitative engagement insights

• Experience supporting program reporting for grants or external stakeholders

• Strong facilitation skills for cross-team coordination and alignment conversations

• Ability to identify process inefficiencies and recommend improvements clearly

• Change management experience

• Ability to see patterns across participant journeys and engagement trends

• Ability to translate operational realities into clear feedback for operations and program leadership

• Ability to support continuous improvement without owning system-level implementation

• Ability to build trust across multiple departments and work styles

This is a full-time position with potential for hybrid work. There is a minimum requirement of one day per month at the Ames, Iowa, office and seasonal travel around Iowa and surrounding states. The beginning salary for this position is $72,000 with annual opportunity for salary increases and position advancement.

PFI values its employees and is a flexible and supportive work environment. We offer employees a competitive benefits package that includes employee health insurance with 100% employer-paid premium, generous paid time off, flexible hours, six weeks of fully paid parental leave and 5% automatic 401k contribution after one year of employment.

We also encourage employee professional development and offer a range of specialty benefits employees can use to support their wellness, sustainability and financial goals. Examples of our specialty benefits include contributions towards spouse or dependent health insurance, stipends for remote workers and reimbursements for fitness costs, CSA subscriptions, student loans or eco-friendly purchases. Practical Farmers is a family-friendly employer.

Please apply by completing an application (including contact information, cover letter, resume and references). Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.