Position: Climate Smart Technical Assistance Provider
HOURS: 25-35 hours/week
Remote position, but must live in Massachusetts or surrounding states.
Opportunity:
The Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) position is an opportunity to help farmers implement climate smart practices to increase climate resilience and food sovereignty, and to support the expansion of local market value for crops grown using climate smart practices.
Responsibilities include building relationships with farmers in the region, recording analytical data, mapping farm fields, and delivering recommendations to the farm based on findings, including assisting farmers in developing a whole farm plan based on climate resilient management strategies. The TAP will work with farmers from initial project stages through to practice implementation and verification; the technical assistance needed will vary by farm and by practice.
The TAP will work with a diverse team in an interdisciplinary field, including farming, communications, policy, equity and inclusion, and soil health.
NOFA/Mass encourages candidates from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds to apply.
Responsibilities
- Build trusting relationships with farmers through a variety of methods, including phone calls to in-person farm visits, and serve as an advocate for the Climate Smart initiative.
- Securely collect farm and field level information in a timely and respectful manner from contract initiation through completion, using a range of digital and analog tools.
- Provide administrative and technical guidance to farmers in developing a whole farm plan, including the selection of applicable and Climate Smart initiative-supported NRCS Conservation practices.
- Effectively share information with fellow TAPs, Project Manager, and other NOFA/Mass staff, as appropriate.
- Collaborate with external partner organizations in fulfillment of project goals.
- Contribute to data collection for continued monitoring and measuring of the impacts of implemented climate smart practices on soil health and greenhouse gas mitigation.
- Communicate any challenges that are faced in the field to facilitate system improvement within NOFA/Mass and among our Climate Smart partner organizations
- Help with outreach to BIPOC and Spanish-speaking farmers to network and share information about NOFA/Mass technical assistance programs.
Qualifications
- Experience in environmental sciences, agriculture or a bachelor’s degree in a related field
- At least 3 years experience working on or with farms
- Ability to work collaboratively with farmers to develop climate resilient management strategies.
- Awareness of climate resilience strategies and how climate smart practices play into these strategies.
- Familiarity with digital data collection.
- Excellent problem solving, verbal and written communication skills.
- Self-motivated and able to work independently in a remote work environment.
- Awareness of equity issues in agriculture and commitment to racial justice
- Proficiency with Google workspace; Zoom; data management; social media outreach; and other relevant tech platforms.
Ideal candidate may also have:
- Spanish language fluency with strong written and verbal communication skills
- Connections to the farming community (dairy, grains, other specialty crops) and beyond.
- Familiarity with field based geographic information systems (GIS)
- Familiarity with the USDA’s COMET-Planner and COMET-FarmTM carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas reduction estimation tools
- Experience working with USDA/NRCS programs
- Experience with data collection and organization
Compensation
Starting pay range $18-22.
How to apply
Please complete a job application form here. The application will require you to upload a resume, cover letter and three references as attachments. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis.
Please familiarize yourself with our Racial Equity Statement before applying.
All staff members are required to be active members of NOFA/Mass. Become a member here.
Contact Sara Riegler: sara@nofamass.org if you have any questions about this position.
NOFA/Mass is an equal opportunity employer who does not discriminate in employment and contracting practices based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability.
About NOFA/Mass:
NOFA/Mass is the Massachusetts state chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association. NOFA/Mass is a non-profit organization with 1100 members, focusing on education and advocacy around organic agriculture in Massachusetts. Our members include farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, consumers, land care professionals, and food activists.
Our Mission:
Through education and advocacy NOFA/Mass promotes organic agriculture to expand the production and availability of nutritious food from living soil for the health of individuals, communities and the planet.
Our Vision:
NOFA/Mass envisions a commonwealth of people working together to create healthy landscapes that feed our communities and restore our environment.
Learn more about us:
NOFA/Mass website: https://www.nofamass.org/
NOFA/Mass newsletter: https://www.nofamass.org/newsletter/
Job Openings: https://www.nofamass.org/jobs/
Meet our current staff and board: https://www.nofamass.org/staff-and-board/