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Posted Aprlil 2025:

 

Community Organizer, Collective Gardens

Job Description 

Food AND Medicine (FAM) is a regional, progressive, grassroots organization working to address issues causing and resulting from poverty. Current programs include food justice, worker rights, affordable public transportation, civic engagement and political education. Founded in 2002, our work and name is based on the belief that no one should have to choose between food, medicine and other basic necessities. We use a hybrid of direct service and community organizing to build power among working class and low-income people, and see our work as “Solidarity, not charity”. We work closely with local labor unions, including the Eastern Maine Labor Council, as well as many partner organizations and allied groups.

We are seeking an experienced and versatile full-time Community Organizer to our team to work on a number of programs, with a particular focus on our Collective Gardens network, which currently totals 35 gardens. Gardening is a tool, like mobilizing or activating, through which our Organizers work to build individual and collective power, as well as strengthen the organization, with a goal of social change.  

This is a full-time position located in Brewer, Maine, reporting to the Program Manager.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Support a robust organizing program at our collective/community gardens, to identify and develop leaders and build organizational structures to run the gardens and further develop food justice programs. The work will include knocking doors, one-on-one outreach, surveys, events and meetings to encourage involvement of community members in the gardens and related programs.
  • Identify, develop and empower leaders among members and volunteers to attend events, share their story, reach out to allies, speak to the media, attend and facilitate committee meetings, volunteer, and otherwise become more involved in the organization.
  • Facilitate members’ consciousness of and foster analysis of obstacles to low-income communities’ access to basic necessities in relation to broader social issues and systemic inequality.
  • Contribute to fundraising activities including grant writing, phone banking, canvassing, database updating, membership campaign and the like.
  • Contribute to organization-wide annual events such as Legislative Breakfast, Labor Day and Solidarity Harvest.
  • Thoroughly document interactions with members, outreach activities, meeting and event planning and turnout.
  • Contribute to our electoral and civic engagement programs. 
  • Other duties as assigned.

The ideal candidate will have:

  • Minimum two years experience in grassroots community or union organizing strongly preferred. 
  • Three years’ relevant experience in staff supervision and/or volunteer management preferred. Demonstrated leadership and organizing skills at work, on campus, or in the community, with experience as a union or community organizer preferred.
  • Comfort with making phone calls, canvassing, surveying or encouraging people to become involved, complete surveys or sign petitions. Ability to comfortably speak to people of varied backgrounds and ideologies. Ability and willingness to adapt to changing situations mid-stream, and to comfortably interact with and build relationships with all types of people.
  • Experience with or interest in gardening, farming or managing a greenhouse is a strong plus, but not required.
  • Experience or familiarity with politics and the electoral and legislative process, especially as it relates to issues affecting low-income people and workers.
  • A collaborative working spirit and desire to explore ideas, test assumptions, and find solutions as a team. 
  • Willingness to learn new or different organizing strategies and methodologies. Ability and commitment to do long-haul, sometimes gritty, organizing work. 
  • A commitment to FAM’s mission, values and approach, which focuses on grassroots organizing, leadership development, building power, social and economic justice in Maine. The capacity to work with diverse communities and to develop and maintain collaborative relationships. 
  • Excellent project management skills, including planning, prioritizing, delegating, and overseeing tasks to completion and keeping to deadlines; ability to problem solve, anticipate or suggest appropriate and creative next steps.
  • Proficiency with current social media platforms, online fundraising/marketing tools and strategies for nonprofit organizations. 
  • Strong computer and analytical skills. Comfortable working with a variety of office software, internet and email environments, including Microsoft Office Suite, Google Drive and others; comfortable learning new software.
  • Strong writing skills, and the ability to represent FAM’s goals, objectives and outcomes for programs and projects, both verbally and in writing.
  • Preferred experience in non-profit fundraising and development including grant-writing, solicitation and event planning.
  • Physical requirements include ability to spend hours listening and talking; working via computer and telephone; driving frequently to meetings and events; light lifting of equipment and materials, potentially up to 50 pounds; occasional night and weekend work, long days and on rare occasion overnight travel.

Application Process:

Timeline: Search will continue until a suitable candidate is found. Applications will start to be reviewed immediately and the position will be hired as soon as an appropriate candidate is selected. 

How To Apply: Interested applicants should send ALL of the following: (1) cover letter, (2) resume, (3) at least three references, and (4) a writing sample to [email protected]. FAM is committed to inclusion; women, LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color and people with lived experience in poverty, food insecurity or a working class background are particularly encouraged to apply.

Compensation/Benefits:  Salary range is competitive for the region and depending on experience, with a range of $45-50K/year. Benefits include health insurance, dental and vision benefits paid at 100% for full time employees; a retirement plan with match; and generous paid time off and holidays covered under a union collective bargaining agreement.