Position: Community Engagement & Harvest Manager

Status:  3/4 time

Hours: some evening and weekend work required

Compensation: $22.50 an hour plus health benefits

Reports to: Executive Director

Job Summary: The Community Engagement & Harvest Manager (CEHM) will be primarily tasked with connecting neighbors & communities to our city’s collective orchard, through collecting & sharing the harvest; strengthening relationships with and participation of neighbors; and increasing hands-on engagement in the public orchards.

This includes building our network of community partners and fruit recipients; increasing participation of community volunteers; designing for inclusive and diverse community participation in City Fruit’s planning and evaluation; hiring and managing the annual harvest crew; and communicating with tree owners throughout the harvest season to ensure that we collect and share the abundance of our city’s fruit.

The CEHM will spend time both in an office setting as well as traveling throughout the city to meet with partners and tree owners.

Primary Responsibilities:

Community Engagement: The CEHM will play a critical role in establishing and nurturing relationships with residents and neighborhood organizations to create community-based harvest & engagement plans that reflect the unique needs and opportunities of every neighborhood. The CEHM will identify relevant community groups and engage residents to develop relationships and grow partnerships.

Manage Harvest Team: The CEHM will hire and manage the harvest team during the summer and fall fruit season. This will include training the team and developing harvest strategies and systems for the team in picking and distributing of fruit.

Tree Owner Community Communication: The CEHM will be the main contact for tree owners throughout the year. During the harvest season, the CEHM will help with marketing outreach to new tree owners as well as manage relationships with existing tree owners to coordinate harvests on residential property. The CEHM will also work with the Communication Manager to continue developing the membership program to more deeply engage tree owners.

Community Volunteer Recruitment: In partnership with City Fruit’s Orchard Stewardship Manager, develop opportunities to connect neighbors to Seattle’s public orchards, through volunteer recruitment/management and event coordination.

Advocacy & Access: Lead and participate in local and regional advocacy activities to increase access to urban food and land/environmental systems for underserved communities.

Sales and Distribution: To a lesser extent, the CEHM will also be tasked with building local for-profit partnerships for the distribution and sales of a portion of the fruit harvested.

About us: City Fruit is 501c3 non-profit that promotes the cultivation of urban fruit in order to nourish people, build community, and protect the climate. We are a small team that works with community partners to steward and harvest the fruit trees of Seattle to make sure everyone in our community shares in the value of fruit.

Desired Qualifications:

  • Organized, detail-oriented, creative, proactive, and dependable
  • Ability to interact professionally and with emotional intelligence with a range of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives
  • An understanding, or willingness to learn, the unique food and land related issues and opportunities in each of Seattle’s neighborhoods
  • Deep understanding of community engagement and participation
  • Ability to facilitate conversation in a communal space in order to best create and execute programming based on the direction provided by the community
  • Program management and coordination with a community-centered lens
  • A knowledge of, or desire to learn about fruit trees
  • Experience in incorporating racial equity outcomes in program planning and policy development
  • Ability to interview and hire
  • Multilingual preferred, but not required
  • Self motivated and a comfort with having high levels of autonomy in decision making
  • Must have a valid US driver’s license

Benefits: health insurance and unlimited PTO

As an equal opportunity program, City Fruit encourages applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, gender identity/expression, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, marital status, physical ability, or any other legally protected basis.

To apply: Please send the following to luke@cityfruit.org. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

  • Cover Letter detailing your qualification and interest in the position
  • Resume
  • 2 references