Community Urban Farming Facilitator (Worker)

Summary

Community Urban Farming Facilitator (Worker)
Deadline : 28 March 2023
Full-time
CICS is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to empower newcomers in settling and integrating as contributing members of Canadian society through diverse, professional and innovative programs and services. We work to enable newcomers to fully integrate, participate and contribute to all spheres of Canadian society. Our success stems from our workforce culture bound by three core values: Compassion, Inclusion and Collaboration.

Ref.: 12-23 / Worker
Job Title: Community Urban Farming Facilitator (Worker)
Term: Contract from April 1, 2023 until March 31st, 2024 (with possibility of extension)
Work location: IRC – 2330 Midland Avenue, Scarborough
Team: Community Support
Hours: 35 hours per week; required to work regular hours in evenings, Saturdays and some holidays
Salary Range: $46,064 to $48,831 (prorated)
Current Rate: $25.31 per hour
Status: Unionized

Position Summary:

CICS is currently involved in the SAFE Communities Project (Sustainable and Accessible Food Empowering Communities) involving community gardening, greenhouse management, seed saving and distribution as well as container gardens. CICS aims to build on achievements, lessons learned and promising practices in urban food security and agriculture, enabling increasing numbers of newcomers, immigrants and refugees to gain new skills and knowledge, connect with others and contribute to the vibrancy and wellbeing of their communities. Also involving a year-round field-to-table program, it includes gardening, outdoor and environmental stewardship activities in the Spring/Summer and a harvest celebration, food preservation, healthy cooking, nutrition education, and community meals in the Fall/Winter, providing an intercultural space to bring people together and make connections through gardening and food. The Community Urban Farming Facilitator will work directly with clients and SAFE collaborative partners on a day-to-day basis, with the aim of supporting organizations in their gardening and seed saving projects and work with community that are assisting in the garden that provides a positive settlement, integration and wellbeing outcomes among newcomers in the GTA.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

· Plan and facilitate community garden, greenhouse and seed saving training and workshops for program clients, including preparing culturally-sensitive learning and engagement material;
· Participate in the planning, execution and follow-up of community and other program related events (e.g. CICS’s Annual Harvest Festival, etc.);
· Support overall program planning, implementation, facilitation, monitoring and evaluation of community garden, greenhouse and other community food focused program activities;
· Provide instructions and work collaboratively with clients/program participants and volunteers to complete garden and kitchen tasks as a part of community garden and kitchen programming;
· Provide an environment that facilitates building positive social connections and relationships with diverse clients;
· Plan, plant, irrigate and maintain the community garden/greenhouse, including preparing seedlings, beds and paths, planting, weeding, non-toxic/organic pest control, watering, harvesting and winterizing, etc.
· Plan garden, greenhouse and other related program purchases within available budget,
· Assist the operation of the composting project.
· Lift, move and work with gardening and greenhouse tools and supplies, up to 50 lbs;
· Work with internal and external groups, including volunteers and instructors, to prepare material and maintain the CICS community garden and greenhouse;
· Maintain accurate data, including data collection/entry, and provide timely and accurate status updates to program supervisor as required, this includes tracking client and volunteer participation, food produced, etc.;
· Support other program administration tasks as required, such as researching and planning material purchases, data entry/records maintenance, photocopying/filing documents, organizing gardening tools and supplies, etc.);
· Support opportunities to promote CICS programs internally and externally;
· Remain informed on information, resources, and policies relevant to project mission.

Qualifications (Education/Knowledge/Skills/Experience)

• Minimum college diploma in a related field (e.g. food and farming, horticulture)
• Undergraduate degree in sustainable agriculture, food security, social services, community development or a related field an asset;
• Work experience demonstrating gardening, urban farming or greenhouse knowledge
• Experience planning and delivering group training and workshops;
• Ability to perform physical labour required to maintain a garden and work outdoors in a variety of weather conditions
• Ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with diverse communities, including newcomer/refugee/ at-risk/low-income individuals and families;
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work independently as a self-starter;
• Proficient written and verbal communication skills in English; additional language(s) a strong asset (particularly Mandarin and/or Cantonese); Computer skills, including word processing, spreadsheet and data management.

Other Requirements

• Ability to work some evenings and weekends throughout the year;
• Vulnerable Sector Screening required.