Grow Good Hawaii is hiring!
Agroforestry Technical Manager Job Description
Grow Good Hawaii is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to restore nature and strengthen Hawaii’s food security by implementing community-based, agroecological solutions in urban areas. We focus on urban—human inhabited—areas because engaging people and building community is central to our mission of reconnecting upland nature with coastal ecosystems and the ocean. Urban areas are the “missing link” in bringing nature and abundance back from mauka to makai.
“Trees for People: Growing an Urban Community Food & Native Forest” is a large-scale project being led by Grow Good Hawaii. The project will establish and support networks of backyard growers in Waiʻanae and Waimānalo, while promoting residential-scale agroforestry. Among its many facets, it entails the distribution of 2,000 trees over five years. The project is funded by a $5 million Inflation Reduction Act grant from the Urban & Community Forestry Program of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service.
Role
To manage day-to-day Trees for People Project operations in Waimānalo, Grow Good Hawaii is seeking to hire a full-time Agroforestry Technical Manager (ATM). The ATM’s main responsibilities will be to manage a small nursery, tree distribution, a demonstration garden, and a small support team. The successful candidate will report directly to Grow Good Hawaii’s Program Director.
Main Tasks:
- Nursery: Manage a small plant nursery of both trees and understory plants (shrubs, ground covers, etc.) that produce food or are native. Management of the nursery will entail propagating plants, caring for plants as they mature, monitoring for pests, disease or nutrient deficiencies and managing inventory. Management of a small quarantine area and ensuring strict adherence to phytosanitary protocols will also be an important aspect of this work. This work may also involve the purchasing of trees from third party nurseries, their screening for pests and diseases, and their care at the Grow Good Hawaii nursery.
- Tree Distribution and Garden Support: The ATM will lead a team of staff and interns that will visit the homes of residents in Waimānalo to help Trees for People program participants to: (1) Collaboratively plan and design their (agroforestry) gardens; (2) Prepare their sites for planting; (3) Plant trees and other plants; (4) Install irrigation systems; and (5) Conduct follow-up visits to check on plants and respond to requests for support when program participants encounter issues with their plants (pests, diseases, etc.).
- Demonstration Garden: Maintain a small (20×20ʻ), residential-scale agroforestry garden located at our partner site in Waimānalo designed to promote the values of small-scale agroforestry and showcase what an agroforestry system could look like in a Waimānalo resident’s yard. The ATM will be responsible for ongoing maintenance of the agroforestry demonstration garden, as well as for managing community work days at the garden and giving both formal and informal tours of the garden to educate and inspire prospective program participants and other gardeners. He/she/they will also work closely with the Program Director to create template documentation that describes the garden design. Depending on the ATMʻs experience and hire date, they may contribute to the design of this Demonstration Garden in the fall of 2024.
- Mentoring Interns: As part of the workforce development component of the Trees for People Project, Grow Good Hawaii expects to hire a group of interns on a rotating basis. The aim is to expose interns to a variety of green careers in fields such as horticulture, landscape design and landscape architecture, food & agriculture, and conservation through a combination of hands-on work experience, in-field training, and classroom education. Ultimately, we hope to connect interns with a next step in career or continuing education in their chosen field. With assistance from Grow Good Hawaii’s executive director and program director, the ATM will be responsible for directly managing and mentoring the 1-3 interns over the course of their 9-12 month experience.
Other Tasks:
- Grow Good will recruit 5 “Ambassador Gardeners” in the Waimānalo community who are willing to plant small-scale agro-forestry designs in their yards, serve as mentors to others in their neighborhood, and give tours of their gardens once they are established. The ATM will be assist with the recruitment and onboarding of the Ambassador Gardeners.
- Assist with the recruitment, screening and onboarding of interns.
- Depending on applicantʻs background, interest and experience, the ATM may contribute to efforts to document any varieties, cultivars or plant combinations (particularly of understory species) that work well in Waimānalo.
