Climate and Soil Health Outreach Specialist

Who We Are

American Farmland Trust (AFT) is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.5 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and helped thousands of farm families make a go of it (primarily through programs that increase farm viability and/or enhance farmland access). Long a pioneering leader, AFT is now riding a new wave of growth, driven by agriculture’s most pressing needs and opportunities.

We believe diversity drives innovation. We are inclusive. We embrace differences. We recognize and respect the fundamental value and dignity of all our employees. We celebrate the unique traditions, heritages, and experiences our employees bring to the workplace. We are committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive culture that promotes and values diversity, and where everyone feels empowered to bring their authentic selves to work every day. Please see AFT’s statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice.

Job purpose 

Reporting to the Climate and Soil Health Deputy Director, the Climate and Soil Health Outreach Specialist supports AFT’s national climate and soil health efforts which aim to catalyze a new conventional agriculture that protects the land, promotes soil health resilience, and exhibits environmentally sound farming practices to create an equitable, climate neutral operation for future generations. The Specialist plays a crucial role in supporting AFT’s national climate and soil health team’s strategy and execution of outreach for impact.  

Position summary 

The Outreach Specialist will play a pivotal role in the planning, coordination, and execution of outreach, communications, impact metrics tracking, educational events, and publication strategies for our team’s climate and soil health programming. This includes: 1) leading outreach and communications focused workstreams for the Climate and Soil Health team, 2) creating and coordinating publication of compelling content for our website, social media, and other mediums, with the national and regional communications staff and 3) developing and supporting logistics and impact tracking for in-person and virtual trainings and other programming as needed. The ideal candidate will have strong organizational and interpersonal skills, a background in outreach, communications, or education, a solid understanding of agriculture, climate and soil health, and the ability to craft engaging and pithy communications to promote our mission. 

Duties and responsibilities 

Outreach and Coordination: 

• Lead outreach and communications focused workstreams, to ensure a plan is in place for the team to execute content and strategies, and to coordinate team deliverables through to completion. 
• Create compelling content and assist in the development of technical materials such as factsheets, webinar compilations, decision support tools, and publications to inspire uptake, engagement and impact for varied audiences including farmers, ranchers and ag service providers. 
• Coordinate with the national communications and Farmland Information Center teams on messaging, and to make resources available online and periodically update them. 
• Provide support to users of our resources. 
• Respond to public inquiries and process requests for materials, including the compilation of information packets and coordination of materials for in person and virtual conferences, meetings, workshops, and fundraising events. 
• Coordinate the logistics and implementation of educational events for producers and service providers, including outreach, programming, resource development, and tool creation. 
• Support metrics/impact tracking for climate and soil health programming 

Communications: 

• Collaborate with AFT Communications staff to create high-quality, compelling content, including press releases, blog posts, and other online and digital materials to promote program resources and events, and share updates on programming impacts. 
• Develop content for social media and other media platforms in collaboration with AFT communications staff to attract and retain participants, demonstrate thought leadership and build brand recognition and strength for our climate and soil health work/expertise. 
• Represent AFT at public meetings, conferences, workshops, and training sessions to manage sign ins, logistics, booths, tabling, or other opportunities as identified/ needed. 
• Contribute to web content development (writing and editing), review current web content, and address content/presence/social media needs. 
• Support the review and completion of various written publications, including blog posts, factsheets, white papers, recorded presentations, videos, social media posts, funder reports, and technical publications. 
• Coordinate webpage updates and enhance our social media presence in collaboration with the Communications team, third-party graphic designers, and technical experts. 
• Support the implementation and maintenance of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool. 
• Build and maintain positive relationships with internal teams and external partners, representing AFT effectively at online and in person meetings. 
• Supports a strong team culture of shared learning, innovation and problem solving among AFT staff.  

• Proven experience in outreach coordination, event planning (such as producer trainings and small workshops), and communication strategies. 
• Experience in agriculture, climate, or environmental sectors.  
• Strong writing, editing, and content creation skills. 
• Proficiency in social media and web content development. 
• Experience with CRM tools, contact management, web management platforms, and/or webinar hosting. 
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage, and update the team on progress on, multiple tasks and projects simultaneously. 
• Ability to build positive relationships with team members, external partners, and stakeholders, and follow up on task completion across a team. 
• Knowledge of agricultural practices and issues is a plus. 

Education & Experience 

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, (Agricultural) Education, Extension, Public Relations, Agricultural Sciences, or a related field plus at least 2 years of relevant work experience. 
• An additional 2-4 years of relevant work experience in the above areas can be substituted for a BA/BS. 

Working Conditions 

• This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers and phones.  
• This job is a remote position and as such operates in a teleworking unless there is a nearby AFT professional office environment.  
• Co-location at a university, regional AFT office, or other similar arrangement is a possibility.  
• Willingness to undertake limited work travel as required. 

Compensation

The salary range is from $65,000 to $70,000 for full-time employees, based upon experience.

American Farmland Trust offers a full benefits package for full time employees:

• Insurance coverage begins the 1st of the month following the date of hire. 
• Medical & Prescription Coverage
• Dental Coverage
• Vision Coverage
• Company Paid Life Insurance & Long-Term Disability (LTD)
• Voluntary Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) – Healthcare & Dependent Care
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• 401(k) with 10% match after six months of employment
• Sick Leave: Regular full-time employees accrue 3.5 hours per pay period (13 “sick days” per year).
• Vacation Leave: Accrue 15 days during the first year increasing by one day per year to 20 days per year maximum.
• Holidays: AFT observes eleven fixed holidays during the year (all offices closed) plus a choice of up to three (depending on hiring month) floating holidays.

Why you should apply:

• Be a part of a purpose-driven, committed, knowledgeable, high-performing, experienced and fun team
• A diverse and inclusive work environment
• A cause and mission you can be proud of
• Competitive compensation & benefits
• Remote work opportunities
• Flexible scheduling
   

Timeline

Applications must answer screener questions and include a resume AND cover letter to be considered. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

We believe diversity drives innovation. We are inclusive. We embrace differences. We recognize and respect the fundamental value and dignity of all our employees. We celebrate the unique traditions, heritages, and experiences our employees bring to the workplace. We are committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive culture that promotes and values diversity, and where everyone feels empowered to bring their authentic selves to work every day. Please see AFT’s statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice.