Now Hiring!
Program Manager

The NOFA Organic Land Care Program seeks a personable and dynamic program manager who will take over leadership of our highly successful regional training and accreditation program in the new and rapidly expanding field of organic care of lawns and landscapes.

The Organic Land Care program is jointly operated by the non-profit Connecticut and Massachusetts chapters of the Northeast Organic Farming Association and has the mission of extending the vision and principles of organic agriculture to the care of the landscapes where most people live, work, play, and otherwise spend their daily lives. It is currently guided and operated by a 15 member volunteer OLC committee made up of dedicated scientists and horticultural professionals from several states, along with four part-time paid staff.

We are the first program in the country to publish a comprehensive set of organic standards for the land care profession, as well as the first program to offer annual accreditation in organic land care. We currently offer two comprehensive (five-day) courses in Organic Land Care annually, one in Massachusetts, one in Connecticut, leading to accreditation. We support 225 Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals (AOLCP) in nine states. We also offer two Organic Lawn and Turf courses each year, and we will be publishing a new Organic Lawn and Turf handbook in early 2007.

The demand for additional courses is continuous and strong. An AOLCP in Rhode Island is committed to setting up a course in his state, Massachusetts would like to set up a second course, and we have had many requests from AOLCPs in other states and from other institutions such as colleges and environmental centers.

The program manager will report to the Executive Director of CT NOFA and will work closely with the Organic Land Care Committee, the Organic Land Care Coordinator for Massachusetts, and the manager of the accreditation program.

The Program Manager will:

• Be the central communication point for the Organic Land Care Program, respond to inquiries, and run the day-to-day operations of the program
• Serve as the clearinghouse for information requests from the public and AOLCPs
• Take charge of putting on the Organic Accreditation Course in Connecticut (five-day course) and the Organic Lawn and Turf Course in Connecticut
• Expand the number of courses offered (both five-day accreditation and one-day lawn and turf courses)
• Receive complaints from the public about AOLCPs and "organic" land care companies
• Recruit additional teachers for the courses, including both
  technical experts and experienced Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals (AOLCPs)
• Expand the pool of teachers by training AOLCPs to teach in the course
• Assist new teachers in locating information and images for
  presentations
• Market the courses through contacts with land care professionals and through collaboration with regional and national organizations that share common interests (pesticide awareness activists, organic lawn care groups, professional organizations, etc.)
• Work with allied organizations for the overall good of the industry
• Market the program through outreach to the wider public and media and through appearances at events and conferences
• Raise funds to help support the program (through grant-writing, soliciting donations, etc.)
• Maintain a database of speakers on Organic Land Care that can be a resource to NOFA conferences, the OLC Program, and others around the region seeking presentations on various aspects of Organic Land Care.
• Provide an annual budget and oversee the finances of the OLC programs
• Report to the OLC committee at monthly meetings

Qualifications: Self starter. Great interpersonal skills. Excellent written and oral communication (including public speaking). Ability to work with speakers/teachers to evaluate and improve resentations. Marketing and fundraising skills. Ability to produce and manage a budget. Organic horticultural experience and contacts in the land care profession helpful.

Computer experience: spreadsheets and word processing.

Salary $31,000. Full time with flexible hours. Workload will be heaviest during the horticultural "off season" from November through March, when the five-day courses are held and land care professionals are most available for training and attending trade shows, conferences, etc.

Work from CT NOFA office located in Oxford, CT preferred.

Contact Bill Duesing: 203-888-5146, bduesing@cs.com.

Apply by March 31, 2007. E-mail resume preferred.