- Attend annual or semi-annual plenary gatherings with all project partners.
Qualifications
Technical Skills & Experience:
- Nursery management: Experience propagating and caring for plants in a nursery or comparable setting and maintaining inventory. Candidates must be skilled in common propagation methods (seed, cuttings) and will have experience in or demonstrate an ability to learn more advanced techniques like air layering and grafting.
- Plant pathology/phytosanitary management: Practical knowledge of common pests, diseases, nutrition deficiencies and other issues that can affect plant health, particularly for the food and native Hawaiian plants that Grow Good Hawaii will be propagating.
- Horticultural and landscape design: A basic understanding of landscape design, and how to select and situate plants to meet the functional and aesthetic needs of a particular yard. While other Grow Good staff will take the lead on designs which will prioritize low maintenance, the use of fewer negative inputs (pesticides, inorganic fertlizer), and the provision of more positive outputs (food, shade, healthy soils), candidates that have landscape design/architecure experience will be included in the design process.
- Agronomy/Agroforestry: Experience in commercial or community-scale agriculture, especially tropical agroforestry.
- Conservation: A basic understanding of ecosystems and their critical functions, plant ecology, and forestry, as well as the role that urban forestry and urban agriculture can play in landscape-scale conservation within and beyond the ahupua‘a.
People Skills:
As the Agrofoestry Technical Manager will be responsible for managing and mentoring the roving garden installation and support team of interns, he/she/they must have excellent management and leadership skills. The ATM will also need to smoothly communicate with program participants (Waimānalo residents) who may come from a variety of socio-economic, ethnic, and gardening backgrounds. The successful candidate must exhibit excellent communication skills and cultural sensitivity.
Other:
- A minimum of 7-10 years of relevant experience.
- Can make a five year commitment to see the project through to completion. After the 5-year project performance period, and based on the performance of the Agrofoestry Technical Manager, Grow Good Hawaii may have other projects that the ATM can become involved in to extend his or her period of employment beyond five years.
- College degree or commensurate work experience.
- Background in horticulture, landscape design or landscape architecture, conservation, environmental science, community food systems, commercial agriculture or other related fields (see above).
Social Skills & Aptitudes:
- Strong people skills—able to interact smoothly with people from diverse backgrounds, and treat project participants, partners, and staff with politeness and respect. While intimate knowledge of the Waimānalo community is desireable, the ideal candidate will be equally open to people from other communities.
- Organized, and has planning skills.
- Service-oriented
- Self-starter
- Able to work autonomously at our partner site in Waimānalo, from home, or at the residences of program participants.
- A high level of integrity and commitment to always do the right thing, with a healthy focus on the greater good rather than narrow self-interest.
- Strong commitment to bettering our community and motivation to contribute to increasing the communityʻs food security and food sovereignty, as well as Hawaiiʻs overall food self-sufficiency.
Conditions of Employment
The ATM will spend the bulk of his/her/their time at our nursery in Waimānalo or visiting the gardens of program participants. Some time may also be spent working from their home. This is a hybrid position with frequent check-ins by phone, Zoom, and in-person. Grow Good Hawaii is a fully virtual organization.
Gross Salary: $65,000-75,000/year (commensurate with experience)
Excellent healthcare benefits and a degree of flexibility to choose the plan that best fits the employeeʻs needs.
This is a full-time, professional level position.
*****
This is an excellent opportunity to get involved in a project that promises to have a significant impact on improving Hawaiiʻs food security and empowering underserved communities. For the right candidate, it also offers the chance to acquire or deepen partical experience in a variety of areas: nursery management, phytosanitation/plant pathology, tree distribution, garden design, agroforestry, and community engagement. The successful candidate will learn about and gain additional experience in multiple disciplines including agriculture/agroforestry, horticulture, landscape architecture, food systems, and conservation.
To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to info@growgoodhawaii.org by August 31..
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.