Job description

ACORN is seeking a qualified candidate to join our team of passionate local food advocates as we grow our organization. We are a small but dedicated volunteer board, and we need our Communications Manager to be motivated, clever, curious and ready to experiment with guerilla community engagement tactics. This is an exciting opportunity to interact with a vibrant community of food producers, independent businesses, fantastic volunteers and other organizations all working to sustain our economy and feed our region. Come and grow with us!

The Communication Manager’s primary responsibilities will be managing the ACORN website, generating a quarterly newsletter, serving as the point person for all ACORN communications, assisting project managers in planning ACORN’s events, organizing ACORN’s annual appeal and tracking project data/creating project reports. Applicants should visit our website (http://acornvt.org) and familiarize themselves with our five main projects: the Tour de Farms, the Guide to Local Food and Farms, the Sustainable Living Expo, Financing the Working Landscape and the Addison County Farm to School Network (including our annual FtS conference, the Stone Soup Summit).

Position Details

• This position is an hourly, part-time independent contractor position requiring 10-20 hours of work each week, an average of 14 hours per week, year-round.  
• Compensation of $16.50 per hour. 
• ACORN does not have an office. The applicant must be willing to use their own computer and software for work. Applicant would be required to attend almost daily meetings in and around Middlebury, as well as check ACORN's P.O. Box in Middlebury.
• Hours of work are flexible, with some nights and weekends required for special events.   
• Mileage for required travel is reimbursed.   
• Some aspects of this job are physical in nature and require lifting up to 60 pounds.    
• Valid Vermont driver’s license and excellent driving record required.   

Responsibilities and Duties:    

Communications
ACORN does not currently have an office—our website is our waiting room, and it needs to be as current as possible to be useful. The Manager will:

• Consolidate, edit and publish blog posts from board members 
• Update the ACORN events calendar and post event notices on the homepage 
• Manage ACORN’s Facebook presence and engage regularly with our audience 
• Create all emails to the Network and respond to general inquiries 
• Design or coordinate a volunteer’s design of all marketing and PR materials (posters, logos, press releases) 
• Attend all monthly board meetings and take accurate minutes 
• Manage ACORN’s Constant Contact account, including creating surveys, event registration pages and emails   

Fundraising

• Send appeal letters 
• Deposit donations 
• Send thank-you notes   

Program Support
ACORN hosts four major events and dozens of smaller workshops/gatherings a year, as well as publishing a 50-page guide to local food and farms. The Communications Manager supports the individual project managers in all web development, marketing and communications. At specific events, the Communications Manager may be responsible for logistics and volunteer coordination.

Program Tracking

• Track project data and create reports about program delivery.  
• Work with the board to continually evaluate and improve program delivery. 
• Work with Executive Director to pursue additional funding opportunities to maintain and/or expand services.  
• Other duties as required or as time allows.   

Qualifications
The applicant must be self-motivated and work well independently. The applicant will work alongside an active working board and should have experience handling a diverse array of projects at once.

Required skills

• A demonstrated passion for local food systems and a sustainable local economy 
• Disciplined self-starter, dedicated to making change in our community 
• Sufficient knowledge of food systems and community engagement 
• Ability to communicate effectively with diverse groups of people, co-workers and community partners both verbally and in writing 
• Experience successfully juggling multiple projects while meeting deadlines 
• Record-keeping, computer and data entry skills 
• Familiarity with WordPress or Drupal, Constant Contact (or similar CRM software) and MS Office (or similar)   

Desired Skills (not necessary but nice to know if you have them)

• Experience in another part of the food system (such as at a farm or food business) 
• CSS and HTML proficiency 
• Familiarity with Results Based Accountability (RBA) methods Experience with grant management (including evaluation and tracking) 
• Adobe Creative Suite proficiency
• Because ACORN works primarily in Addison County and we are dedicated to connecting our community, we would prefer a Communications Manager who resides in Addison County (or who at least is willing to become a part of the community!)

Compensation

this position is:

Application instructions

Deadline

March 28, 2014