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This job expired on February 20, 2016

Garden Communications Coordinator The Organic Gardener Ltd.

  • Date Posted December 22, 2015
  • Location Highland Park, IL
  • Category Agriculture / Business
  • Job Type Full-Time
Job Description The Organic Gardener Ltd. (TOG) creates beautiful and productive organic edible gardens. Since 2005, we've built more than a thousand vegetable gardens utilizing a full line of customized services: design, installation, maintenance, and education.  

Based in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago, our team's reach extends to a wide variety of clients throughout the Midwest region, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. We work with families to create suburban and urban home gardens in yards and unique spaces. And we partner with non-residential groups like businesses, schools, restaurants, and non-profit organizations to craft public food production projects with accompanying educational programming.  

Our approach is rooted in the idea that anyone, anywhere, can grow their own food. Each TOG project connects us to the larger good food movement growing within Chicagoland and throughout the nation. Come grow with us!   

Role: The primary responsibility of the Garden Communications Coordinator (GCC) is to provide critical office support to the Garden Maintenance Team (GMT). The GCC will ensure effective and positive communications between the GMT and garden clients, and will serve as an office-based resource for our in-the-field team. The GCC will also provide support to our other departments through office management and sales tracking. As a TOG representative and primary point of contact for our clients, the GCC has a pivotal role in executing TOG’s mission and business goals.  

Responsibilities:  

Client Communications & Scheduling
  • Field client phone calls/emails/text messages (“client communications”) and relay pertinent information to appropriate TOG personnel
  • Promptly respond to all client communications and conduct follow up when necessary
  • Contact clients to determine planting and maintenance date preferences
  • Confirm status of garden with Build Crew leadership before scheduling planting date
  • Coordinate and maintain planting dates and maintenance dates using iCal
  • Input iCal schedule into Filemaker database planner
  • Send reminders to clients of upcoming planting/maintenance visits
  • Check in with clients on monthly basis or as needed
  • Track end-of-season review meetings of current clients on behalf of Garden Maintenance Managers
  • Schedule separate client review meetings to obtain crop list, client feedback and additional requests for following season
  • Communicate any additional garden needs for next season, like compost bin, garden expansion, or fence repair, etc.,
  • Draft and send e-blasts in collaboration with Executive Assistant to all clients regarding general garden updates
  • Facilitate integration of new clients into the above system
 Garden Proposal Tracking
  • Shepherd client garden proposals from initial site visit to project completion
  • Create and maintain iCal schedule of all new client meetings and proposal due dates
  • Compile and send daily proposal tracking reports to Sales Team
  • Send proposal follow up email to prospective clients
  • Work closely with the Accountant and Chief Operations Officer to track incoming payments
 Garden Database Management
  • Enter crop lists into Filemaker
  • Collate Filemaker visits and forwarding to President and COO
  • Flag necessary follow up from Filemaker notes and follow up with Lead Gardeners
  • Verify iCal schedule against Filemaker planner for possible errors/redundancies before every garden planting or maintenance shift
 Office Management
  • Answer phone - routing calls, creating a system for messages, and maintaining communication with in-the-field staff as needed
  • Maintain office efficiency by planning and implementing office systems
  • Purchase, inventory, and organize office supplies
  • Streamline systems for all staff to track purchasing requests
  • Accept office and warehouse deliveries
  • Reorganize contacts database
  • General straightening and upkeep of office space
  • Basic tech support and cloud management
  • Manage the main info@theorganicgardener.net email address
  • Assist with large mailings, copying, collating as needed
  • Record meeting notes
 Garden Maintenance Team Support
  • Provide general office support to gardeners as needed
  • Coordinate vehicle related matters with COO (driver insurance, maintenance, etc.)
  • Share client communications regularly with full GMT

Ideal candidate will posses:
  • Background in customer service industry, communications, and/or degree in environmental communications or strong interest in the sustainability/gardening field
  • Two years of related office-based experience
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, communication skills, and attention to detail
  • Strong writing and editing skills
  • Competency working with Mac computers including iCal, iContacts, iMail and all other related programs as well as strong Excel skills
  • Ability to collaborate and work well with others as part of a team
  • Strong organizational skills and ability to work well with all levels of internal management
  • Ability to take direction and guidance well
  • Positive attitude, flexibility and ability to adapt to fast paced environment
  • Willingness to be solutions-oriented
  • Familiarity with FileMaker Pro and Intuit Quickbooks programs is a plus
Position Details: 
Reports to: All TOG senior staff  

Start Date: Early February 2016 

Work Week: Position is full-time

This is an office-based position that works closely with our in-the-field Garden Maintenance Team (GMT). The position will typically operate on a Monday through Friday schedule, but as our GMT works Monday through Saturday, the GCC should have the ability and willingness to work Saturdays throughout the season as needed.

Reliable transportation is required to our headquarters in Highland Park, IL, on a daily basis. A clean driving record and valid driver’s license is also required. Final employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.  
Compensation this position is : hourly How to apply
This job expired on February 20, 2016
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