New Agrarian Program Northern Plains Manager

About Quivira

Quivira Coalition is a Santa Fe-based nonprofit that works in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Quivira builds resilience on working lands. We foster ecological, economic, and social health through education, innovation, and collaboration. We aim to shift current agricultural and land stewardship practices in ways that produce good food, support meaningful livelihoods in rural places, sustain biodiversity, and remedy the impacts of climate change. We conduct this work through agricultural apprenticeships, land and water restoration, and farmer- and rancher-led knowledge exchange. Knowing that it is critical to the success of our work, Quivira is committed to racial equity and inclusion, and we aspire to build and support a diverse staff, team, and community, including groups that are traditionally underrepresented within conservation and agriculture.

About our hiring process
Our hiring team consists of our New Agrarian Program director and several other team members who will review applications and participate in interviews for this position. We work as a team, so we hire as a team. Many other folks on staff help with our hiring process, including our communications team who helps us get the word out, and the operations team who helps design and hold our teams accountable to a consistent, transparent, and equitable process.

About the New Agrarian Program
Quivira’s New Agrarian Program provides training and support for the next generation of food producers and land stewards in the West. We provide an entry-point into careers in regenerative agriculture by partnering with experienced ranchers across the West to offer immersive, eight-month apprenticeships. Outside of the apprenticeship program, we help beginning producers expand their network within the regenerative agriculture community through a regenerative agriculture fellowship, a monthly podcast called Regeneration Rising, a regenerative agriculture job board, and other trainings, scholarships, and workshops. With over 120 alumni and growing, we’ve recently launched a manager fellowship program to support alumni in developing the business and financial skills to successfully move into entrepreneurship and ranch management. We work to both bring new people into agriculture, and to make careers in agriculture more accessible for people from diverse backgrounds. We do this by giving new agrarians the tools, resources, and community support to help them both enter and stay in careers in agriculture.

Who we’re looking for
The New Agrarian Program Northern Plains manager will work closely with one other New Agrarian Program Northern Plains manager and the rest of the New Agrarian Program team to support beginning agrarians and mentor ranches in central and western Montana, the broader Northern Great Plains region, and beyond. This person should be a people-oriented facilitator who has worked with ranchers and farmers and/or in experiential education. An ideal candidate enjoys working with seasoned ranchers and farmers, mentoring young professionals in agriculture, and is passionate about solving current food production and ranching/farming challenges. This person is based in central or western Montana within close proximity to current New Agrarian Program mentor sites, has the flexibility to travel to ranches and farms, the capacity to engage with the Quivira team remotely, and is computer literate. The position also requires travel to conferences, presentations, and other work events (25-35 percent of work time is out of office).

About the work
The New Agrarian Program Northern Plains manager will provide support to New Agrarian Program mentors and apprentices in western and central Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. They will also work closely with mentor operations to help guide them through the apprentice application and hiring processes, partner with the New Agrarian Program team to deliver mentor training, assist with apprentice orientation, conduct site visits to mentor ranches, complete monthly check-ins with mentor ranchers and apprentices, provide support on supplemental education webinars, and assist in planning land health and livestock workshops. This position will also facilitate and provide guidance for both apprentices and mentors throughout their year together.

The New Agrarian Program Northern Plains manager is responsible, in partnership with the New Agrarian Program team, for recruitment, implementation, and partial fundraising for Quivira’s apprenticeship program. Specific duties and responsibilities include:

Coordination

• Serve as a main point of contact for New Agrarian Program mentors and apprentices in western and central Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming
• Support mentor/apprentice relationships and serve as a mediator as needed
• Support the application process for potential new program mentors
• Facilitate successful apprentice placement at each mentor location
• Conduct in-depth, annual check-ins with mentors and apprentices to debrief most recent apprenticeships and discuss program components, successes, and challenges
• Maintain regular contact with mentors and apprentices in western and central Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to assess progress and communication
• In partnership with the New Agrarian Program team, plan and conduct monthly supplemental education calls and regional apprentice gatherings, including orientation, mid-season gatherings, and graduation
• Conduct annual site visits to all current mentor operations in western and central Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming
• Facilitate connections between current and future generations of food producers and land stewards

