SAAFON is hiring a Field Organizer – U.S. Virgin Islands

08 Nov SAAFON is hiring a Field Organizer – U.S. Virgin Islands

Title:  Field Organizer – U.S. Virgin Islands

Overview: SAAFON is a network of small-scale Black sustainable farmers in the Southeastern United States and U.S. Virgin Islands. The USVI Coordinator holds an important dual role at the center of SAAFON’s work:

1. Cultivating on-going development of respectful, responsive and intimate relationships with SAAFON Farmer-members in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the SAAFON team; and
2. Coordination and supervision of SAAFON farmer-membership benefits, including communication to members, capacity-building, supporting member event-planning, and assisting in the identification and provision of other benefits to respond to farmer needs.

The U.S. Virgin Islands Coordinator will work in deep collaboration with the SAAFON Field Team, liaising between farmer-members organizing within Island Food Security Inc., farmer communities in the Caribbean, sister organizations and local partners. They will be tasked with maintaining a focus on the needs of membership, growing an understanding of SAAFON institutional work in the Caribbean, while articulating the impact of the work that is happening in the field to internal and external stakeholders.

This new position would support and assist SAAFON farmer members in the Caribbean, in connecting to programs, resources, and opportunities offered by the organization. This role will be exploratory in its first year to create space to focus on Caribbean Area Strategy for SAAFON, and may evolve based on learnings from the field.

This role is a part of SAAFON’s Membership and Farmer Organizing Department – as such, a successful applicant will participate in thought partnership and strategic development with the Director of Field Organizing (DFO) to ensure identification and communication of the needs and desires of membership based in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They will also assist the DFO in dot connecting, weaving assessments, and collecting and internalizing stories from the field to inform organizational strategy. The role also entails supporting SAAFON’s Field Organizing Team and farmers in coordinating logistics for projects & cultural activities and maintaining regular communication between the organization and our farmers. This position is part of SAAFON’s efforts to appropriately resource our work in the field in the Caribbean, providing capacity for consistent, and enriching, engagement with membership across the network.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Specific duties include, but may not be limited to:

• Attending Field Organizing Team meetings monthly, and bi-weekly one on ones with the Director of Field Organizing.
• Documenting the onboarding process for members of Island Food Security Inc.
• Assisting in defining and managing relationships/partnership between SAAFON and local partners in the Caribbean; especially with sister organizations and local partners Island Food Security Inc. and Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition
• Inform SAAFON’s organizational and programmatic strategies through developing & sharing observational analysis from the Caribbean with SAAFON’s Field Team
• Internal Communication: holding regular membership communication, e.g., newsletter and email communications, notifying members when relevant webinars and events are happening, etc.
• Creating and maintaining a calendar of events hosted by members, and identifying priority events and openings for institutional engagement
• Support the coordination of the Farmer-to-Farmer spaces that SAAFON facilitates in deep collaboration with Island Food Security Inc.
• Assist in scheduling and design of activities in the field to ensure appropriate coordination between project needs and farmer capacity;
• Assist farmers and SAAFON staff in project identification and design, including labor needs, duration, special skills needed, safety concerns, feasibility, and technical alternatives
• Ability to support positive morale, respectful interactions, and deep, trustful collaboration
• Assist with organizing, collaboratively, SAAFON’s Field Organizing special event priority – Bush Cook Chef Cook
• Assist in documentation and capturing of event activities, outcomes, limitations, and learnings, including support (not primary responsibility) for notetaking and photography
• Case management / relationship maintenance and touches for members – being an initial point of contact for member needs, questions/inquiries, or is looking for a resource.
• Serve as a knowledge source and/or connector generally around sustainable/afro-ecology/organic practices, protocols, and innovations
• Execute operational and administrative duties connected to the position

Required Qualifications:

• Experience working with a nonprofit or grassroots membership base
• High ability to think and re-plan on the fly
• Experience using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software; productivity software (e.g., Teams, Podio, Asana, Slack); and spreadsheet and document creation, collaboration and maintenance (e.g., GoogleDocs, Microsoft Suite)
• Self-starter, Very task-oriented
• Excellent critical thinking/problem solving skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Emotional intelligence and deep listening skills
• Excellent ability to observe and support positive interpersonal dynamics across gender, sexual, age, and other axes of diversity
• Can provide own transportation to and from farm sites (eligible for reimbursement from SAAFON)
• Proof of right to work in the US

General knowledge of SAAFON’s politic of Black Agrarianism and afro/agroecology; organic and sustainable agricultural practices generally; and alternative/cooperative labor models is a strong plus.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Organizing experience in the Caribbean/Food Sovereignty Movement context
• Hands-on farming/growing training and experience
• Deep knowledge of sustainable/organic/afro/agroecological practices and possibilities
• Experience developing intimate relationships with Farmers
• Experience in group facilitation and coordination
• Experience with/knowledge of agro/afroecology movement spaces, alternative economies, Black ancestral and herbal knowledge, cooperative economics and practices

Compensation: $20-25/hr plus benefits

Expected Time Commitment: Full time employment at 40 hours per week

Additional Information: This role is remote, but requires that applicants be based in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with a preference for applicants located in St. Croix. This role will require some travel. This role also requires access to consistent and reliable internet and phone service.

To Apply: Please send cover letter and resume to info@saafon.org with the subject heading “Field Organizer- U.S. Virgin Islands”

About SAAFON: Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network (SAAFON) is a nonprofit with the vision to support a thriving, vibrant, intergenerational network of Black farmers dedicated to prosperity, community resilience, and self-determination by: healing the land, each other, and the ecologies we inhabit, and honoring our shared culture and the legacy of Black agrarianism. We do this by cultivating liberatory approaches to land stewardship and agriculture in the Southeastern United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Caribbean region, and promoting the links between Black farming, Black culture, and Black history. For more information on the organization, please visit www.saafon.org