Farms for a New Generation Director

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. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect nearly 8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families. Long a pioneering leader, AFT continues to evolve to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers nationwide, adapting its approach to ensure the continued strength and resilience of agriculture and rural communities nationwide.

Job Purpose

The Farms for a New Generation (FNG) Director provides strategic leadership for AFT’s FNG national initiative to aid in the successful transfer of farms and ranches to a next and new generation of farmers and ranchers. This important leadership role is critical to galvanizing efforts across AFT and with external partners to ensure FNG programming is strategic, synergistic, and impactful at a national scale.

Position Summary

The FNG Director leads AFT’s efforts to support equitable access to land for the incoming generation of farmers and ranchers of all kinds, and guarantee pathways for retiring producers to exit with dignity without sacrificing legacy, holistic values, or future opportunities. This position requires the ability to effectively and nimbly manage a team and its budget while navigating AFT’s internal administrative processes and structures to deliver impactful programs.

Additionally, the FNG Director advances multi-division projects and manages internal relationships to effectively leverage unique resources and expertise across AFT in support of this work. They collaborate on developing partnerships that can be used to seed or scale land access and transfer projects. The FNG Director also cultivates and sustains external partnerships with diverse stakeholders, manages relationships with funders, and fosters personnel development within their team.

Duties and Responsibilities

Program Leadership and Project Management –

• Develop and lead FNG programing to advance AFT’s mission in a financially sound and impactful way.
• Collaborate with program directors and staff to inform and advance FNG program strategy as well as project development and implementation.
• Develop and oversee implementation of annual workplans and budgets both within FNG division, and across multi-divisional projects.
• Advance AFT’s commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice through programs, partnerships and other means; while also living and advancing AFT’s cultural norms and values.

Fundraising and Budget Management –

• Lead fundraising activities for FNG division activities and work in partnership with AFT’s development staff regarding fundraising strategy, funder cultivation and stewardship as well as proposal writing and reporting.
• Oversee management of FNG and multi-divisional project budgets and reports and achievement of annual budget goals

People Management

• Supervise, support and create an inclusive environment for FNG staff.
• Participate in and support a strong team culture of shared learning, innovation and problem solving among AFT staff.
• Work with FNG staff to develop and achieve annual performance goals, conduct performance evaluations as well as lead the hiring and onboarding of new staff.
• Participate in program leadership meetings and be a conduit between junior staff and leadership for sharing out and embodying organizational policies and norms. Also provide data driven feedback to the AFT leadership via those venues.
• Support cross-division collaboration in project development, fundraising and project implementation.
• Inform the development of new organizational processes, policies and systems as well as aid with effective adoption by staff.
• Build and manage relationships with external stakeholders to advance FNG program, fundraising and communications goals including AFT’s commitments to diversity, equity and justice.

Thought Leadership and Communications

• Build and manage relationships with external stakeholders to advance FNG’s program, fundraising and communications goals including AFT’s commitments to diversity, equity and justice
• Contribute to AFT’s program metrics and other efforts to document and communicate about program impact.
• Provides national visibility for AFT at workshops, conferences and exhibits.

• Ability to see the big picture and be visionary while also being strategic and detail-oriented.
• Experience directing a complex program including leadership of multi-disciplinary teams (including those with a direct reporting line to the FNG director as well as those who report elsewhere and thus must be led by influence) and multi-year projects and contracts, as well as internal budgeting and project management systems.
• Experience successfully leading a portfolio of diverse projects ranging in size from $100k to multi-million dollar projects.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills to navigate a diverse ecosystem of internal and external partners, collaborators, and stakeholders.
• Proven track record of successful fundraising with USDA and other institutional partners is necessary; fundraising experience with individual donors and/or corporations preferred.
• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing effective programs and projects with a strategic vision and measurable outcomes and impacts.
• Deep knowledge of land access as well as farm and ranch succession policies, programs, and strategies is necessary, an understanding of farmland protection and retention policies and programs and their role in access and succession is highly beneficial.
• Familiarity with AFT’s land access training pedagogy and curriculum is a plus.
• Experience working with incoming and/or exiting generation farmers and the professionals and organizations that serve them.
• Superior written, verbal, and multi-media communication skills. Background working closely with videographers, audiographers and the arts community a plus.
• Experience managing multiple staff and contractors both in person and remotely.
• Ability to deliver high quality work for multiple projects and deadlines with efficiency, flexibility, and good humor while under time pressure.
• Passion for American Farmland Trust’s mission and impact.

Education and Experience

• A bachelor’s degree in a field related to AFT’s mission.

• At least 8 years of professional experience in a related field; three of which are senior management experience. A relevant advanced degree can be substituted for 2 years of related professional experience.

• On-farm agricultural experience preferred.

• Fluency in additional language(s) spoken by significant cohorts in US agriculture (i.e., Spanish, a dialect of Hmong, Somali) beyond English an added benefit.

Working Conditions and Travel

This job operates primarily in a remote environment. If the person chosen to fill the role lives near one of AFT’s three remaining office locations (Saratoga Springs, NY, Washington, DC, or Northampton, MA) the person will be expected to maintain a hybrid work schedule that includes some office time. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, and phones. Occasional work in the evenings or on weekends may be required to meet deadlines.

Periodic travel is required and generally related to training the team delivers and thought leadership/partner relationship management opportunities. ~10-20% of the time

Supervisory Responsibility

This position currently has overall responsibility for a team of six program staff, three of whom report directly to the director. In addition, successful execution of current projects requires management of some independent contractors, and active coordination with multiple AFT national and regional staff who provide support to and participate in FNG programming as executed in the regions.

Compensation

This position offers an annual salary of $120,000 - $130,000. 

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)
• 401k Plan
• Sick Leave: Regular full-time employees accrue 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 twelve fixed holidays and a week between Christmas and New Years off 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

To be considered, applicants must submit a resume, a cover letter explaining why they are the right fit for both AFT and this role, and complete all screener questions. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and 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.