Recruitment and outreach

• Participate in marketing, advertising, outreach, and public relations for the New Agrarian Program
• Conduct site visits to potential mentor ranches and farms in the Northern Plains
• Represent Quivira and the New Agrarian Program at relevant events in the community and by actively seeking opportunities to present to relevant conferences
• Contribute to the New Agrarian Program monthly newsletter, including compiling job opportunities and other newsletter material
• Regularly contribute content to New Agrarian Program social media

Development

• In cooperation with the New Agrarian Program team, expand the reach of the program by designing, funding, and implementing new ideas that provide leadership training, networking, and capacity-building support for new agrarians and prospective mentors
• Facilitate program growth while maintaining high quality standards and regenerative agriculture criteria for prospective mentors

Additional tasks

• Represent Quivira at various functions, conferences, workshops, etc.
• Collaborate with other staff members and engage with other Quivira program areas as needed
• Attend and actively participate in the annual REGENERATE Conference as a representative for the New Agrarian Program team
• Participate in staff meetings, retreats, and strategic planning meetings
• Actively engage in Quivira’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism efforts
• Other activities as assigned

Qualifications and experience

We recognize and value the many ways to learn, grow, and succeed professionally, and acknowledge that individuals acquire skills, knowledge, and perspectives through diverse educational, professional, personal, and volunteer experiences. We take all relevant experiences into account when reviewing applications and ask that you share with us the unique strengths and experiences that you will bring to Quivira and to your work.

Required qualifications

• Established connections to Montana’s agricultural communities (ideally the regenerative livestock/ranching community)
• A passion for addressing issues in food production (with a focus on regenerative livestock/ranching operations) or land management in the West
• An interest in regenerative agriculture
• A valid driver’s license
• Access to reliable internet
• Comfortable working a computer-based job, with flexibility to travel to current and potential mentor sites, conferences, and workshops
• Ability and desire to work outdoors, lift 50 pounds, and pitch in on ranching or farming operations occasionally
• Proximity to central Montana

Desired qualifications

• Experience working in agriculture (ideally ranching or related livestock production)
• Experience working as an educator (preferably experiential/hands-on learning)
• Experience working in a nonprofit environment
• Experience with conflict resolution, mediation, or navigating conflict
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Photography, design, or creative writing skills
• Demonstrated ability to juggle multiple projects
• Experience working with people in diverse environments and building connections with people from different backgrounds

Terms of employment

Quivira is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our organization. We embrace and encourage applicants of all ages, colors, disability statuses, ethnicities, family or marital statuses, gender identities or expressions, languages, national origins, physical and mental abilities, political affiliations, races, religions, sexual orientations, socio-economic statuses, or veteran statuses.

• Reports to the New Agrarian Program director
• Required availability to work some evenings and weekends to accommodate ranching/farming schedules
• 40 hours a week, exempt, salaried
• Salary range for manager level positions: $47,486 – 62,587 depending on experience. Quivira uses a wage scale to determine hourly wage and salary ranges for all positions within the organization.
• This position needs to be based within a few hours drive of existing mentor sites in Montana. Candidates must have access to reliable internet.
• No relocation compensation
• After two months, benefits include health care, dental, vision, simple IRA, paid-time-off, life insurance, short and long term disability insurance, and continuing education benefit.

Application instructions
Please apply online on our website. Please include a current resume (no more than two pages) with the application. The application will be in place of a cover letter; no cover letter is needed. Please have available the name, phone number, and email of three professional references. References will be checked as a part of the hiring process.

Please send questions to Leah Ricci, New Agrarian Program director (leah@quiviracoalition.org), with the subject line “New Agrarian Program Northern Plains Manager.”

Hiring timeline
Deadline for applications is September 22, 2024, with the intention of a start date in October or November 2024.